Travel back to the age of chivalry

Following on the subject below of things swinging, we just finished traveling in the state of Rajasthan where you can't swing a cat without hitting some medieval fort or palace. Most of them are perched dizzily on intimidating bluffs or escarpments. Nearly everyone who comes to India makes a trip out to Rajasthan to take in the romantic settings and desert landscape. I think we spent almost a month.
Us with Jaisalmer Fort behind

Rajasthan has a history that seeps from the ruins of its past. About a thousand or more years ago, different "clans" moved into the area and building fortifications. I can only imagine water was more plentiful then because the region prospered judging by the architecture and infrastructure left behind. Cities grew and some of the people obviously made a great deal of wealth. From everything we read, the "Rajputs", as they were known, also fought a LOT.
A havelli "house" in Jaisalmer - they'd be palaces anywhere else

Actually, in the those days and before, city states seemed to always be fighting. From my read of the history of Rajasthan, it didn't take a lot to start a conflict. In one case, the prince of Jodhpur was promised the hand of the princess of Udaipur. He died unexpectedly so the second eldest son was elevated to crown prince. Tradition had it that the marriage would proceed as planned but with the second son. The Maharaja of Udaipur, however, didn't like the second son as a choice and instead promised his daughter to the prince of Jaipur. This was enough of a breach of protocol that the Maharaja of Jodhpur and his army intercepted the wedding procession with ALL THE DOWRY GIFTS (worth a very great deal) on its way from Udaipur to Jaipur. The armies of the two offended city states pursued the Jodhpur transgressors back to the fort you see below and gave siege for NINE MONTHS. These were serious folks when it came to honor, fighting and money.

Jodhpur Fort and part of the old city


Sometimes, the forts were not enough to hold off defeat. In rare circumstances, a siege was insurmountable. Some lasted for years and the occupants of the forts would eventually run out of food and water. When everything was viewed as hopeless, the defenders embarked on a final path that epitomized their idea of chivalry and honor - jauhar. Much religious ceremony preceded jauhar but the final steps included the self immolation of all the women and children in the fort. This often numbered in the thousands. They built large funeral pyres of wood, covered them in oil and burned themselves to death. When this was completed, the men would ride or run out through the gates to fight until death. In one case in Jodhpur, the fort was almost taken in a surprise attack. There was not time to conduct the rituals and burning. Rather than have their women and children treated with dishonor, the men had to cut their throats. Imagine the fury of their fighting on riding out against their foes after leaving behind their families, dead by their own hands.

The "Victory Tower" in Chittor Fort

Part of the wall at Chittor Fort

Fighting between city states or principalities was not uncommon. Everywhere, Europe included, went through those long, brutal centuries where fighting touched everyone at some point or another. They built huge walls and lived inside them for a reason. Violence came up close and, if the need called, everyone who could joined in the battle. Whichever city was stronger, prevailed getting the economic spoils. It occurred to me that the US never went through this brutality. Apart from one paroxysm of nastiness - the Civil War - our history has no scar tissue from American on American violence. We have the wars to eradicate the Native Americans but those, for a long time were portrayed as a noble cause - and there are few or no monuments of those conflicts left behind to remind anyone. Makes me wonder if this contributes to our willingness to use violence to get what we want in current times.

Another part of Chittor's wall

Anyway, you can almost throw a dart at the map of Rajasthan, get on a bus or train, go to the city and see some freakish fort or battlements or palaces. At one point, Tami and I badly misjudged the map in our book. We took a six-hour bus ride to get to a certain old fort to find out no roads penetrated the hills between us an said fort. We deliberated and headed instead the opposite direction to Chittor. It was supposed to be good, as well. Well.....good it was. This was just one more of those scenes where we wandered around ruins Disney would covet (but never approach in quality or scale) and mumble the litmus test phrase of travelers' fulfillment, "You've got to be kidding me."

Old alcove paintings at Bundi Fort

Being the early part of the hottest season, we were blessed to have most of these ruins totally to ourselves. We could wander for hours and only see a few other people. We could find supremely meditative and beautiful places and sit for long periods imagining what the royal high-life might have been like. Very nice stuff.

Interior at Naggaur Fort

Another interior at Naggaur Fort

I have to admit, I'm tired of seeing stuff, tired of buses and new guest houses, tired of the grime and Indian guys who cannot behave like adults. I'm tired of Indian food. Be that as it may, India just keeps coming on. There is so much to see here I am at a loss to contextualize it. If you get a chance, you'd be missing out on so much if you didn't come here.