Travels Through Rajasthan – From Delhi to Udaipur

I arrived home from spending five nights in the Australian desert in an Aboriginal community called Walungurru with less than 24 hours to repack my bag and board my flight to Delhi, India.  I have wanted to travel to India ever since seeing a documentary of photographer Steve McCurry using the last ever roll of Kodachrome film. In 2010 he took 36 portraits many of which were in India.  In contrast to today’s digital cameras where you can take as many photos as you want, the eminent Mr McCurry had only 36 frames in which to tell a story.

My trip to India in September 2019, was one that I had been wanting to take for almost 10 years.  Finally, with a group of 8 other women including my sister and one of my best friends, I collaborated with Jean at GlamGirlsTravels for her Princess Diary Tour of Rajasthan, offering a photography workshop and doing portrait sessions of the women on the tour. Over twelve days, we travelled through Rajasthan to many of its famous cities – from Delhi, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Jaipur, Ranthambhore, Agra and finally Varanasi before returning back to Delhi.

 

You do not travel if you are afraid of the unknown, you travel for the unknown that reveals you with yourself. Ella Mailart

 

I was incredibly moved by my journey within India, moved by the people I met, and by an incredible country.  I wondered how to make sense of who I am amongst it all.  I had a mixture of emotions, of contradictions, of contrasts, of feeling insignificant against a vast and rich history, and the complexity of issues that will determine India’s future.  I found it hard to put words to my photos, to contemplate, to process and to make sense of all that I experienced.  One of my friends said that my soul had to catch-up with what my body had experienced.  I like that.

So finally, after much contemplation, over 2,000 photos reviewed, discussions had with friends and family, I’ve finally found space in both my mind and my time to pull together this blog.

It’s also taken me a while to decide how to write a blog about a trip where we saw and did so much – 8 cities in 12 days!  So after chatting to a few friends, I’ve decided to write about it in three chapters mostly focussing on my photos but also writing about my experiences.  My goal was to photograph the people, colour, and spirit of India.  Thanks to all of those who have asked to see the photos of my travels and to learn more about what we did – I hope I don’t disappoint and that you enjoy my photos and ramblings.

No two people who make the same journey return with the same life experience.

So this is my India; the India I saw through my eyes and lens and experienced with my heart.

 

 

Delhi – city of old and new

Its 6am, my sister and I head down to the pool for a morning swim, something I love to do on holidays (if there’s a pool nearby).  It is magical, tranquil, relaxing.  A few hours later, sweat drips down my back and I’m walking through Chandni Chowk, the bazaar in the heart of Old Delhi.

The markets are full of spices, dried fruit, silver jewelry and vivid saris, while the narrow side streets are crowded with tiny shops selling essential oils, stationery and traditional Indian sweets.   We explore them for a few hours, savouring the ambiance, noise, colour, smells, spices, flowers.  The sound of Tuks Tuks beep beep beeping as they weave their way through narrow streets, narrowly missing my feet, while women and men walk past carrying all sorts of things on their heads.

The air is thick, hot and sweet as all manner of spices fill my nostrils – cardamon, along with incense.  I am in heaven.  I look around at everything I see;  excitement runs through my veins and I’m in love.  At this moment I know I will return to India and this won’t be the first and last time I see her.

 

 

Above left, is the entrance to a wonderful jewelry shop in the markets.  A marvelous thing happened when were there.  Hearing our accents and realising we were Australian’s, the shop owner proudly pulled out a photo of himself with Australia’s 27th Prime Minister, Julia Gillard.  Ms Gillard had been in the shop on an official visit to India when she was Prime Minister to buy Christmas presents for her family.  Love how connections to home come in surprising ways.   Above right, is our Rickshaw driver who was happy to pose for photos with me.

 

 

These markets have been around for more than three centuries and were once visited by merchants from Turkey, China, and Holland.  We wandered around the markets tasting street food, talking with people, walking through the narrowest of lanes with more traffic than should be possible, buying fresh jasmine and rose bracelets with an intoxicating aroma (thanks Jean), getting stuck in a Tuk Tuk traffic jam, waving back at kids smiling and waving at us, noticing the complicated dance of a busy city with people going about their daily life.

People walking with parcels wrapped in white linen, while booksellers, food sellers, spice sellers all line the streets.  We notice people sleeping in quiet corners or by the road, lots of stray dogs, a few monkeys. Its a kind of ordered chaos.

 

 

Above left:  Wedding saris encrusted with silver and gold. On the right, a block of ice is delivered on pushbike to the shops nearby.  It was almost ridiculous to see this given the temperature was in the mid to high 30’s (celsius) and the humidity was really high.  I wonder how long the ice lasts.

 

 

The moustache is very popular in India with a long history dating back to the 16th Century.  We saw some magnificent examples throughout our trip.  This man kindly posed for me in the markets.

 

 

Orange marigolds are everywhere. This shrine sits on a wall in Chandni Chowk, while the man on the right looks a little like Freddy Mercury….

 

 

India’s largest mosque, Jama Masjid.

 

 

Our first stop though is to India’s largest mosque, Jama Masjid.  It was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan between 1650 and 1656AD.  The courtyard pictured above can accommodate 25,000 worshippers and occupies 408 square feet! It is an incredible place to visit.  The deep apricot and terracotta colour of the tiles stand out against the white marble.  A call to prayer happens while we are there and it is such a beautiful sound.  Red kites fly overhead and from the top of this building, you can look down and see the start of Chandi Chowk.

 

 

Above:  detail of the Mosque tiles and children running on carpets that ran the length of the building.

 

 

Above: A man takes a moment to pray at Jama Masjid.

Visiting Gandhi ‘s Memorial was a moment to saviour and to focus on a man who inspired civil and human rights movements across the world, fighting for freedom.

 

 

Humayun’s Tomb (below) was built in the mid-16th Century. It’s a complex of buildings built as the Mughal Emperor Humayun’s tomb, commissioned by Humayun’s wife Hamida Banu Begum in 1562 CE, and designed by Mirak Mirza Ghiyath, a Persian architect. It was the first garden-tomb on the Indian subcontinent and is the first great example of a Mughal garden tomb.  It was the inspiration for several other famous monuments including the Taj Mahal.  The complex was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993.

We arrived in the late afternoon with the sun – a perfect time to use the golden hour for photos (and the heat of the day thankfully starts to subside).

 

 

Udaipur – city of lakes.  After the chaos of Delhi, Udaipur is a welcome change of scenery and pace.  Each city we visit is incredibly different to the one before.  While Delhi is crowded, Udaipur is wide open spaces, mountains, lakes and sky.  It’s the place to slow down and relax.  For film aficionados, the James Bond movie Octopussy was filmed here in 1982, and the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (one of my faves) was also filmed here.

 

 

We stayed in the most incredible hotel – the Fateh Prakash Palace located on the shores of Pichola Lake and looking out to The Lake Palace.

 

 

Above:  a man sits in the window at Udaipur’s City Palace and below are interior scenes at the Palace including the Blue Room, frescos and art works.

 

 

An afternoon was spent walking around Udaipur outside the city palace walls.  People and animals alike were happy to pose for me.  My goal for this trip was to photograph the people of India.  Before leaving, I really didn’t know how this would go, but I found that Indian people are really open, friendly and happy to have their photo taken and were great to photograph.

 

 

Udaipur was founded in 1567, and is also called the ‘Venice of the East’ because of its beautiful lakes.  After an afternoon cruise on the lake, I agree – it really was reminiscent of Venice.   The Lake is fringed with hills, palaces, havelis, ghats and temples.

 

All photos © Kris Ashpole

 

I asked my soul 'What is Delhi'?. She replied 'the world is the body and Delhi is its life'. Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib

 

I hope you enjoy these photos and that they remind you of your last trip to India or give you inspiration to put her on your travel list.  Love to hear your thoughts.

Watch this space for my upcoming blogs in this series.  The next one will be on the three J’s – Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, and Jaipur.  Visit my home page here to subscribe so you’ll be notified of when these are published.

With love and light,

Kris xx