Jodphur

One question that we kept asking ourselves was why? Why did they expend so much energy and money building enormous forts in middle of a vast, barren scrub desert. Who else would've wanted it?

Jodhpur was amazing though, our first impression was the crowded railway ticket office but it was all uphill from there. Our accommodation was in a beautiful 500 year old haveli with air-con, excellent food and cracking views of the fort. 

 

We headed out into the old city at about 10 and after a couple of hours of serious heat, sight-seeing and attention deflection we were knackered and found an air-conned shop that had cold Coke. The revival continued with some chocolate eclairs and we felt strong enough to tackle the monstrous fort. After picking out the English audio guide we spent a couple of hours marvelling at the miracle of masonry.

It really was one of those forts that nerdy little kids spent hours ogling at in books, before they move onto FHM. Towering towers, mountainous walls and spikes on the gate to stop elephants bashing them down. It also had delicate aspects, with ornate windows carved into the stone, a marble dais where coronations took place, beautifully decorated living rooms and a museum displaying weapons, embroidery and those box things that maharajas used to travel around in. It felt just like a family outing except without the arguments and with someone who appreciated jokes about Japanese tourists. 

 

The next morning I did have an argument, with a man with a disarming smile who managed to take 100 rupees off me and managed not to give me 100 rupees of credit on my phone. Rory dragged me away from my hopeless efforts and off to Umaid Palace. In the '20s the maharaja decided that a fort just wouldn't look good enough in Tatler India and decided to build a palace a few kilometres down the road.

It is now part museum, part hotel as well as being the official residence of the maharaja's ancestors. The museum was fairly well done but we were amused at how well appreciated the maharaja was, it was almost as though he'd funded the whole thing.

His memorial to his dead wife was very impressive though. Made from marble so fine that you can nearly see through it, it doesn't actually need windows because the walls let so much light through. It had beautiful gardens and great views of the fort, so he clearly loved his wife very much. 

 

Manners and I perfected our haggling routine for the tuk-tuks, caught one into the middle of town and bought some rahlly 'traveller' shirts, the thin cotton ones that look ridiculous but are actually really comfy. Then it was back to the havelli for supper and an early night.

Rajasthan Overview

We left BCS in a slight panic on Monday evening last week and caught the overnight bus to Delhi. Then we spent the day wandering around the city, saw Parliament and the Presidential Palace where the recent BRICS talks were carried out.

Then jumped on the overnight train to Jodphur, caught a tuk-tuk to our havelli and explored the city. Over the two days we checked out the old city, the fort, Umaid palace and a maharaja's memorial to his late wife, a kind of mini Taj Mahal.

Then there was a five hour bus ride to Jaisalmer, a beautiful, remote city built around a fort whose claim to fame these days is running camel safaris. So we sourced a bloke who had some blokes who could pay some blokes who would take us out into the Thar Desert on a couple of camels. It was a brilliant thing to do, it sounds really cliched and touristy but I'd forgotten how amazing it is sleeping out under the stars in the desert. Then we checked out Jaisalmer fort, which is still in full use, with people living, working, eating and doing everything else inside the walls. Not quite as big walls, massive towers, full on cool fort as Jodphur but just as interesting.

After pottering around for a bit longer we jumped on a bus and slept the night away to Jaipur. Despite it being part of the Golden Triangle our first impressions were slightly underwhelming but after a bit of time by a pool and a visit to Amber Fort we left the city with warmer feelings.

A 18 hour bus brought us back up to Shimla, it would have been a fair amount longer but our bus driver got high and then sped up the Himalayas with tyres squealing centimetres from the edge of 100 foot precipices. All good fun and at least we got there quickly.

I'll write up each city properly soon but for those who have proper jobs or loads of kids and then here's the bulletin.

Cheers

Max

The Daily Routine

Alarms aren't a particularly nice way to wake up, doorbells are slightly less persistent but still aren't conducive to a gentle rousing (being woken up at 4 o'clock by Rory generously donating last nights supper to the toilet bowl is probably third on the list though).

Each morning at 7.15 we're woken up by Suresh, or sweet, sweet Suresh as Rory has nicknamed him, at our door. He is there to pick up our empty food pot. 

15 minutes later he returns with a full food pot and the day begins. By this point we have made our beds, filled our bucket (providing there's water) and started heating it, I cannot tell you how good and virtuous this makes me feel.

We then shower, dress and head down for chapel at 8.15. There we sing two hymns (we're trying to get Jerusalem into the hymn book), say a prayer, listen to a reading and then head back to our room. Then depending on how enthusiastic we'll head out to period 1. As often happens we're still waking up and period 1 slips by but then we head out and carpe diem (not sure if that works in a sentence).

Lessons include sitting in (just watching the teacher teach), actively learning which we do as little as possible, (except in politics) and teaching. Teaching varies widely, our standard job is 35 minutes with the junior school boys teaching a mixture of French, Spanish (I learn the 6 phrases I'm going to teach them from Rory on the way down to the lesson) and whatever the teacher has planned. Its amazing how receptive the boys are to something new. I'm sure I was never that excited about lessons, they've even begged us for extra French lessons. However this excitement isn't all constructive and I have become exceptionally adept at propelling small pieces of chalk at the back of small Indian boys' heads as they turn around to talk to their mate. As 1950s as it sounds it works, and as yet I haven't gone as far as throwing the board duster, a tactic employed by one of dad's teachers in prep school.

Rory and I also had the pleasure of teaching elocution to a class of 15 year olds preparing for a reading competition. My mother will be shocked as she claims I'm utterly incoherent at the best of times but I do at least pronounce 'v' as a 'v' and not a 'w' as is the done thing here. After finally getting them to accept this, the word 'Wagnerian' then caused significant confusion. The piece was from 'My Fair Lady' and Rory does a pompous Prof Higgins voice very well while I've attempted to explain the irony and set the scene of gender discrimination in Britain at the time. Being a boys school the latter was far easier than the former.

I also taught maths to Year 6 in the last period of the week when attention spans weren't at their best and have a weekly slot teaching Huygens principle to the Upper 6. All good fun.

Lessons continue until 3 o'clock, then there is tea and then games. Cricket being the main one but wall-climbing is also big at the moment and there is a small gym where we can shift large amounts of iron about, and box (I haven't actually boxed since being well beaten by a boy two years younger than me, a foot shorter than me and two thirds my weight, but I'll try again as soon as the ego has recovered).

After games there is first prep, in which we normally learn Hindi but is also a useful internet time. Then at 7.45 we have supper in the dining hall with the boys. Supper and lunch are good, but fairly repetitive. Rice and dal, occasionally with chicken or lamb and various veggie dishes such as alu gobi, all mopped up with countless chappattis. Its no longer the beer that's contributing to the small bulge above my belt, it's now officially a chappatti belly. After supper we normally hang out with the boys for a but and then retire to our room for a movie or bed.

We're off to Rajasthan tonight for a week, Jodphur, Udaipur and Jaipur our targeted spots so I'll have plenty to write about, and plenty of photos to upload when I get back. I'll also try and get some photos of the school and the classes to put up.

Cheers