Jodhpur was chaotic. We were aiming for the Mehrangarh Fort, but the maps on our smart phone took us through a bustling market area with really narrow roads. The Santa Fe is anything but really tiny, and there were a few tight squeezes, but we came out on the other side without incident. The fort itself was magnificent. The walls were incredibly tall, even for a fort, and the security was provided by members of the Indian Army, which was mildly puzzling. I know Jodhpur is an Indian Army base and houses a few squadrons of the Air Force too, but I thought using military forces to protect forts in these modern, post-monarchy, democratic times was a little passé.
The fort has a lot more going for it too, apart from its security personnel. Past the forbidding walls you can witness the élan and panache of Rajasthani royal quarters. Three palaces (or mahals) can be found inside the fort — the Moti Mahal, Sheesha Mahal, and Phool Mahal — and each is mesmerising in its unique blend of beauty and opulence. There’s also a large museum in there, which has all sorts of artefacts that the culturally inclined will enjoy. Walking through the fortress, you feel like growing a big curly moustache, wearing a traditional safa (turban) and strapping on a wicked sword and shield. It’s like being transported back in time, and somehow being in that environment gets your blood pumping. So much so that I, for one, wanted to spontaneously yell stuff like ‘for honour, for glory!’ and twist my imaginary sword around in flourish. By far the coolest part of the fort, though, is the cannonball indentations from back when the fort was under siege, which you can still find in one of its seven gates.
After ooh-ing and aah-ing our way around the fort, we hit the road again, with Pushkar Lake as our next destination. We went down NH 89 and past the village of Merta, and saw an incredible sight a slight distance out from Pushkar. It was a quarry where red sandstone was being mined, and, luckily for us, it had been temporarily abandoned. We drove in to check it out, with the uneven terrain not fazing the car one bit. The sheer walls of red and a little reservoir of water caused quite a contrast, and it was interesting to see what a quarry looked like up close. We couldn’t explore it for too long, however, as we saw hard-hat donning workers starting to re-enter the premises, and took that as our cue to skedaddle.
