Even more pictures

View from the top of the Monsoon Palace.

Jagdish Temple-outside.

The carvings on Jadish Temple are amazing.

Handloom tribal operator in Shilgrim Craft Village.

Inside a Jain temple.

More pictures from Udaipur

The queen's room.  The red thing is a fan that works when someone pulls the rope that's attached.

The king's of old needed comfort when they visited the potty!  I want one!

Intricate tile/glass work in this room.

The peacock carries special significance here in India.  It represents beauty and you can find renderings of the peacock everywhere.

Tour guide: Have you ever seen a smiling lion?  Me: Nope.  TG: Look here this lion is smiling.  Do you know why?  Me: He must be a single lion.  If he was married he'd be crying!  TG: Laughing, yes you are correct!

Another kerosene fan in the queen's chambers.

Sarah, me, and Linda outside the palace.

Elephant carvings at the mandir.

The mandir.

Hmm.  To be an elephant or not to be an elephant!

June 25-28

June 25

We arrived in Udaipur last night.  The bus ride from Jodhpur was pretty uneventful, just long.  What should’ve been a 3-hour trip took 7 because of the road.  The road, although often travelled, is not maintained very well.  Also, it’s only a little bigger than 1 lane, so we had to constantly pull over for oncoming traffic.  And if we got stuck behind a tractor, we would have to wait to pass until the oncoming side was clear.  All in all, it just made me appreciate the roads in the cities more.

At the rest stop, we saw some piglets running around in the filth and a new building under construction.  It was interesting to see the assembly line process in place.  There were about 15 people, males and females, working.  Some were pouring sand into a mixer, some were pouring cement in, and some were adding water.  Then, on the other side, as the cement came out, it was passed along through the building and up to the roof where it was being used at that particular time.  I was surprised to see females working alongside the males, but I guess in the smaller villages and more remote areas, helping hands are helping hands, no matter what the gender.

Today was chock full of “stuff!”  The day began with a rooftop breakfast of muesli with yogurt and fruit.  Then, Sarah, Linda, and I hit the City Palace and museums for a guided tour.  Talk about some amazing paintings and carvings!  Some shopping and a cold mango drink followed.  Next was a boat ride around Lake Pichola with a stop on Jag Mandir.  Jag Mandir was built in 1622 and is supposed to be the inspiration for the Taj Mahal.  After disembarking, we jumped in a rickshaw to Lake Fateh Sagar for lunch with Sukie.  The Monsoon Palace was coming up and we all needed some energy and calories!  The rickshaw dropped us at the bottom of the mountain and we began the 4km hike up to the palace and to Sajjangarth Fort.  At the top we found they were filming a Bollywood movie.  The views from up here were absolutely incredible!  After losing track of time, we hopped in a rickshaw to a Havelli (forgot the name) for a cultural dance program.  The highlight of which was a lady dancing with 9 pots on her head.  These pots were used to carry water from the river to the villages before irrigation systems were set up.  In some villages, this practice continues, as there are no irrigation systems.  After a lakeside non-veg (Yay!) dinner, we took a quick night tour of Jagdish Temple and then went searching for some mithi pan. 

June 26

This morning, the plan is for an early breakfast and then a day trip to Jagdish Temple for some pictures and then a cable ride up to the top of another mountain for some more views of Udaipur. 

Udaipur is much cleaner and 10 degrees cooler than Jodhpur.  The people here are very trash conscious and there are actually trashcans everywhere.  In Jodhpur, finding a trashcan is like finding buried treasure!  The cooler weather and sheer number of cultural attractions make Udaipur a destination for lots of American and European backpackers as well as Indian families/tourists.  We saw a lot of both throughout the city and at each spot we visited.

We decided that since we had already seen the views from Monsoon Palace, we would skip the cable ride and do something else.  So, we walked around the city exploring and visiting different temples.  There is an interesting difference between Jain and Hindu temples.  The Jain temples tend to be more colorful and use a lot of color tiles or glass, whereas the Hindu temples rely on marble carvings for their elegance.  I don’t think either is better, but they were both very beautiful and wonderful to experience.

The last stop of the day before lunch was a visit to Shilpgram Village.  The Village hosts many different tribal groups that visit on a rotating basis.  There are dancers, performers, handloom operators, painters, etc showcasing their goods and entertaining the crowds.  The other attraction here is the recreation of traditional tribal homes from all over India. 

June 28

Had an awesome day at Unnati!  Met Swapni for the first time.  She’s so inspiring!  We discussed what my focus will be for this week and what she needs from me.  Then we’ll move into the field next week or the week after to take a look and see what’s what!  Reading reports all day can be a little monotonous, but need the background info in order to do the exciting stuff next week!  I don’t want to just assume things work a certain way or something that may work back home would work here.  The key to a successful intervention is sustainability.

Will be leaving here in a few hours, rush home, change, and head to Vinod’s gym to catch a workout and maybe even do some sparring!  So excited to hit the heavy bag after so long! 

Vinod’s was phenomenal!  Didn’t get to spar, but jump roped for a while and then worked the heavy bag.  The highlight was when all the kids began gathering around and asking questions about boxing.  I got to show them some basics that the guys at Knuckle Up Fitness had taught me.  I’m supposed to go back tomorrow night… and every night till I leave Jodhpur! 

Piglets between Jodhpur and Udaipur.

Construction

Trash collection in Udaipur.  There was 1 lady in front and 1 lady behind.  They had 6-8 donkeys between them.  I actually saw them several times throughout our trip in Udaipur.

Sarah, me, and Linda in front of the City Palace main gate.

Notice the fake trunk on the horse.  By disguising the horses in this fashion, the enemies' elephants would think these were baby elephants and not harm them, allowing the kind and his soldiers to get in close to the enemy lines and do damage.  The enemies had trained their elephants to hold swords in their trunks and hack at the king and his horses.

Sign from inside one of the displays.

Various arrows and the bow used to fire them.  The crescent arrow was specifically for beheading.  The fourth arrow from the left was used for fishing.

View of the city from inside the palace.

Inside the palace.

One of the king's sitting rooms.  Notice the fan, it's automatic and works on kerosene.  There is also a kerosene lamp on the table.  

June 23

9:51AM: Left the house around 8:15 and just got to Unnati a few minutes ago.  It’s definitely a long commute.  I ride the bus for about 30 minutes, then walk a few miles.  Today, someone that is a familiar with Unnati saw me walking and picked me up on the back of his bike, so that saved some walking.

The desert area here is beautiful and the fact that it’s only about 85 degrees, cloudy, and with a wonderful breeze makes this a gorgeous day.  Hopefully I don’t get caught in the rain as my raincoat is at home. 

Took a few pictures of the rock hills around here, may come back on Sunday and climb some of them just for fun.  Or, knock off from work a little early on Saturday and climb. 

2:11PM: Forget Saturday!  Ashley and I just got back from climbing one of the rock hills across from the Unnati office.  The power went out, so we decided to go climb.  I must say it was a lot of fun and a lot harder than I thought.  The grade was steep enough that we were both on all fours on the way up.  But, it was an awesome workout and the view was amazing!  The weather was perfect for the climb as well.  It was hot, but the sun was still covered by clouds and on top, the breeze was magnificent.  Check out the pictures below. 

1:13AM: Just got home from On the Rocks.  Mr. Williams, my host father is the manager there and we were there with the entire family celebrating his and Mrs. Williams’ 37^th wedding anniversary.  The food was awesome and the company was even better.  Met a young man named Pami who trains Tae Kwan Do and rock climbs and all kinds of other crazy stuff.  We’re going to meet up next week and climb and/or spar and/or train.  I was supposed to work from home tomorrow, but it looks like I’m going to Udaipur for the weekend.

Stay tuned…

On the way to Unnati

Examples of dome houses in the Unnati compound

Unnati compound

Unnati building

That's what we climbed/hiked

Pics of the landscape around Unnati

Hmm, not sure.  Guess the camera was sideways and pointed down?

Views from the top

Unnati compound from the top of the hill/rocks

Ash, my climbing partner and intern partner at Unnati.  The wind was blowing, hence why my floppy hat looks like a sailors hat!

Info

Hello folks.  Many have you told me that you are not getting email notifications when I post and that you have to check the site from time to time.  I did some digging, it seems that I can only add 10 emails to the automatic update list.  For everyone else, you'll need to make adjustments in your google reader options or RSS feeds or check the blog site from time to time or check my FB page for updates (I always post a link there whenever I update).  If any of you want me to send you an email telling you when I update, send me an email at nurezm@gmail.com and just put email update in the subject line.  I'll create a list and send an email out after every update.  Thanks.

Nurez

June 20

We've had workshops at the FSD Circuit Road office everyday since we've arrived in Jodhpur.  The most interesting ones have been the ones on the caste system and the one today on the Panchayti Raj Institution (PRI).  The PRI discussion led into a discussion on the Lokpal and what direction India will take in regard to corruption within its political ranks.


The Dalits or Untouchables continue to be discriminated against here in India, especially in the rural parts of the country.  What began many years ago as a way to differentiate between people's jobs or vocations has been turned into a weapon of oppression, people are automatically condemned based on their parentage.  This was NOT the way the Vedas originally set out to do.


Ghandi said: "To say that a single human being, because of his birth, becomes an untouchable, unapproachable, or invisible, is to deny God."


From Unnati's homepage, this is their Vision: 

Create an inclusive society where all stakeholders, particularly all those vulnerable, participate with full empowerment and gain equal access to and control over services, resources and institutions.

The 73rd Constitutional Amendment was a landmark Act that helped strengthen the voice of the people and that those on the bottom of a typical political pyramid could be heard and included in the decision making processes of governance.  For more information on PRI please go here: rural.nic.in/anual0203/chap-1.pdf 


And for more info on the Lokpal Bill please go here: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/what-is-the-jan-lokpal-bill-why-its-important-96600


Today, we also visited an orphanage that FSD has interns at.  The kids introduced themselves and then danced for a while and we had gulag jamboo with them.