The Blue city of Jodhpur is a magical place. From the impenetrable Mehrangarh Fort, high on a rocky outcrop to the colourful Brahmin blue homes, Jodhpur never ceases to amaze. Here are some of the site you will see when you visit India’s Blue City, Jodhpur.
Mehrangarh Fort
Mehrangarh Fort was built in the 1400s on a rocky hill in what is now the middle of Rajasthan. The fort’s imposing walls with turrets and watchtowers, surround a large palace and two lovely gardens. What makes this large fort impressive is its position, taking over the entire top of a large rock outcrop.
The main entrance is through a large, arched doorway with colourful frescoes on either side. At the fort’s rear entrance is another decorated gate but with a difference. This one has huge metal spikes on the doors. These were part of the fort security system which prevented enemy armies from sneaking into the fort. The soldiers typically rode elephants. Those elephants wouldn’t be able to fit through the gates without injuring themselves on the spikes.
Inside the fort you’ll find an opulent palace with many narrow passageways that lead to lavishly decorated rooms. They are coloured in gold and have lovely arched doorways and stained-glass windows. Some ceilings are covered in mirrors, others have Christmas ball-like ornaments hanging from them. There are bright cushions of the floors instead of chairs.
The rooms lead to open courtyards surrounded by skillfully carved windows, balconies and doors. Off to their sides are rooms displaying royal cradles which had very unusual designs. Another displays the elaborate Royal Palanquins (litters). It’s easy to imagine a Maharaja, dressed in bright clothes, being carried on a palanquin through the streets of Jodhpur.
The outer walls of the palace have more extravagant balconies and turrets that look onto the gardens and walkways. In some garden courtyards you have views of the Blue City below.
At one end of the grounds is a small Hindu temple where we were lucky to see a wedding ceremony. The bride and groom were dressed in bright, traditional clothes. The bride didn’t look very happy; in fact she looked terrified. Marriages in India are still often arranged and that may be the case for this one.
Blue City
Below the fort is the magical Blue City with a maze of narrow alleys leading off in all directions. Many of the buildings of this Old Town are painted bright azure blue, making this a very interesting neighbourhood. Originally, most of the blue buildings were home to people from the Brahmin caste who have been painting their homes this colour for many generations. Today, there are other castes living in this neighbourhood who have also painted their houses blue.
There are differing views on why the buildings are blue. The stories range from the blue being an insect repellent to providing natural cooling to the homes. Whatever the reason, it is a unique area to explore and makes for interesting pictures.
In addtion to the buildings, there are many doors that provide perfect photo opportunities.
It is a fascinating old town to explore, but we’ll admit, we expected more. We’ve captured the blue streets and homes that we could find, but there are also many buildings of other colours mixed in. We found those blue scenes that we expected when we visited Morocco’s Blue City, Chefchaouen. You can read about this city in our post Visit Chefchaouen.
Even if the streets weren’t as blue as we expected, we did find many other fascinating scenes in the city’s core. There’s an old clock tower in Old Town and a busy local market in the surrounding streets. It’s always a busy, hectic place where you can feel the buzz of the city. It’s a great place to people watch and we saw a few men wearing the traditional Rajasthani turbans.
As we were walking through the area, we happened to see two wedding processions. In both, the grooms were dressed in colourful traditional Rajasthani outfits and were riding horses that were adorned in jewels and sequined cloth. The grooms were surrounded by friends and families who were dancing and singing in the streets, accompanied by a group of musicians. It was so much fun, seeing the excitement in the family, and the dread in the grooms’ faces. We felt very fortunate to have seen these local customs first hand.
Stepped Tanks
Since Jodhpur is located on the edge of the Thar desert, water storage and distribution was a concern for Jodhpur. There are a few old water tanks in town. When they were built, most were designated for a specific caste. We found an interesting stepped tank that only the Brahmin caste was allowed to use. It has symmetrical steps leading down to the bottom so the water could be reached at any water level. These stepwells are common in Rajasthan and are usually very photogenic. Apparently, this stepwell has recently undergone renovation, but the slimy green water didn’t look at all appealing. Nearby, Gulab Sagar Tank is a large man-made lake that was used for general water consumption. It’s surrounded by brick walls that were built during the 1700s. It was probably a lovely site in the day, but when we were there it was another green slimy mess.
Jaswant Thada.
On a small hill near the fort is a mausoleum called Jaswant Thada. Built in 1906 for the Maharaja, it’s a lovely marble cenotaph with delicate carvings on the walls. The roof is edged by domed chhatris with a temple-style pillar at the centre. The inside is also marble with a large open room with marble walls and floor. The Maharaja’s family are still cremated at this site and smaller memorials are built on the grounds. The best part of visiting this site though, were the views of the fort.
Haveli Hotel
In historic Jodhpur, money was made by trading sandalwood, dates copper and opium. We stayed in an old blue Haveli in the old city, right below the fort. Havelis are traditional, ornately decorated mansions, typical in Rajasthan. Our room had one of the craziest decors we’ve ever seen. We think it was one of the opium dealer’s Havelis because of the dark, heavy furniture and wooden accents. We felt like we were staying in part of the history. It was a great, unique stay. The best part though, was the view of the fort from the hotel’s restaurant.
On the bus ride to our next destination we were lucky to see another wedding procession go by on the street. This one was a group of women walking behind a band. We’re not sure which one was the bride as they were all dressed in very colourful saris.
Pushkar
West of Jodhpur is the holy town of Pushkar. The small, dusty town is set around Pushkar Lake, surrounded by small hillocks. The lake is sacred to Hindus. Legend says, the god Rama dropped a lotus flower and created Pushkar Lake. Pushkar means ‘blue lotus’ so Rama named the lake Pushkar.
Hindus come to Pushkar Lake to bathe in its waters, thereby attaining salvation. The lake’s edge is a series of ghats (steps) and temples. Since it was off-season when we were in Pushkar, the area was very quiet. There were a few pilgrims at the lake, but not many.
In the evenings there are usually Aartis performed at the water’s edge. We did see two ceremonies, but they were very underwhelming compared to what we have seen in Varanasi, Haridwar and Rishikesh.
Beyond the lake is an Indian tourist market selling religious trinkets, flower offerings as well as t-shirts and clothing. Overall, we weren’t overly enamored with Pushkar. Maybe it’s because it was very quiet in the off-season, or maybe it’s not as fascinating as other sites we’ve seen in the country. We’re glad we visited, but don’t think it’s worth going out of your way to visit.
You can read more of our adventures in India here.
Coming up next: Jaipur – The Pink City
For extra pics from this trip go to Gallery/Western India. For extra pictures from other blogs go to Gallery at monkeystale.ca
To read about more of our adventures go to Destinations.
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