Out In The Blue 3

The Kids Are Alright

So the family who live across the lane from my guest house are so sweet, and I’ve been chatting to a few of the kids, who are keen to speak English, and have been teaching me a little Hindi on the way through.

Their dad, Zigarh, is a rickshaw driver, and they have a little shop that they run out of their home, frequented by those few tourists who walk past on their way to the fort up the hill (it’s not the main route), or by locals who stop by for a chai or instant coffee, or a snack.

Life on our corner, from outside the shop.

I go to the shop for a late brekky every morning, and they now invite me to sit inside, as there’s no shade outside most of the time, and they like me hanging out with them. I like sitting in there too, and watching the customers from the inside, for a change, who come to their little hole-in-the-wall and get served by one of the three younger girls in the family, or one of their cousins.

It’s amazing who turns up.

Sometimes the customers look at me in disbelief in there, especially if I’m holding the fort. Sometimes tourists ask me if it’s my shop.

There’s five girls in the family, the two older girls live with their aunt’s family, and Shaheen, the twelve year old, kept telling me how much she’s been dying to go to a new games mall, as it was expensive and none of them had ever been. She also told me how much she was dying to buy a new dress, and kept showing me beautiful traditional Indian dresses on my phone.

Well, even the young ones have an eye for it, they can just tell when they’ve found a softie like me, and it really didn’t take me very long to crack.

Shaheen eventually asked me straight out if I’d buy her a dress, and I said yes. I mean, how could I resist that cute face? And saying yes to Shaheen exclusively would be a major slight on her sisters, so before I knew it all the girls were about to be treated bigtime, compliments of me.

And I was very happy about it, of course.

As it was the last day of the Diwali holiday, and to provide some income to Zigarh, we all headed out in his rickshaw one afternoon for a family outing (without mum, who needed to stay in the shop).

I’m not sure who was more excited, the kids or me.

Zigarh doin’ his thing

First up we went to an optician that Zigarh knew, so I could buy some new reading glasses, as mine had finally snapped the night before.

I tested lenses, then chose a frame, the optician then grabbed some generic lenses of the right magnification, traced the shape of the frame onto them, and then filed them into shape on a glass-grinder.

Then he clicked them into place in the frame, glued them, and sanded and buffed up the edges. Smart, and quick. The glasses are sturdy, good quality, and we're cheap.

Then we drove to a place called Mastiii Zone, which is basically a large shed full of rides, indoor activities and arcade games for kids. It looks all glossy and nice, but it was expensive, and turned out to be a bit of a ripoff. But the kids loved it anyway, even though they ran through their Mastiiicredit pretty quickly.

Left middle right, Shaheen, Mafu and Sonam about to hit the zone.

Zigarh and I left them to it, and went off for a chai. That’s him on the left. Eventually the girls called us to come and collect them, and we watched them use up their final credit on sit-down driving games and negotiating those fluffy toy-grabbing machines.

Kitsch is universal, unfortunately.

Luckily, even though Mafu dropped her little fluffy dog right at the end, one of the boys who worked in there just opened the machine and handed it to her anyway. Sweet.

As I was not into the girls asking me to buy them things all day, which both of the younger girls had demonstrated their uninhibited propensity to do, I told them right at the beginning what their Oleś credit limit was for the day. They could decide themselves how to spend it, but weren't allowed to ask for more. They each got a certain amount for a dress, or whatever else they wanted to buy.

Sitting waiting for the kids as they shop. It reminded me of shopping with my own girls in the city, when they were that age. I always appreciated a ‘dad seat,’ where dads who’d finally reached their shopping limit could sit, while their excited girls shopped and never dropped.

This time it was a strategic absence on my part. If I went into any shops with the girls they’d immediately be overcharged for everything, as I’m regarded as a stinking rich foreigner.

Which I am, in relative terms.

Well, relative to this beautiful family at least.

As it turns out, the girls needed dress advice from their mum, who wasn’t with us, so they decided to shop with her another day. That was fine by me.

It’s been so nice to hang out with this beautiful family, the kids are really sweet and really normal, almost always nice to each other. But a couple of times I’ve also seen them get mean and screechy, swear-ey, name-calley, and slappy. You know, normal sibling stuff.

But they were super grateful to me at the end of our day out, of course.

Blue City art

Another rally, from a rooftop

Jaswant Thada

Jodhpur has its own little Taj Mahal, Jaswant Thada, which is only about a 20 min stroll from Mehranghar fort’s main entrance. It was built as a memorial to Maharaja Jaswant Singh II in 1899, and the area has since become a memorial to all of Jodhpur’s royal rulers.

The Maharaja himself, looking over his city.

The complex itself adjoins a beautifully restored lake, which forms part of the Rao Jodha Desert Park, a once-denuded nature reserve which, over the past two decades, has been planted out with flora endemic to the area. This has naturally led to the recovery of the lake system, it now retains way more water than it used to, and, as a result, birds have returned there en masse at certain times of the year.

The main building in the complex is really beautiful, a huge white marble structure with exquisite carvings and stonework.

Yeah, yet another beautiful building, it’s so bloody tiring isn’t it.

Nah, only joking. Each of these places are stunningly unique, and interesting in their own right. Especially in the flesh.

Great game, playing chasey around the wheel. I almost joined them, but it wasn't the right place.

Each sculpture is a memorial for a member of the royal family

Later I went to another ancient stepwell, Toorji ka Jhalra, where folks in the old city would once go to collect water. Way back in the day. It’s a cool shady spot, and the geometrically designed stepped walls are striking. The water is even full of fish, a good sign of the water quality.

Time Is Deserting Me

I’ve spent a long time wandering around this city, and somehow nearly a week has passed. As usual there’s an infinite number of things to see, including, of course, a seemingly endless stream of strikingly beautifully dressed women.

Oranges, pinks and reds rather dominate these parts, a brilliant contrast to the pale desert sands.

The lot for many women in India

Oodles of dried fruit

The thread colours are no surprise

Traditional Rajasthani lassis come complete with dried fruits and nuts

Time moves, it never ceases, and so, with downward-cast eyes, I’ll soon move on. I’ve become so close to my little family.

The Pushkar Mela awaits me, the famous camel fair and art and cultural festival, culminating in the auspicious Kartika Purnima full moon, a day when tens of thousands of Hindu pilgrims gather at sunrise at the ghats of the only temple to Brahma in the whole of India, and purify themselves in the sacred waters of the lake.

The wonders here are omnipresent.

And no, they never cease❤️

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