Where the heck are we now?: Jodphur, the Blue City...Part 1

We left Udaipur by taxi to drive the 4 or 5 hour trip to our next stop Jodphur. The driver didn’t quite know where he was going, stopped for everything but we finally arrived. We went through many dusty towns and mountain roads to get there...

Our accommodation in Jodphur is a homestay located in a family compound of five large homes owned by 5 brothers who are direct descendants of the Maharajahs of Jodphur, so we were staying with royalty!

We had a huge suite on the second floor with our own balcony, it was very comfortable there...

This was our sitting area...

The family were very welcoming and helpful to us during our stay and we enjoyed many conversations about their lives and ours. Three generations of the family live in the same house and at supper time we would be joined by one of the brothers and his wife so it was a very interesting stay.

There were lots of things to see in Jodphur so we started with the Royal Palace which unlike the others we have visited is fairly new and modern.

Taj Umaid Bhawan Palace is the last royal palace built before the Independence of India. Its foundations were laid in 1929 and completed in 1943. Four years after the palace’s completion, the country became a free sovereignty. Independent India had no royal kingdoms, only their lavish homes remained.

It is spread over 26 acres of lush grounds including 15 acres of well-kept lush gardens. The royal residence has 347 rooms, an exquisite throne chamber, an exclusive private meeting hall, a Durbar Hall to meet the public, a vaulted banquet hall, private dining halls, a ball room, a library, an indoor swimming pool and spa, a billiards room, four tennis courts, two unique marble squash courts and long passages.

Only the museum is open to the public with one wing housing the royal quarters and the other the royal hotel with the cheapest rooms costing over 700.00 a night!

Beautiful hallways...

A sketch of one of the fancy bathrooms...

Also very well kept gardens, no litter here!

Our next stop was Mehrangarh Fort which is one of the largest forts in India. Built around 1460 by Rao Jodha, the fort is situated 410 feet (125 m) above the city and is enclosed by imposing thick walls. It is very impressive as you approach and looks like it is built on solid rock.

There are a number of impressive gates to enter as you approach the fort...

And it is all uphill!

The fort has been quite impenetrable with very heavy doors, there are even spikes on them to prevent the elephants from ramming them...

Also just inside the gates is this plaque with imprints of hands...

This is a very important monument which reminds us of a quite sad ritual called Sati which was a ritual practiced in ancient India. When a woman is widowed, she commits suicide by jumping into the funeral pyre of her husband. The women who committed Sati are considered as a Goddess thereafter. This memorial is a series of hand prints by those women who performed Sati ritual at Mehrangarh Fort. As each woman exit the Mehrangarh fort following her husband's funeral procession, she dips her hand in vermilion and makes a mark on the Fort wall. Later these hand prints are preserved as a mark to remember those women who either voluntarily or involuntarily sacrificed their lives. Very sad...

Each fort we have visited has been different and this one was as well, the architecture seemed to be in a number of styles and colours...

Smoking the hookah...

Enjoying the sun...

The intricate lacework in the white marble was incredible...

Some details...

Lots of colour...

The city views...

Here you can see why Jodphur is called “ The Blue City “

The districts of Jodhpur that were painted light blue were generally where the highest cast of Hindus live. This high cast is referred to as "Brahmins" and traditionally consists of priests and town elders. The Brahmin class could afford the copper sulphate lime washes and applied it to their houses which were concentrated in just one area of the city. This was done as a protection against termites and also for cooling. The color blue in India is commonly associated with royalty and power as well.

As in the other cities we have visited thus far in India there are many majestic buildings and this was another one we visited in Jodphur. It is often referred to as a miniature Taj Mahal. It is located just below the fort...

The Jaswant Thada is a cenotaph buikt by Maharaja Sadar Singh in 1899 in memory of his father. And serves as a crematorium ground for the royal family.

The mausoleum is built out of intricately carved sheets of marble. These sheets are extremely thin and polished so that they emit a warm glow when illuminated by the sun. It is quite a beautiful and very peaceful location.