Rajasthan, Udaipur and Salumbar

Rajasthan is lies in the west of India, next to the capital city Delhi in the east and the country of Pakistan in the west. A large part of the state's land mass is desert and the climate is dry statewide. Apart from the desert, scrubland and savannah are the most typical ecosystems in the state.

So far I have spent two months, February and March, in Rajasthan mainly working in Jaipur where my old internship place was. In addition to the many sights and experiences I’ve seen and lived in the capital of Rajasthan, we also made short visits to nearby cities and places with other interns and volunteers from our guest house.

The most fond memories in Jaipur are of Holi, the spring festival held in India. Experiencing the colourful festival with locals and other foreigners first hand was something we won’t forget easily. This Hindu festival is celebrated not only for the arrival of spring but also for the triumph of good over evil. The first night of the festival is the time for the Holika bonfires when people rejoice the victory over demoness Holika. The day after the bonfires is celebrated as Holi and it is the carnival day where people let themselves loose with the colour playing.

Our experience about the colour-carnival of Holi was certainly memorable. We spend four to five hours throwing and getting different colours thrown back at us. Everyone was smiling under the thick cover of various colour powders and whenever someone got his appearance too unicolored (because of getting drenched under a bucket of water or just being dragged and rolled in a big dark puddle of water on the street) people were helpfully throwing, pouring and rubbing new colours on you.

Pink City, Jaipur

The Holi festival is held once in a year but there are more things to see for those who do not visit India during March. Jaipur and the whole Rajasthan are filled with magnificent forts, palaces and temples and when you want to see the grandest building in whole India, or even in the whole world in many people's mind, just across the border of the state waits Taj Mahal. Among seeing the sights in Jaipur and experiencing the Taj in Agra, we popped for short visits in places such as the beautiful lake city of Udaipur where I nowadays work part-time, the holy city of Pushkar famous for the camel festivals held there every year and the Keoladeo national park with its wetlands and numerous bird species. Also very famous for Rajasthan are its handcrafs. If block printing, blue pottery, leatherworks or miniature paintings are something you fancy, Rajasthan is definitely a place worth visiting for!

Sun Temple, Jaipur

Keoladeo National Park

Of course, the things I have seen so far are barely a scratch on the surface. A weekend trip to a tourist attraction is not the most genuine way of getting to know the culture of the land however fascinating it might be. That is why I’m happy to see how moving to southern Rajasthan to live half a week in the lake-city of Udaipur and the other half in Vishakha’s Salumbar office gives new sights on everyday life in Rajasthan.

Udaipur is located in the southern Rajasthan, quite close to the state border of Gujarat. This 500-year old city boasts many such as the the grand City Palace, the Lake Palace and of course, the lakes themselves. Because of the relatively small size of the central city and the pleasant atmosphere there the city is a major tourist attraction. My work there is general office work in the Vishakha's Udaipur office.

Salumbar lies in the southern Rajasthan, approximately 70 km southeast from Udaipur in the Udaipur district. It is one of the blocks of Udaipur consisting of the Salumbar city itself and the rural municipality around it. Compared to tourist-packed, hill-encircled Udaipur, the cenre of the city is very small and the environment is mostly savannah-like countryside with villages here and there. In Salumbar my duties are more on the field. I get to see the block coordinators and cluster-in-charges in the field getting to know more about Vishakha's work and reporting about it.

During the first night on my arrival to Salumbar I got introduced to the lake situated next to the city centre. Compared to the bigger cities I had lived in India, Jaipur and Udaipur, the atmosphere of Salumbar was completely different. First of all, it was very silent. Strolling around the lake watching temples built next to it and literally on it (there was an island temple on the lake from which I am sure you can read more later on) in all silence was a new experience to me in India. Living in an Indian city that has more than half the amount of people of my home country was surely hectic enough and the touristy Udaipur has its share of noise and action as well. Moving to Salumbar's more tranquil surroundings surely sounds an interesting change of scenery and I'm eagerly waiting to see more.