Leaving Bikaner
My final day in Bikaner found me more comfortable with the people and still acting the tourist. It remained hot. At Hiteshwar’s suggestion, I rode a tuk-tuk to the Junagarh Fort, which dates from 1589 CE. The fort is full of artifacts of the Rathore dynasty of Bikaner. An earlier fort in this same place was taken by Kamran Mirna, the son Mughal Emperor Babur, in 1534 but only for one day.
The fort contains palaces, temples (both Hindu and Jain), and pavilions. The composite architectural styles ranges from the Rajasthani with its Mughal influence and the European style from the British, followed by a more modern Rajput style espoused by Maharaja Ganga Singh. As I walked through the sun-drenched courtyards, my mind turned to the soldiers who had trained here and the difficulty of dealing with such heat. The fort lies in the Thar Desert and the city of Birkaner was built around it.
Apparently, Bikarer’s springs made it an oasis on the trade routes between Central Asia and Gujarat, a state in western India. Here again, camels, traders, spices had come together to create a vivid historical presence deserving of attention.
The Mughals ruled Rajasthan under Emperor Akbar and his son Jahangir. Raja Rai Singhji, the ruler of Bikaner (1571-1611) held a high position with the Mughal Empire.
The British Raj took control of India and the Bikaner area in 1818, following an insurgency by Bikaner, Jodhpur, and Thakur rulers. Among the Rajasthan princes, Ganga Singh stands out for his position with the British, serving on the Imperial War Cabinet, representing India at the Versailles Peace Conference, and becoming a Knight Commander of the Star of India.
The border with Pakistan lies to the west of Bikaner and it remains the world’s longest guarded border, with patrols and serious restrictions for travel between the two countries.
Changes: Teaching and Diet
This visit to India has sparked my interest in bringing more Asian history to my American students. As I’ve written before, there is so much history here of which American students are woefully unaware. I have taught about India and Mughal Empire but I can see now that I only touched the surface.
Even the meals—redolent with spices—bear witness to trade routes and a culture that has survived the rigors of the desert by eating what was available. My vegan salt-, sugar-, and dairy-free diet remains mostly intact but Indian cuisine brought some clarified butter (ghee) and multiple sources of starch into my diet. The mangoes and bananas at breakfast taste different, sweeter, and more succulent. Today, Hiteshwar stopped at a spice merchant’s shop and loaded me up with Indian spices. Admittedly, I like to cook and I suspect my cooking in the U.S. will change drastically based on my Indian experience. He also introduced me to a shop where I bought a new kurta (shirt) with matching linen pants.
Hiteshwar plans to marry on 21 November this year, and his family is busy with the details of creating a celebration with 4,000 guests. He showed me the venue—Laxmi Niwas Palace—which began life as a palace for aristocracy, including kings and queens. The palace dates to 1904 and Sir Ganga Singh Ji of the royal house of Bikaner. The Laxmi Niwas Palace website lists discounted summer rates (April-September) of INR 22,500 to 9,000 (USD 330.75 to 132.30) and winter rates (October-March) of INR 30,000 to 12,000 (USD 441 to 176.40). I wished Hiteshwar well on his new adventure. He will continue leading trips into the desert and bike tours into the Himalayas. He may even partner with an Australian firm to do tours there. He is called “Mr. Adventure” and seems well-suited to Rajasthan and the outdoor life. He arranged for my lunch and a visit at the Gulag Bagh Restaurant in Birkaner while I waited to board the Jaipur train. He’s also a man of many connections!
9:58 pm
Oh my gosh, I’m in love with the beautiful patterns and textures. I’m so jealous that you were able to see them in person.
10:13 pm
This time, I’m full of questions!
What’s a tuk-tuk? I’ll google it for a photo, but I much prefer to hear your descriptions and perceptions.
As we teach so many Muslim students, and I know India has a Muslim minority, I’m curious whether you’ve interacted much with Indian Muslims, their culture, or representations of their culture. (I recall in a previous post, you mentioned how the walls of your courtyard muted the call to prayer, which I assume was the Muslim call to prayer?)
It sounds like you’re traveling solo for this part of the journey. Was Hiteshwar your personal guide in Bikaner?
And finally, a wedding with 4,000 people! Is it customary to invite a whole village? Is it related to family status or wealth?
I look forward to seeing your new clothing. Maybe if we have one of those days where the ambient temperature in the upstairs classrooms is hovering near 100 F, you can come as the most appropriately dressed member of the faculty.
6:26 am
Matt: I missed your comment until today, so I’ll try to answer your questions now.
A tuk-tuk is a auto rickshaw. It contains a small, two-cylinder engine and an enclosed cabin. The driver steers with a bicycle-style handlebars, shifting gears and blowing the horn constantly. There are thousands of tuk-tuks in any city. The drivers congregate around train stations and hotels and can be hailed on the street. Four of us once fit into one tuk-tuk but usually it’s designed for a one-person commute. Kids hire a tuk-tuk to get to school. Most drivers know the city well but in my experience, drivers can get stumped by unknown destinations. Because the tuk-tuk is close to the road, and drivers operate them to challenge other drivers and gain as much advantage as possible in traffic, my constant thought was “I’m going to die on this trip.”
The history of India is complex with regards to religion. The Hindu-Muslim divide created the state of Pakistan when India achieved independence and has contributed to the problems in Kashmir. My outside reading gave me some perspective on how the British handled independence:
“The British, their power and sense of destiny broken by the Second World War, wearily gave up responsibility for their legacy and agreed to the Partition of India, separating the Muslim majority areas around the fringes of the subcontinent…” (Michael Wood, The Story of India, p. 287).
Wood continues to describe the events of 1947: “The result was terrible bloodshed and the largest migration in history, as 11 million people quit their ancestral villages and fled for their lives across the invisible border drawn up by a foreign power that was no longer present” (p. 287).
Most of the people I’ve met are Hindu, although I do not ask that question. In the schools, Hindi and Muslim mix and there is no distinction that I can make. Some women and girls wear the hijab or a man might wear a robe or hat that identifies him. There are many Hindu temples as well as Muslim mosques.
Hiteshwar took over his father’s tour guide business and manages the camel treks and also bicycle trips (he’d just gotten back from a bike trip to the Himalayas. He’s very fit.) His family is well-connected and relatively famous in Birkaner, so the wedding will be large. I have no idea about their wealth but they have servants and seem of a higher status than anyone else I met. They’re also devoted to the people in the villages. They hire camel drivers for their trips. Several years ago, they gave villagers camels for their personal use and to assist with camel treks. They give camel owners equal chances to participate on the treks, democracy in action.
—Bill
Yes, I will wear my kurta to school. The skirt, however, will have to wait for a very special occasion…
1:47 am
Four thousand guests at a wedding! Any sense of what the cultural expectations are that would lead to such a huge celebration? Is his family prominent in some way?
6:15 am
Matt: This family is prominent in northwestern India. The great-grandfather served in World War 1 and the grandfather in World War II, both with the camel corps in the desert. The family also fought in several Pakistani-related incursions (the border near Bikaner is said to be one of the most heavily defended in the world). So, yes, the family is well connected to the Maharajas for generations.
My understanding is that Indian (Hindu) weddings are community affairs, which makes sense given the population size and the importance of children and family. Brides.com explains the ceremony (https://www.brides.com/story/hindu-wedding-ceremony) and my friend Wikipedia as a more general description (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_wedding).
I know that the ceremonies go on for days and they are big deals for the family and the community. I’ve marked my calendar for 21 November but I told Hiteshwar that I probably couldn’t make it.