Elephants aren’t meant to ride through power lines
Finally, we had made it! While this is my second time to India, it's no less vivid, polluted or wonderful than the last time. The context is different too. For six weeks, I'll be working with five other UNC students as we create a film on the Caste Panchayat system in Udaipur, India. We are working as interns through a NGO called Seva Mandir. The non-profit is huge in Rajasthan and has projects which focus on everything from women's empowerment to sustainable development.
After arriving in Delhi, jet-lagged and haggard, we spent only one day in the city. After hiring a car for the day we saw sights like the Lodhi Gardens and the Lotus Temple. Delhi was what I remembered it to be and I think we were all ready to move on to Udaipur. After only one night in Delhi, we took an overnight, 12 hour, sleeper train. While we expected for the train ride to be an experience, we didn't know just how "interesting" it was going to be.
We thought we had everything planned out. We had bought our tickets online and had showed up at Delhi train station, just assuming that everything would go as planned. It wasn't until we looked closer at our ticket and realized that we were wait-listed. After further examination, we found out that three of us were confirmed and one of us wasn't, meaning that there were to be five people for four seats. So, we got on the train, hoping that the fifth, a stranger, wouldn't show up. But he did, and he told us that we would just wait until the conductor came through to check our ticket, and then we would figure out how to arrange ourselves. After sitting in tense silence for about an hour, the conductor finally showed up. Basically, he told us that all four should have been confirmed but because one wasn't there could be fines because they weren't supposed to be on the train. However, he wasn't really sure what to do, so he left us in more tense silence as he went to ask his boss. But he never came back. And so, we managed, with three beds and four people, Patrick and I sharing the lower bunk.
After a long night of not sleeping, Udaipur was a much welcomed relief to our still tired and jet-lagged selves. Hotel Natural, situated on one of the many lakes, was refreshing with its white washed walls and its warm "host family." In fact, we have come to know the hotel and its staff quite well. It is a small place with maybe ten rooms, each of which are hand painted by the owner's wife. It has a rooftop terrace as well which overlooks Rang Sagar and the Old City. Our work with Seva Mandir has started as well and recently we have started editing.
With the exception of the frequent, shopping trips, we have done only a few things in the city. Recently, two of the girls and myself were taking a walk in the Old City, just to explore on foot, when we spotted an elephant standing under a bridge. Of course, we approached it and its handler, checking out the possibilities of rides. And of course, it was Rs. 100 for each of us to go to the City Palace. Keeping in mind that it's not everyday that one gets the opportunity to ride an elephant, we accepted. But almost immediately, we began to doubt our decision.
Once we got on and the animal stood up, it decided not to move because it was so hot. I don't blame him. So, we tried to stop the ride there and just pay the handler our money and leave the beast in peace, but with no such luck. The route was through the narrow streets of the Old City, meaning that our mode of transportation took up nearly all the space. Furthermore, I hadn't realized how low hanging the power lines were that run all through the streets. Fearing for my non-electrocuted life, I was ducking down constantly. All the commotion of the elephant also attracted a ton of attention, as you can imagine and everyone came out to see the stupid Americans who had paid to ride around on an elephant. We eventually found enough space on one street to get off, before we made it to the City Palace and made more of a fool of ourselves.
Another less embarrassing excursion was to the Monsoon Palace, situated high up on the mountain. At about 5.30 pm we set out via rickshaw and traveled to the top to see the sunset. It was a truly spectacular view as we watched the sun disappear behind the mountains. Who knew there were so many in our area! Udaipur is truly situated in a valley, thus the many lakes through out the city. However, because it is the off-season, they are all dried up from the heat.
They will be filled back up soon though as monsoon season begins in late June. For the meantime, we must deal with the heat. So far, we have acclimated to it very well. Our first few days in Udaipur were rough; we could only go out for a little bit at a time because the sun would completely drain you. But eventually, days where it's about 115 degrees, aren't that bad. Of course we sweat, but you get used to it after a while. The heat also means that you can drink a ton of water and you only pee once a day!
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