Inna....jodhpur

Well, it is said a city stands still. It is we, homosapiens, who shower adjectives on it and make something out of it. Sometimes these very ‘adjectives’ quiver and falter in the wake of self inflicted myopia of lack of experiences but they are transformed with a mere second look. That’s what happened with Inna, my friend, who visited my city, Jodhpur!

Let me introduce her to you!!


Inna is:

The first person I met in Jamia Millia Islamia who answered my question about where I could find PGs nearby since the idea of staying in hostel scared me!!(Now with 3 years of friendship I can certainly tell you something more. So here I go)….

Lets go filmy style…INNA is

Somebody who predominantly demands comfort, is stung by ‘DPS mania’ whose conversational skills is ruled by elite touch and shame to our national language, Hindi. Despite my endless efforts, I still couldn’t manage her not to say, “DARD HOTI HAI”

Anyways Inna and me boarded the bus from Delhi on one of the Saturdays, got down in Jaipur and took another bus to Jodhpur. There was nothing eerie or striking about the bus journey. It was a sitter bus which restricted us to sprawl our legs comfortably. Extremely tiring and we kept bitching throughout – something which is a weapon of every single human being to keep the feeling of enjoyment alive.
So, the next morning ,around 9:30, we reached our destination. The bus stopped at a stoppage called ‘Kalvi Pyau’.

“Get Down.” I said.

She almost stared at me for 2 seconds and asked with a tinge of skepticism, enjoyment and teasing, “Is it a village?”

Was I offended? Oh yes, badly! Badly is the word!

Then her judgments about the city got condensed from “not a village” to “peaceful” to “safe” to “something which let her unwind” to “which set her on a shopping spree” to an eventually “great place to be”!

We reached home, bathed and went to meet Saema on Scooty! Inna can crib brilliantly so I strictly instructed her to keep shut while I am riding the scooty!!

Before going forward let me introduce SAEMA to you.

Saema is:

• An architect

• Inna’s friend for last 6 years.

• We bumped into each other 3 years ago and the journey is quite fun till now.

• What define her is eating, traveling and she has this weird fascination with the letter ‘U’……people say it started around 5.5 years ago!!

I think the moment which shaped up Inna’s experience were shopping, visit to the fort, giving a failed surprise to Dhruvata (my bachelor days friend) for 5 seconds, lighting of diya, a trip to road at 1 o’clock!

'shopping' with the guide in yellow

Let’s start with shopping then. Her ‘lot of’ shopping which ranged from kurits to chudis to juties to what not was not marked with any obsession of being a shopaholic but it lied somewhere in between necessity( her sister marriage was approaching), the vibrant colors and finally the surge of enjoyment running in her fuelled by eating “ kachori - samosa” in between!!

Now the fort! It is called Mehrangarh. The special fact about this fort is that it has never been conquered. An unfortunate incident happened 2 years ago when lot of people died her due to stampede!!

   




                The fort

Blue City:Old Jodhpur

Anyways , I think what Inna liked about the fort…… is its architecture (I always doubt if she ever understands it. She always ends up clicking more pictures of doors and windows than men and women.), the bats hanging from the terrace and the swords and knives of yesterdays kings and the view too!! When you stare down from the fort…..it is all blue houses…that is why the city is called Blue City! And this very blue Jodhpur is the authentic. Rest all is a extension of modernization which stands as a treachery of the old city!

The trip to road at 1 o’clock, lighting of diya, varied culture, quiet nods oozing from humility of my cousins’ to spate of discussions at Saema’s place, sometimes a big house with a throng of frenzied people and sometimes a small house brimming with talks and quiet smiles!! I think all of this defined her 2 days stay in maro rajasthan.

3 of us!!

and our weakness.........:)

All in all, the additional flavor has been added by Lakh Ki Chudiyan!! Red, Green, Yellow…..studded with mirrors like Jodhpur.

We bid farewell to every body and boarded the train on Monday reminiscing about the days gone!!!!! I think traveling makes a man wiser and makes him realize life is more than mundane activities and the same people we meet every day. I hope that it meant the same for Inna who has had her first traveling experience!!