Picto Diary - 14 January 2016 - Shahpura (PM)

We arrived at Shahpura Bagh, coming from Udaipur by road, around 2:00 PM.

Shahpura Bagh is a beautiful heritage property located in rural Rajasthan between Jaipur and Udaipur. It is a garden estate surrounded by lakes and comprises two residences with light and airy suites and rooms.

The hotel is run by descendants of the former Raja... ruler of Shahpura Bagh. At time of Indian independence, the ruler of Shahpura was one of the first independent entities to sign up for the government plan and privy purse.

After lunch at the estate/hotel, we walked through the nearby "non-touristy" town of Shahpura. Also, I noted lottsa (sic) birds... including my first sighting of a pied Kingfisher.

Above: Stepwell. Shahpura, Rajasthan, India. 14 January 2016.

Common in western India, stepwells are ponds in which water may be reached by descending a set of steps.

In the dry Indian west desert the level of the water table fluctuated from month to month... hence, the construction allowing descent to the water, whatever its level.

Many stepwells in India have architectural significance. Some have a bullock powered water wheel to raise the water to ground level.

Notwithstanding all my time in India to date, this is the first time I have seen a stepwell.

Above: 'Cake and cow. Shahpura, Rajasthan, India. 14 January 2016.

I overheard 'Cake saying to the cow, "you talkin' to me??? you talkin' to me?"

Above: Molasses. Shahpura, Rajasthan, India. 14 January 2016.

Above: Installation of gold nose ring. Shahpura, Rajasthan, India. 14 January 2016.

Above:  School boys.  Shahpura, Rajasthan, India.  14 January 2016. 

Above: Shahpura Palace. Shahpura, Rajasthan, India. 14 January 2016.

How much is that doggie in the window?

The ruling family lived in this fort until around the turn of the 20th century whereupon they moved to their new residence, now our hotel, at Shahpura Bagh.

The fort was ceded to the government at time of independence. It has been poorly maintained since, though there is a school and government offices inside. The private school is run by a foundation established by descendants of the former ruling family and owners of Shahpura Bagh.

Above: Mr. Guzman, a Muslim, sews Hindu temple flags and Hindu wedding ceremony decorations. Shahpura, India, Rajasthan. 14 January 2016.

Here is an image that illustrates the multicultural successes of India.... a Muslim earning a living producing articles for Hindu worship and celebration.

One member of the Margaret Taylor Dance Troupe wondered why the United States could not emulate India in this regard... say, a Christian bakery baking a wedding cake for a gay couple.

Yet, if it is anything, India is a land of contradictions. Despite seeming cooperative communal relations in India at the village and community level, there are fault lines of communal antagonism at the national level. The BJP has many members who support a Hindu nationalist platform - India for Hindus. Prime Minister Modi, known first for his progressive attitudes towards building the Indian economy, often remains silent when some, not all, fellow BHP party members, Hindu nationalists, agitate. Some Indians I know are worried that the rise of the BJP political party may lead to exacerbated communal tension.

Above: Gulab Jamun. Shahpura, Rajasthan, India. 14 January 2016.

Gulab jamun is a milk-solids-based dessert popular in India and other south Asian countries. It is made from milk solids, traditionally from feshly curdled milk.

Milk solids are prepared by heating milk over a low flame for a long time until most of the water content has evaporated.

These milk solids are kneaded into a dough, sometimes with a pinch of flour, and then shaped into small balls and deep-fried at a low temperature. The balls are then soaked in a light sugary syrup flavored with green cardamom, rose water and saffron.

This is my favorite Indian desert. When Drums was only two, he hand his Mom and Dad joined TIMDT and Mwah (sic) at Salt Lake City's Bombay Palace for dinner. He tried gulab jamun and really liked it. The next time he joined us for dinner at Bombay Palace, the Sikh waiter asked if we would like any desert. Drums, sans prompting, said, "gulab jamun!" The nonplussed waiter couldn't believe his ears.

Above: Building with swastikas. Shahpura, Rajesthan, India. 14 January 2016.

The swastika is symbolic of the four steps in Hindu belief. Birth, life, death, and reincarnation. The cyclical process repeats again and again for all beings. Karma.. or one's actions during the "life phase", good or bad, determines how a being will be reincarnated. Bad deeds (bad karma) might lead to return as an animal. Good deeds (good karma) may lead to a return to a higher station or caste. The cycle repeats itself millions of times until Nirvana, or liberation from the cycle of rebirth, and return to the creator, is reached.

Unlike most religions, Hinduism is not a "revealed" religion. There is no founder. It has been made alive by people living their daily lives over the centuries. There are texts that have been accepted to provide a framework for the religion as it has evolved: the Vedas, the Epics including Bhaghavad Gita etc.

Despite the myriad of Hindu gods and goddesses, Hinduism is claimed by some to be mono-theistic. There is but one ultimate creator of the universe... a divine feminine creative essence... not a tangible being - Shakti. Hindus believe that Shakti is both responsible for creation and the agent of all change. Shakti is "cosmic existence" and "liberation." In Hinduism, Shakti is a mysterious spiritual force.

According to Ajay, our Rajput escort/guide, early practitioners of Hinduism wanted symbols to attach to their religion. Christianity has a cross. Islam, a crescent. Buddhism an idol of Buddha himself... and so on.

That "symbol" was "Om" - O Ah MMM. The voiced "OM," from deep within the diaphragm to exit seconds later from the mouth, symbolized the creation. The three sounds of OM took on the form of three tangible Gods: Brahama the creator, Vishnu the protector, and Shiva, the destroyer, representing the cycle of life also represented by the swastika.

Other gods, and different incarnations of principally Vishnu (Rama, Krishna) were conceived to represent different aspects of daily life. Appeals to Haunuman, the monkey god, for example, can result in safe travels during a journey.

There are three paths to Nirvana, according to Ajay. Education, Karma (good deeds) and devotion (worship). Education is important because a knowledgeable man will not do wrong. A knowledgeable man will be good - have good karma.. he will worship... and his reincarnation process will lead, ultimately, to nirvana... being at one with the creator.

One can begin to see how Hinduism plays out in the lives of the people.

The presence of education is manifest throughout India today. You cannot pass through a town or city without seeing evidence of schools, school children, signs advertising this or that educational opportunity... computer programming appears a lot on street side bill boards.

Educating the Indian population is a daunting task. On the one hand, some 500 million Indians remain illiterate and outside of the education process. Yet, over three hundred million Indians can be classified as middle class... defined as the ability to spend $10 to $100 a day.

This dichotomy of illiteracy co-existing with thirst for education is, again, another of India's many contradictions.

There are 800 million cell phone owners in India... the potential for exponential increase of information dissemination and education coming through these devices is staggering. One senses that via this young, education obsessed, cell phone owning population, India is on the cusp of a growth spurt that will increase the standard of living and quality of life for millions... on a scale never before seen in history.

Another area where Hinduism may impact: Indians seem to be happy no matter what their current station in life.

I'll never forget the nearly naked kid in Calcutta I saw over 40 years ago. He was sitting under a manually operated water pump in a public area, pumping water over his head and body... purloining a shower from the pump. He had a small aluminum dish by his side, likely his only possession other than the rag partially covering his body. I was in the back seat of my car.. I had a driver... and looked at the kid as we slowly drove by. He looked at me and broke into the widest grin showing a perfect set of pearly white teeth.

Here was a kid with nothing, I thought, and yet he exhibits what seemed like a consummate happiness. Why is he not resentful? Why does he not project that he is miserable? He has nothing. I think, though he wouldn't express it this way, that his ingrained sense that life is a repetitive cycle... that good deeds (karma) in this life will lead to a better station in a new life, helps moderate his expectations in this life. And so it goes for the rest of the society?

Does Hinduism seems to lead to acceptance... to a form of passiveness or non-aggressiveness? Though India has a strong armed force, she has never, unlike say China, tried to flex her influence internationally, or around her borders, as other great powers are wont to do. America has the Monroe Doctrine. America has a military presence throughout the world. China tries to define a sphere of influence beyond its coastline sparring with the Philippines for a disputed, otherwise inconsequential, island chain. Does Hinduism infuse the Indian state with a passive-ism or acceptance of life as it is that militates against projecting a great power status?

Pearl Buck, in her great novel, "Come My Beloved," captured the essence of the Indian spirit, for which I have used very awkward, if not inappropriate, terms such as acceptance or passiveness:


David went into the house, touched, as he so often was, by the warmth and humanity of an Indian. There was no distance to overcome, the least kindness overwhelmed these people, the most habitual gentleness was enough to win their adoration. they were ready to love Yet they were not childish. It was simply that they had lived so long and in such misery that their hearts were worn bare and their nerves quivered.

Come my Beloved, Pearl Buck

Above: Entry gate to Shahpura downtown. Shahpura, Rajasthan, India. 14 January 2016.

Gate shows crest of ruling family of Shahpura, former rulers of Shahpura, and current owners of Shahpura Bagh, our country estate hotel.

Addendum:

Enjoying the trip to India through your emails. Miss not being with you all, but could not have missed the big shoot out in Phoenix Monday night. The Tide is not dead as some had said earlier in the season, had the stronger will to win Monday night.
Our best to all,

Mezzanine, Miami, FL

Roll Tide.

Steve Margaret is just as gorgeous now as she was when we first met her years ago

Hamilton & Cally, Sydney, Australia

THE ONE PLACE I WANTED TO GO TO AND NEVER GOT THERE IS THE LAKE PALACE. It looks great. Enjoy

Bridge,

Palm Beach, FL


Ahhhhh. TIMDT is looking fine this morning.

Steel,
Pensacola, FL


Thanks for your continued sharing of your travels in India with the now famous MTDT. Fascinating stuff, Steve.

Steel,
Pensacola, FL

Above: Roy, right, with buddies at Primary. 14 January 2016.

Image by Portland.