It was Almost Perfect

Shared Village Prayer Area for Hindus and Muslims

Jain Temple

Some of the 1440 Marble Pillars

Our Pool and Deck at Mountbatten Lodge

Fish in Mustard Sauce

Our Suite at Mountbatten Lodge

We were awakened at Shahpura Bagh by thunder, lightening and furious rain storm. As it was in California the drought was over in Rajasthan. Global warming has it plusses. We thought the rain would ruin our day, but it didn’t. The storm passed through and was over as quickly as it started.

We reluctantly checked out of the Shahpura Bagh. This was the 2^nd time we stayed there and it we totally enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and the village life. The hosts, Maya and Sat are incredibly warm and generous. We highly recommend a stop here for 2 days if you are ever in Rajasthan. One thing I wanted to mention is the prayer area in the village. If you look at the picture you can see the green (green is the color of Muslims) on the stone slab on the right had side of the picture. In this common shared area within the village both Muslims and Hindus pray. You often read about intercommunal violence between Hindu and Muslim, in this village there is none.

We left the village of Shahpura and Vijay drove us to our next stop. John who was accompanying us stayed at Maharani Bagh Hotel, we at a different one. Since his was first as we drove we stopped and checked him in. It was a soup kind of day, so we ate, I think for the first time, mulligatawny Soup. This soup is made from rice and Dal. When I was a child, I can remember my mother serving me Cambell’s Multilgwani Soup. This tasted nothing like that! Although thought of as Indian Soup and served in India, it was created by the British Raj and is not a historic India soup. It was tasty.

We then drove to a fabulous white marble Jain Temple at Ranakpur.  The drive took us on a windy curvy mountainous road. There were families of monkeys everywhere, just sitting on the guard rails watching us drive by them.

Jainism is a complete different religion from Hinduism. It is primarily based in India. I have never met a Jain, as far as I know a Jain in America. Years ago, we had visited this same temple. I was stoned out of my mind on Hashish, and it was quite an experience. The Temple complex is huge and still an active lively temple. Built in 1439 entirely of intricately carved white marble, it has 1440 pillars holding up the roof and domes. It is built on many levels with no guard rails. Being stoned I became disoriented and was sure I would fall. I didn’t. The gods I guess protected me. Because one is not permitted to wear or bring any leather into the temple, everyone had to remove their belts and shoes and walked silently in sox, constantly hiking up their pants.  This time I was stone cold sober and was able to enjoy this holy place in a much more relaxed manner, even though I took great care to navigate the various levels. This is a magnificent edifice, a highlight of any trip to India.

We then drove to the Mountbatten Lodge, a newly built hotel with only 4 guest suites. Our rooms were huge with a large outside sitting area and private pool. The food and drink here were excellent. For dinner they also served Mulligatawny Soup as a starter. This very intimate hotel is owned by the grandson of the Maharaja of Jodhpur. Reggie as he is known, and his wife joined us for drinks. The place would have been perfect with one glaring exception (which might be thought of as plus by some). It has no internet or even cellular connection. It is adjacent to a famous leopard sanctuary. The service here at the hotel is excellent, but with only 4 guest’s rooms, it would be difficult to overlook us. This is a very nice place, indeed.