January 30th Out in the Middle of Nowhere

With a few of the men whining mightily, we're up at 6 A.M. and out soon after. Man up, I say. We need to miss the heavy traffic around Agra, as we head to Jaipur where it's jewels, jewels and more jewels. Joan and I are rubbing our hands together. First stop out of town is Fatehpur Sikr built by the Mughal Emperor Akbar as a home for himself and his wives, each of whom had her own palace. One was a Christian, one a Muslim and one a Hindu. Equal opportunity husband. We continue through the state of Uttar Pradesh to Rajasthan, coming to a place called Kalakho, a.k.a. the Middle of Nowhere. We pass through a busy market area and leave our tour bus for a 15-minute jeep ride on dirt roads so that we can reach our country resort. We all have spacious cabins, simply furnished but comfortable. I love the crisp nights once I get a second blanket on my bed. (I knew those thick long socks would come in handy on this trip.) We don't spend much time in our digs but there is a nice porch on which we sit one afternoon for an hour, enjoying the country air and the hills showing the wheat and mustard crops. It's spring. This afternoon's activity is a camel ride and I ponder whether I am really going to do it - those camels are tall and intimidating. There are not enough camels for all of us to ride at once because their owners bring them from surrounding villages and in some instances, it's too far to come. I am in a camel-drawn cart for the 20-minute ride. Our destination is a 10-family village that we see is fairly prosperous when we notice the modern tractor and other farm equipment and the number of children in school uniforms. Literacy rates for the country vary, but they are lower for females and lowest for non-urban females. Sujay is so happy to see the girls going to school. When we arrive, the village men are performing a ceremony featuring what we in yoga would call a Kirtan chant band. They are singing and playing prior to performing a marriage between their local Hindu deity and a rather sad-looking basil plant. One man danced at the end of the ceremony, eventually getting all of us to join in. It was great. My time for the camel ride came on the way back to the resort. Getting up and getting down are tricky, but the handlers know what they are doing. As we prepared to move off, my camel craned his neck WAY around and nibbled on my shoe a little. Yum yum. Okay, I admit I held my breath. Those teeth are huge. Later, we all sat around a bonfire asking questions about village life. Sujay, as usual, facilitates excellent conversation. Gosh that guy is high energy. Our thatched-roof cabins are not silent at night and we wait for the unseen little (I hope) critters to settle in. Joan falls asleep immediately but I stay awake to fret a little, looking around for areas of vulnerability where we might suffer invasion. Let's see: keep vigil or sleep? ZZZZZZZ