Rajasthan

Like a dream.
But every day I open my eyes to a different reality, asking myself how did I get there…?
Of course there is an easy answer to be found. One of these days I stepped on a plane to take me far away all across the ocean, so when I stepped out of it again, I was welcomed by a different world around me. It’s a sensible answer but somehow little satisfying.
Really it’s a winding road of decisions, each as individual as the other, that got me here. Here and now.
Making a decision is just the beginning of things. Then one is driving into a strong current that will carry you to places one has never dreamt of before.
I might have dreamt before of going to Rajasthan. But it was rather like dreaming of it as a name, or as a shapeless place, painted with colors of my imagination.
Now, there is a pile of experiences and impressions behind that dream, all connected together to form this whole puzzle of memories that take a certain shape.
Experiences go beyond the places you see. The privilege of exploring different places around his planet is just the frame of experience, that will be engrained in your memory, whereas it’s the unexpected and the people you meet that will paint the colors of the painting.
Rajasthan is a beautiful frame of a place to visit, with all its history, palaces, temples, colors….and hospitality.
In a crowded train, that’s where my journey began.
When I got out of it, sitting for 22 hours on my backpack in a crowded train compartment, I was tired after that sleepless train time, I was exhausted and I was happy where I was.
Welcome to Jaipur.
I loved this rose city, with its beautiful buildings, little markets, tea stalls and beautiful Rajhastani clothes…I had a great time exploring.
In Agra, my next stop and the city of Taj Mahal, the fun part of exploring wasn’t as fun any more.
It was overshadowed by the vibe of the place.
It was sad to observe the large impact of tourism on a city, on a culture. The flow of tourists that this poor city and its inhabitants have to put up with is certainly overwhelming, even for me…..still I was a part of it, so I felt bad.
It turned into a hassle to move around, always trying to show a different image of a white person than just money and superficiality. In the end I had some great times and I met a nice family who wanted to adopt me as their new daughter in law, which, looking back on it now, was hilarious.
And the Taj Mahal is a magnificent monument, the symbol of love.

My next train ride was the beginning of an unique experience….I had the chance to be part of Indias most important of all traditions……an Indian wedding!! On the train I got to know an Indian family, who, after I accepted their kind and genuine invitation to join them for the celebration of their cousins wedding, got more excited about me coming than I was. For them, now I was one of their family members, they even called me daughter!
Whose cousin was getting married….well that, I never found out. I could not unravel the mystery of Indian family relations.
Indian tradition has a very different understanding of love than the society in western countries.
It was an arranged wedding, it’s both of the families that are in search of a suitable partner for their kids, and the role of the dowry is not to be neglected. The bride and the groom haven’t met each other before making the commitment of spending the rest of their lifes together. It’s a commitment, as divorce is just not accepted.
The ceremony takes 3 days, and as I mentioned before, every, even over 7 corners related family member comes to attend it.
Everything is paid for by the brides family, and by everything, I mean everything. Often the cost of an average marriage climbs over the payable limit of the families budget so they have to take out loans….
Crazy?
Its how you look at it.

For me, this idea of love def goes against many of my beliefs, and the anxiety that I could read in the young brides face, didn’t help me to convince me in a different way…Still I respect choices and cultures. So I respect this one.
Seen from the other side, for most of the Indians that I got to know at the wedding, the simple fact that a young girl would travel on her own in a different culture without any husband or male companion, was hard to believe.
I tried my best, and used the softest words, to explain why I was not married and why I would choose to travel….but in the end I would still look into confused, interrogative, brown Indian eyes…

I loved being at the wedding, and during these 3 days, I really felt like a part of this kindhearted family, that made me discover every little part of their traditions and rituals.
They dressed me up in a Saree, the traditional Indian dress, most women, especially when they are married, still wear.
For me, the fun part was just being in the middle of it, having the chance of observing everything around me, meeting all these family members, understanding more of Indian culture, and certainly, and this I do not deny, eating all this delicious Indian food.
It was a feast, and yes, I had a stomach ache the next day, but it was worth it.
I took some memorable experiences with me, and made friends for lifetime…

My next steps took me to Pushkar and Jodhpur. Two other magnificent cities. I loved Jodhpur, the blue city, where I hung out for a few days after heading back to Mumbai.

I had an amazing time in Rajasthan, even though the last 2 days on my journey there, I got really sick and spend a whole night in a shoddy Indian bathroom……but that as well, I told myself, is just a part of the Indian experience.
I hope that one day, my path will lead me back to Rajasthan, with maybe a backpack full of better Hindi knowledge, to understand even more of this rich culture….