Jodhpur Mehrangahr Fort, Monument and then on to Pushkar

13th September 2018

An earlier start today with the driver picking us up at the hotel at 8.30 am, checked out and ready to undertake our morning visit to the landmark of Jodhpur, the Mehrangahr Fort which was the residence of the Maharajas until India gained independence.

Our guide is waiting for us along the way, and we arrive at the fort before the large crowds do, although there already quite a few people there.

Mehrangahr Fort overlooking the old walled city

Looking up from the carpark

Main Entrance Gate

Once inside the gate our guide purchased the entry tickets and then provided us with a bit of information about the Fort before starting the tour. This Fort/castle was the residence of the Maharaja's until India gained Independence in 1947, when Maharajahs all over the country had their powers revoked. Some sort of financial settlement was reached and in this case the Maharajah built a new Palace and the Royal Family now reside there.

The new Palace can be seen in the distance from the Fort

This particular fort was the home of the Maharajah for 38 generations, and was built over a period of several hundred years as new Maharajahs added to the structure. Fortunately, we do not have to climb to the top of the fort, as a lift has been installed to take us to one of the upper levels.

The Foundation Stone was laid in 1459

The view down over the old town is quite spectacular

Old Jodhpur is known as the Blue City. It was not obvious why when we were down on the ground level in the city, but it is obvious when you look down on the city. Blue is the colour of the Brahmins, the highest caste on Indian Society (They are the Priests). They lived close to the fort and painted their houses blue, over time others followed the colour scheme.

Crucial to survival when under invasion was to have a reliable water supply. The castle had a capstan system whereby water could be elevated to the very top of the castle for storage by winding buckets of water up on a man operated captstan wheel

Located in the castle this wheel was turned by manpower lifting buckets of water up from the ground level using rope wound around the wheel below

Canons were mounted around the walls of the fort.

After the fort was acquired by the Government it started to fall into disrepair as the Government couldn't afford to maintain it. The Maharaja stepped back in and they agreed to establish a Trust to manage the Fort and surrounds from then on. Trustees include the Royal Family and Government.

The Fort is now a museum and whilst it is in very good condition, there is a lot of restoration work going on. The main feature of the castle is the wonderful carved red sandstone from which it is constructed. The intricacy of the carvings is amazing, as is the condition it is in.

In the old part of the castle there are many facades like this

Inside the castle there is a multitude of rooms, meeting places and courtyards that are filled with artifacts from the rule of this Dynasty of Maharajahs. Here are some photos of some of them.

The bedroom of one of the Marajahs

A private room where the maharajah entertained his guest (no women allowed other than dancing girls)

This was the Maharajah's portable office. Made of solid teak it could be dismantled, transferred to wherever an important meeting was to take place and could be reassembled for the meeting

On a visit to England one of the later Maharajah's liked this spiral staircase, so ordered one for his castle

Thoughout the castle there were displays dedicated to modes of transport, including cradles for transport on elephants, sedan chairs, weapons that were used in battle, clothing, etc

Elephant top transport with the maharajah under the umbrella and the fan operator in front

Sedan chair for the Queen. She could not show her face and had to communicate through the small square of gold gauze to her female escort or eunuch who would then pass on her message

Some wall paintings of the era

Miniature art is one of Rajasthan's famous crafts, and a school has been set up in the castle to ensure that young people are taught to carry on this tradition.

There was so much to see, but eventually we had to move on, and the path back down to the main entrance is long and tortuous and would been a ver good first line of defence.

Once back outside the Fort, we are taken to a white marble monument building that is built on the site of the Royal crematorium, by the son of one of the Maharajah's in his Father's honour.

Inside the Monument Building

The grounds are beautifully kept

The Old City wall can be seen from the Monument terrace

It is now time to leave Jodhpur and drive to Pushkar, our destination for tonight. Pushkar is a Holy town and based on advice we have been given, is totally vegetarian and there is no alcohol allowed.

Off onto the bumpy roads we have about a 4 hour drive ahead of us. It is now 11.30 am, so hopefully we will be there by 4pm. It is another few hours of seeing how people live and it is very interesting how much the local sandstone plays such an important role in construction. As you approach towns, there is always a number of stone cutting operations, like the one below located near the town providing their main building material.

It also makes pretty good fences, and walls

A quarry near Pushkar

A couple of tractor mechanics at work in a little village we pass through

As we approach Pushkar, we are back in hilly terrain and a bit of greenery.

We are staying at a Westin Resort and Spa, which is not actually in the main town of Pushkar, but about 7 km out of town. Our local guide meets us on the way in and guides us to the hotel, which once again is out in the sticks, but a very nice place.

Westin Pushkar

The room is very large and comfortable, and whilst the hotel is not very busy, at least there are a few more guest around than we saw at our hotel in Jodhpur. An added bonus, after a long trip on dry and dusty roads, was that they had a bar and cold beer was available.

The bar was a welcome sight

Not only was the information we were given about alcohol wrong, but the restaurant menu featured lots of meat dishes. We stuck with Indian food and had the best chicken tikka marsala I have ever had, complemented by one of the best Indian vegetable dishes. Being this far out of town may be a blessing.

Tomorrow we have a morning tour of Pushkar, before driving to Jaipur.