10.9.2017, End of Day 3 & 4, Jaisalmer, 12:46am
“Amar raho Jaisan-nath
Girdhar ke pyare laal
Sheesh par teehare chaaje
Dwaar par teehare baaje
Ghanan ghanan ghanan ghor
Indra ke nagare”
Be
immortal, Oh King of Jaisalmer,
Beloved
of Giridhar
Your
throne is made of sheesham,
And
clouds shower their thundering sounds at your door
Like
they do in Indra’s abode
Finding an authentic Italian plus Indian restaurant,
called “Jaisal Italy” in the ramparts
of the fort was the last thing I expected in Jaisalmer, and as I bit into my
olive-cheese pizza at 11p.m in the night, the music from our documentation from
last day echoed in my ears. I loved Jaisal Italy as much as I loved the music
from the previous day. This was my second visit to Jaisal Italy in the same
day. I loved the food and the ambience so much that I decided to take my fellow
volunteer Saurabh, for dinner in that place. This is the case with some places,
they just connect to you, where Architecture beautifully blends with
traditional materials, and offers interesting choices of food. You can have a
beautiful view of the fort, and relish your Palak paneer as well as
Cheese-olive pizza. This is the land of ruins, love, music, grandeur, royalty
and FOOD ! Eat, eat and eat, till you satisfy your inner soul.
These past two days have been exhausting, with a
mild migraine attack as well, but even with migraine, I couldn’t resist myself
from climbing up the stairs and alleyways of Rani Mahal, to reach the terrace
of the fort in a blazing sunlight at 4 in the afternoon. Nothing else in this
world matches the majestic view of the city from Rani Mahal, one of the
prominent attractions of Jaisalmer Fort, the only living fort in India. If I begin
writing about the history of Jaisalmer Fort, the one blog post won’t be enough.
Unsurmountable, the pride of “Jaisan”, as Jaisalmer is called in the local
dialect.
Yesterday’s shoot began with documenting the music
of Akbar and Hassan Khan, who have been singing for the royal court since 9
generations. Each time before a coronation ceremony, these artists were
commissioned to prepare songs especially for that occasion, a song dedicated to
the upcoming Maharaja, the heir of the royal family. These royal families have
helped these musicians in their upliftment since generations, and like all
other musicians in Jaisalmer, music is a tradition in their family too.
These musicians are mainly darbar artists who have
been singing for the royal families since 9 generations, and their songs are
based on Raagas from Hindustani classical music. They do experiment with
variations in terms of taal and raagas at times. The main instruments used for
their singing are harmonium, khadtaal(Castanet, 4 pieces of wood, played by
hand), ghada(earthen pot), and dholak for keeping time. Akbar Khan and Hassan
Khan describe their musical ‘Gharaana’ as ‘Alamkhaana’ a titular head of
hereditary caste Manganiyar and are professional singers and musicians who
traditionally perform to their Jajman (Patrons) Rajput families.
When asked about the importance of music in their
lives, Akbar Khan says “Music for them is like a protein for happiness”. It’s a
divine art, used for story-telling.
And it does tell a story, the story of these 56
bastions of the fort, and the stories of these royal families.
But personally, my day today was even more exciting
than yesterday, what was meant to be an off-day, turned out to be full of work
and fun combined. What appalled me is the sheer scale and magnitude of this “living”
fort of Jaisalmer, where people have been living since centuries. The afternoon
began with a tour of the two main “Mahals”, Raja ka Mahal and Rani Mahal, with
the present crown Prince, Chaitanya Raj Singh. One advantageous thing about
roaming around with the prince, and working with Anahad is that you get to go
to all nooks and corners, where tourists are otherwise barred from entering. Not
to forget, the special “royal” and important treatment that you get. But we
deserve it for all the hard working hours we are putting in.. don’t we ? :)
We interviewed Prince Chaitanya too, who shared a
lot of stories with us about his childhood, and about his future plans for the
fort.
And I got to see, to feel, so many facets of life.
Through the eyes of a historian, and through the art of one of the oldest Jewelry
shop inside the fort, who has carved an image of Lord Krishna in a strand of a hair!
Sheer awesomeness…or as our boss, and director of Anahad Foundation, Abhinav puts
it.. It’s truly dope!!
In the afternoon, we had our lunch at this chic
restaurant called “Jaisal Italy”, a small, cozy restaurant located just at the
entrance of the fort. We all couldn’t help but stuff ourselves with the lip smacking
food, and also, a feast for the eyes. As the evening set on, me, and our two
immensely talented and passionate Masters of Film-making, Nishant and Aithram(volunteers
with Anahad) went to the ramparts of the fort, to setup the camera for creating
a time-lapse.
The city looked beautiful from such a great height,
and the tourists were still pouring in, ignoring the innocent pleas of my
friend Nishant, to stay away from the front of the camera. Yet, these two
passionate men, whom I have started admiring for their zeal and hard work,
managed to complete their task. And as we hogged on our chicken chowmein and
garlic chicken, we shared a lot of stories, ranging from the alleged thefts in
Paris,to random topics, only to be overheard by a gentleman at the next table,
who is all set to go to Europe shortly, and who got a little scared after
hearing the theft stories. That gentleman, turned out to be a waste management
expert.
Well, it’s already 10th of September,
and I am already dreading to face the reality of life, as I return to my
regular job. But such experiences are necessary once in a while.
As I write the translations of their songs, the
poet inside me couldn’t help but admire the beauty of the poetic lyrics. As I said
earlier, simple yet profound! And combined with a powerful voice. My night
ended with again hogging at “Jaisal Italy”
and admiring the fort once again at night, all lit up. The deserted alleyways,
with just fragments of night-time activity, like sacred flagpoles thrown
pell-mell after a festival. The Architect and history lover inside me was
overjoyed, as I strolled through the various alleyways of the area around the
fort at night. These are the different shades of this medieval city, calm,
energetic, brimming with hot spices and the aroma of “Daal Pakwaan”, the
colorful turbans and traditional attire of the people, the creepy Rajasthani
puppets. (Personally I love them, yet
people find them creepy).
And so therefore, I end this really long blog post,
with a promise to write daily till the time I am here, and till I have eaten at
“Jaisal Italy” atleast two more times
!!
And being a huge fan of Shakespeare, I would like
to quote him for the Golden city of Jaisalmer, and now when I think of it, had
Shakespeare been to Jaisalmer, I am sure he would have based a play in
Jaisalmer and we would have had our own Indianized version of Romeo and Juliet.
So this is Sonnet 18:
Shall
I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou
art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough
winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And
summer’s lease hath all too short a date.
Sometime
too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And
often is his gold complexion dimmed;
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| Akbar and Hassan Khan's group |
 |
| A view of the fort from Rani Mahal |
 |
| These alleyways |
 |
| Inside the Fort |
 |
| Jaisal Italy |
 |
| Through the Arches ! |
