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India

Udaipur - Country scenes


Leaving from the ranch, our horse rides around rural Rajasthan were so enjoyable – the hills are gorgeous and reminded us of Wyoming and Montana.  Lots of cactus and brightly colored flowers graced our paths as we rode along. A few errant monkeys swung around, as well. We saw village life and families as they have lived for hundreds of years in this area.

Water had to be brought to homes from community wells that were of various shapes and sizes. We saw people drinking, bathing, washing clothes, and doing dishes out of the same trough.

All the villages had electric lines going to them, but I never saw a home with a TV or radio or appliance (even though all the homes had open doors and windows for outsiders to look in). The local mill used electricity to grind grains and the store had a fridge for Coke and Fanta, but that was the extent of it.

All field work, tool repair, and herding is done by hand and in outfits that retain traditional elements from hundreds of years ago. 
The women still gather scrub wood for fires and cook over open flame.  The families are up at dawn and go to bed when it gets dark.  Candles are the norm and only foods that are in season get prepared daily.  What few scraps remain get fed to the animals out back.

The children were always so happy to see us and shouted out ‘Hello!’ and ‘Happy Diwali!’ The men and women, hard at work in their fields, all took time to raise their heads, smile and wave at us.


 The women, especially, were amazingly beautiful with their fluorescent pink, saffron, blue and orange saris, heavy silver jewelry - and see-through veils.


Young cowboys gave us their best GQ stares when we came upon them in the hills
Vibrant colors and memorable faces were around every corner (clockwise from top left - Sisarma village woman, collecting sand for road repair, Narina our cook, colorful headwrap in a village near Mountain Ridge, a shepherd bringing in the goats, and a crusty old man with a rusty old gun.
    
The homes in the small villages are made of local stone and plastered over with a mixture of cow dung and mud.  Miles and miles of dry stone fencing lace the area and tree branches woven with thorns are used as corral doors.  Open troughs and wells draw animals and people alike.  Because it was Diwali, all the villagers were cleaning out their homes and putting welcome paintings by the front doors.
Udaipur home - Exploring the city - City Palace - Dance performance - Night lights - Jagdish Temple - Life on the Ranch - Country Scenes - Diwali - Mountain Ridge - Jain Temples - Lift, Lake, and Leaving

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