You can archive this one for your future use I’m sure. We haven’t explored
that much. But whatever we explored, we want to share it with you all so that
it could help you & invite you to add further.
Basically Rajasthan is very artistic. The richest & the poorest of
the state are the custodians of this rich heritage and the authentic art. The
rich have a heart for the art. And they know how to build it up and showcase
it. Most importantly retain it. Every palace is so rich in paintings, art,
artefacts. Every pillar, niche, ceiling, walls are decorated with rich artistry
of various styles from locals as well as from foreign. Different coloured
stones available locally make it Golden city, Pink City, Marble rich etc., The
stone art, the glass art, natural paintings décor the monuments. By doing that
they are paying rich tribute to the local artisans.
But the local artisans however have remained poor only. Because, they
have a heart for the art. They would rather spend their life doing great art
than go behind money. The middlemen make the most of the money from the art. The
Marwaris coming from that region go everywhere doing business. A piece of art can
be sold at Rs400 upto 10,000Rs depending upon where and when it is being sold & how much margin they want to make.
The state of Rajasthan is made from combining all the Rajput Royal
states post-independence. Most of the
Royals have retained most of their wealthy Palaces and forts. Through trusts
& committees they are managing the monuments quite fine. It is unlike in
Mysore. The Maharaja in Mysore, they say was tricked to give up everything to
the government. And in my opinion, Govt is not doing a good job of its maintenance
and is a mistake in comparison to Rajasthan model. However in Rajasthan most
entrance fee is very high, especially Udaipur Raja will fleece youL.
The shopping bonanza
Jaipur is like Bangalore only. Try to avoid shopping there. Of course don’t
miss to have authentic Lassi in Lassiwala shops near Raj Mandir theatre.
Here is what we know of some shopping tips. All the below ones we got
around by asking locals. The guides & driver were useless. They only take
you to clothes shopping.
Where
|
What
|
More
details
|
Bikaner
|
Bikaji Sweets, Mixture, Rasagolla etc.,
|
Near Jain temple; There is whole lot of homes from
there it is made, packaged and sent across the world
|
Jaisalmer
|
Small artefacts made from Camel bone;
Art or tumbler from Golden stone;
|
The Golden fort is called living fort. So inside the fort there are
lot of shops selling camel bone art, small decorative items, dolls; Bargain
& get the best. Don’t buy marble stuff. From the golden stone they make
tumblers. It has medicinal value they say. Camel bone art & Golden stone
artefacts you wont get anywhere else. Not even in Jaipur for this price.
|
Ranakpur
|
Rajasthani Dhuries
|
On way to Ranakpur near Udaipur from Jodhpur, you get
to see many huts showcasing these Dhuries. Do give a visit. It is handicraft.
Dhuries are like carpet. Beautiful indigenous designs made from the artisans.
Bargain and buy if you like and appreciate handloom products than power loom
products.
|
Kishangarh
|
Marble Art
|
It is near Ajmer towards Jaipur. Both sides of the highway you get
whole lot of Marble art shops. Small decorative elephants, lamp, vase,
Bharani etc., you get. Beautiful authentic natural paintings on it make it
more elegant. Cost is definitely 10 times cheaper than in Bangalore, any item.
You got to bargain though.
|
Pushkar
|
Camel Leather Items
|
In Pushkar, there is a large Ranganatha temple. Right
infront of this there are few shops selling Camel leather items like Wallet,
Shoes, Purse, Vanity bags etc., It is all cheap and completely worth it. For
example a wallet costing about 700Rs in Bangalore you bargain & get it for
70Rs. Those shops are actually wholesale shippers to UK & Europe through online
shopping.
|
Jaipur City Palace
|
Pashmina Shawl
|
Inside the City palace, the Maharani has a shop! J.
I think it is authentic. You can try. I believe it is decent price. This
Pashmina shawl is very special & rare.
|
The clothes are something you get everywhere. But it is most deceptive.
You have to be cautious. Especially the factory outlet, driver suggestions,
local guide suggestions are most deceptive. But you can’t do much but to
explore within those options. I think if we explore Chikpet properly in
Bangalore, you get everything here for exact same price. Bandhini is most
favoured type of dresses. Block printing using natural colours is something to
explore.
We purchased some clothes in Jaisalmer. We found it to be fine,
authentic, decently priced. But I think it is as good as you bargain anywhere
else too.
Natural painting is basically made from Vegetables, fruits, plants and
metals like gold, silver, iron etc.,. It is not chemical based. It takes lot of
time & manual labour.
Block printing is basically, design print made using wooden blocks. It
is a manual work. For example to print a peacock, there will be an outline
block in one colour and 7 other block to fill in 7 more colours. Between each
block printing he has to leave time to dry up. So it is manual labour and time
consuming.
Overall we felt we missed to do some more shopping of Camel Bone
artefacts. It was really beautiful and unique. Jaisalmer is one of the best
places. The palatial hotels but still cheap stay there, remind me of Las Vegas
in the making. But is most distant and arduous journey to reach there. May be going
& returning by train from Jodhpur is better option than by car.
Sprinkle of History
Rajasthan trip will make you proud Indian. There is so much rich
history and heritage out there. They were great warriors, yet peace loving.
When brotherly feuds erupted, they established new kingdom expanding into the
vast unexplored deserts, yet developing unique, unmatched, long lasting
monuments proclaiming their cultural interests and peaceful nature.
One baffling thing is, only Rana Prathap Simha challenged the Moghuls. Rest
all made peaceful pacts, gave their daughters in marriage alliance with the
Moghuls. But in return, Moghuls only deployed these Kings as generals to fight
for them at frontiers across Bengal, Deccan, Afghan boarder etc.,
One stark example is that of Jai Simha, who founded the city of Jaipur
which is named after him. He stands so tall with his varied persona of a great
commander, administrator, strategist, scientist & keen interest in
astrology, under whose guidance the great Jantar-Mantar is constructed. But under guidance from Aurangazeb he invaded Deccan with a very
large army to suppress Shivaji raising. He was the most able and trusted
general commander for the Moghul. But after Aurangazeb’s untimely death, his
sons attacked him & his kingdom for treachery! What a way to payback for
the loyalty!
If only these great kings of Rajputana had joined hands together to
fight out the Moghuls instead of subjugating themselves to their superiority
without challenging, history would have been different! How i wish it were!
