“If this place witnessed a massive earthquake, how come I see no cracks or major damages to the foundation and such?” he asked while I quickly retorted back saying they would’ve repaired it long back since the earthquake. But the thought remained in my mind as I roamed around Bhuj that afternoon.  I had a pretty interesting day so far chasing a mysterious stepwell and an encounter with giants about which you can read here.

This was the last day of the three week long trip spanning remote corners of Rajasthan and a bit of Kutch, Gujarat. I had that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, after having so much fun it was time to get back to the mundane and the ordinary.  We still had few hours to kill before catching the bus to Ahmadabad that night.  Living up to my pseudonym I reached Prag Mahal wandering here and there. The auto driver dropped us somewhere which looked like the abode of ruins. This was the old city, there was a huge entrance and walled fence all around. I lifted my head up to see this and I knew something interesting was in store for me.  As we entered, the gate caught my attention. It was huge and looked really old.

In front of me was a huge colonial style building built in red stone. But that didn’t interest me yet. I turned back to see the entrance and I loved what I saw. Sadistic I know, but the huge entrance was ruined totally above and adjacent to it seemed to be another old building with very Indian architecture in complete ruins, as in uninhabitable ruins, as in one push can get the whole thing tumbling down ruins.  The windows were painted green and ornately designed porticos echoed of a time of grandeur. I spent a mighty long time photographing the ruined building which as it turns out, was the Rani ka Vas meaning the Queen’s Residence. This was a living proof depicting the magnitude of the earthquake that hit Bhuj and the trail of destruction it left behind.

I chased squirrels, disturbed the pigeons, got scared by the dogs, watched the playful mongoose, and got chased by a cow and all this while I was still outside Prag Mahal. The old and wrecked held a special place in my heart and the dilapidated always interested me for some unknown reason. The day was a photographer’s delight, brilliant sun shining down while the sky remained clear and azure. After spending a long time moving around the buildings, it was time after all to enter.

Prag Mahal:

Reluctantly I stepped into Prag Mahal expecting nothing more exciting but you know those little surprises and those little joys, sadistic yet again, but the palace itself was in ruins from the inside. Apparently the funds aren’t sufficient to keep the place running and hence the condition. The architectural style is distinctly not Indian, apparently Italian Gothic. The stairs lead upto a corridor which opens into a large hall with huge broken chandeliers hanging low and hunting trophies proudly mounted for display. The wall paper on the ceiling was peeled and hanging and the statues adorning the columns were of European style. If I forgot to mention, there were pigeons flying about everywhere inside through the hallway across the rooms. The whole place smelled of decay.

The huge hall of Prag Mahal

There were two rooms along with the hall open for public on the ground floor while there were two more rooms open on a higher floor. Apart from this, the clock tower was open to visitors. Of all these, I enjoyed the huge hall which was emanating visions of a grander past and a lost present.

The clock tower offers a grand view of the city from the fifth floor but its winding staircases are not for the fainthearted. Congested and spiral, they may seem never ending to few but of course I enjoyed the eeriness. Soon a noisy bunch of school kids on an excursion inundated the serenity of the ruins forcing us out of Prag Mahal.

As we wandered past the clock tower towards Aina Mahal, I turned back to look upto the tower and here I noticed it. There were huge cracks along the tower suggesting the after effects of the earthquake. The backyard was closed and fenced for some reason and as we peeped through the gate it became more obvious. The palace indeed was shaken to the core by the earthquake and here lay the blaring evidence of the catastrophe.

Aina Mahal:

Close by was Aina Mahal, the more famous attraction of Bhuj. In its heyday it sure must’ve been a sight to behold. The small two storey building is almost entirely if not all, embellished with mirrors and glasses of all kinds which not only serve the purpose of decoration but also solved the problem of light. The king’s bedroom was full of mirrors on all the walls and ceilings and one candle would light up the entire room when required. This room has been preserved well. There were intricately carved doors made out of elephant tusks. But most of the rest had fallen apart in the quake. I could imagine the grandeur of the residence but today it was not shining. Remnants of earlier days lost to the test of times.

Remnants of a glorious past

As we walked out of Aina Mahal, the sun was setting. That didn’t mark the end of the day though. We wandered to a local craft market from here and made a purchase of the famous Kutch Mirror work. The evening was spent trying to make arrangements to send it back home. Night had fallen and we left Bhuj to reach Ahmadabad the next day. Never expected a stopover to be so entertaining. Bhuj was nothing more than a place that had once experienced a massive earthquake but after that day, I realized it had so much more to it. There, the joys of traveling with no plan and no expectations.

Backyard of Prag Mahal

Charm of the ruins

Countless pigeons were the residents now

Ceiling in one of the rooms at Aina Mahal

Just as we stepped out of the bus and got down in front of Gujarat Tourism Office in Bhuj on the 17th day, I was positively going the down the spiral of depression.  This as we know, marks the end of one of the most eventful trips I had. Like I said, I sure did see much more spectacular stuff in Himalayas. But there is certain charm with the people and culture of Rajasthan & Gujarat.  It was close to mid afternoon and three of us were wondering how to spend the day in Bhuj. Little did we know about how interesting it was about to get.  A mysterious step well to lunch with giants to old dilapidated earth quake affected ruins of a palace to an evening spent ordering the famous mirrorwork craft of Kutch, the day packed it all.

So I realized.  Since I was bordering so close to Indo – Pak border this time around during my long Rajasthan Gujarat Vacation, I thought how close did I get earlier to the Indo – Sino border and look what I found!

The closest I was to China border was in Gue village of Spiti, Himachal Pradesh. Our friendly driver wanted to give us a pleasant surprise and took us to this village located in the high mountains in the remoteness of Spiti. Apparently China border is a stone’s through away. Well don’t hold me to those words exactly but what I mean is the border was a mere 2 hour walk from here and when I located Gue on the map it is almost bang on the Indo – Sino Border.

And then coming back to the recent vacation, I was again wandering very close to the Indo – Pak border.  While in Jaisalmer, I went on a 4 day trek in the Desert National Park and its surroundings which are decently close to the border but not as much as Gue. Once I came to Kutch to visit the white Rann, I realized again I was very close to the border. We infact had a chance to visit the Indo – Pak border but the officials said taking photos I strictly prohibited and hence I opted out to go to a beach instead, insane, right?! Well yeah, that’s the wandering soul for you.

And along with these two instances, whenever I was very close to border in Ladakh or Rajasthan I always saw something super spectacular. Let's take the current instance.

When I was at Gue in Spiti, I saw the mummified remains of a 500 year old monk who goes by the name Sangha Tenzin. No kidding! I was surprised to see how well the mummy was preserved with no balms and preservation whatsoever. I am thinking the cold and dry weather might have contributed to its preservation. Look carefully and you can even see the hair on his head! You might have seen a mummy in a museum sometime but how many times have you sat right one foot in front of it and looked into its eye. I did and I was half scared to death worrying it might jump up any moment!

And I already showed you one snap of the White Rann, I have seen nothing like it before I tell you! Miles and miles of white salt beneath your feet and blue skies is the stuff dreams are made of. Granted it is a highly inhospitable environment for existence but that is the beauty of wilderness.  A sunset here can be a striking extravaganza with the colors reflecting on the white stretch and if you are lucky enough to see the reflection in the leftover marshes. 

Lesson learnt - Hang around as close to the border as possible. You will see spectacular things.  :)

While I am bordering so close to these areas, I might as well cross the border one of these days. But as I travel more in India, the more I realize the less I have explored my homeland before heading anywhere else.  So it is going to be India for a long time now. Until I explore every nook and corner of the amazing country.  

So that was the closest I have been to China and Pakistan. 

Let me tell you, Rajasthan never interested me as a likely place to travel. I always felt the state was just way too commercialized and the people were all cons trying to make a buck every which way possible. But the only thing that propelled me to even consider Rajasthan was the thought that the most famous landmark of India, if left unseen by me would deny me the credit of being a veteran traveler. With this thought in place, I always thought sometime someday I would make the customary trip and wouldn’t bother much about it. 

If you know me at all, you’d know I am a landscape person. Nature and wilderness interest me to endless means and that’s about it. I was never a people person and let alone a culture person. Rajasthan as I knew was just these two – people and culture, all the more reason to keep it for later. 

Then suddenly, out of the blue comes the intimation of the much awaited Desert Trek by Youth Hostels Association of India. Desert landscapes and sand dunes, you know who’d be up for such a thing. I registered for the trek without a second thought. And now, since I was going to Rajasthan already why not make the customary trip as well was the deliberation. Gujarat being so close to Rajasthan, I was itching to visit the exotic White Salt Flats of Rann of Kutch. That was arranged for and I couldn’t contain my excitement considering I was about to trek in the desert and visit White Rann. Amidst all this I also had a week to spend in Rajasthan sightseeing about which I was least bothered so far.

Found few people interested in the trip and soon the tickets were booked too. But I was still in no mood to do any bookings or chalk out the plan. I had a rough idea of the places and their location and the idea was to backpack and to see what we can get. If it were Himalayas I’d be going to, you should know I would’ve been neck deep doing research on locations and such but here I was least concerned. It is just forts and palaces after all, right? Wrong!

Rajasthan, as I discovered offers enough opportunities for the tourist and the traveler alike. There are popular, well known destinations and hidden jewels off the beaten track as well. Slowly a wealth of information on the lesser known places became known to me through facebook as I explained here - A Note of Thanks. We were just a week away from starting the journey when the detailed planning began and something very interesting began to take shape. I was beginning to like what I was finding. There seemed to places where the ethereal existed and where the blatant tourist didn’t invade yet. Now I was actually looking forward to the entire trip but somewhere at the back of my mind I felt I should control my expectations lest they be crushed under the weight of my unreal imaginations. But the need never be! Rajasthan fully lived upto my expectations and infact surpassed it too. 

There, the first impression shattered to pieces as I stepped into the royal land. A missed flight caused lot of (mis)adventures and also provided a glimpse into the world of backpacking. We traveled 27 hours straight in all possible means of transport ranging from luxury to ordinary to reach the destination. The roller coaster ride ended only 18days later. 

I found the people to be extremely hospitable and amiable. Once in their element, you’d be surprised by their kindness. This was the first time I interacted with so many people and most of them were memorable exchanges.

There was something special about this trip. I did not visit any of the tourist destinations in Rajasthan. It was an out and out off the beaten track exploration. 80% of the places I was in, were in rural Rajasthan. I did not see tourists for the major part of my trip. I loved being around locals and seeing their unpretentious lives unlike the tourist centered lives of their famous counterparts. Tourism has affected the lives of these people in various ways. They have completely adapted to the influx of foreign nationals visiting the cultural hub by the numbers. It may be for the good but I didn’t like what I saw. 

It was equally amusing and alarming to see a person who cannot read or write English approaching us with a heavy American accented English. I asked another such person for some information and I am amused by his reply.

Let’s call him spikes (owing to his funky attire and the obvious spikes).

Me – What are the available options to go from Nawalgarh to Bikaner?

Him (seriously looking into his mobile and suddenly rises his head up) – Waaassssuuppp?!!

Me - ??!!!!#@#@%%!! :O

Half the people we met in Jaipur had this accent. All of them could speak atleast 5 different foreign languages. This was very impressive considering their knowledge is one got through the interaction with tourists only. The American accent seriously baffled us though. But once we crossed Jaipur and headed up north towards Shekhawati, the people got nicer and nicer. Then we met even more local people as camp leaders at YHAI campsites who were absolute kind souls with much generosity. I probably never enjoyed talking to so many people as I did here. 

Then suddenly realization dawned. Two of us had covered Rajasthan on all possible means of transport – flight, luxury bus, sleeper bus, ordinary bus, motorbike, jeep, hatchback, SUV, in the bus, on the bus, on a camel, on foot, train, auto, phew! Amazing, isn’t it?

The painted havelis stole my heart though. The best part of the trip I’d say, three whole days exploring Shekhawati. Then commenced the Desert Trek which was a revelation. I loved the trek even more for taking us into the remoteness of Western Rajasthan into the Thar Desert. We went to remote villages and felt how the early explorers would’ve felt. The villagers were curious about us strange looking people. They asked us questions. I promised to send them their photos. Oh it was phenomenal. Then two days later I visited the most amazing dunes – unspoilt and pristine. I thought it couldn’t get any better than this.

But it did. The white salt flats of Rann of Kutch were nothing like I’d ever seen before. It was white all around and the most amazing sunset and sunrise I’d ever seen. I am a sucker for landscapes and something of such variety and rarity left me speechless. It was here that I met two more travelers – one veteran and one who just started. It was good time the four of us spent in Kutch discussing a thousand travel stories and experiences. This was the first time I was meeting someone who had traveled so much more than I did. 

The last two days at Bhuj and Ahmedabad turned out to be very very interesting with unexpected instances and explorations. Most of the trip was backpacking with not much of a concrete plan. We lived a life of nomads. Endless journeys, sleepless nights on bumpy bus rides, cold cold nights and hot and sunny days, dark alleys, crazy shopping, shabby hotel rooms, luxurious tents, dirty water at campsites, clear skies, spectacular sunsets and sunrises – I saw it all in 18 days. 18 days was the longest I was ever on move constantly.

At the end of it, I realized my true calling. I have to be on the move, forever, until I find my peace. Until then I don’t want to stop. I want to keep walking, forever and ever and ever. 

For I am the Wandering Soul!