Bikaner & Junagarh Fort

March 11, 2010

The Camel Man Guesthouse will be our home here in Bikaner for the next two days. The guesthouse is located on the western edge of the town, which is in the middle of the Thar Desert. Vijay Singh (The Camel Man, who runs the camel safari business) and his wife are our hosts. They also live in the house and open up their dining room and living areas to the small number of guests they have here at one time.

The Patio

Our symbol of good luck, the trusty Gecko!

In the guesthouse dinning room. We also had a German and French couple and an Englishman staying at the house.

About Bikaner – The Camel City

Along with Jodhpur and Jaisalmer, Bikaner was one of the three great Desert Kingdoms of Rajasthan and, like them, prospered because of its strategic location on the overland caravan trade route in Central Asia and China. It is now the fourth largest city in Rajasthan. Rao Bika, the disgruntled younger son of Rao Jodha, the ruler of Jodhpur, founded it in 1486. Bikaner has many things to explore, with its old walled town where camels stroll past colorful shopping stalls, its many temples and palaces, and the magnificent Junagarh Fort, perhaps the best preserved and most ornately decorated of all the forts in Rajasthan. The only thing between Bikaner and Pakistan, less than 90 miles to the west, is the Thar Desert. Usta Art is the predominant art form. The floral and geometric patterned fabrics and jewelry, handmade rugs and vegetable dye paintings are exquisite.

Our day

We all sprang up from our morning nap and got our day organized. It was unanimous that we would see the fantastic Junagarh Fort first and then go on to visit a camel research farm ( the NRCC. I will explain later in its own post) and end the day with a visit to the Rat Temple (this one definitely needs its own post!).

Our driver from the guesthouse, Krpal, was another standout. He was extremely knowledgeable about every place he took us throughout the day. We arrived at the Junagarh Fort and began our incredible tour.

About the Fort

Constructed between 1587 and '93 by the third ruler of Bikaner, Rai Singh, Junagarh Fort is protected by a 3,235 ft. long sandstone wall with 37 bastions, a moat and, most effectively of all, by the forbidding expanse of the Thar Desert. No wonder the fort has never been conquered, a fact that explains its excellent state of preservation. This is one of the few major forts in Rajasthan that is not built on a hill. During Singh’s imperial service he traveled extensively, giving him an appreciation of art and architecture. These ideas have been incorporated meticulously into the style of the fort. Within the fort’s stone walls are no less than 37 profusely decorated palaces, temples and pavilions, built by its successive rulers over the centuries.

I will now post photos with captions, as this will be the easiest way for me to describe everything.

Entering the Karan Mahal courtyard, built in the Mughal style of architecture (the army there to protect us).

This lavishly decorated ceiling looks like a persian rug, but in gold lacquer ! This hallway leads to one of the Maharaja's many thrones (in the next picture).

This portion of the fort is the wives' apartments. Notice again how all of the windows are covered by the modesty screens.

This is part of the Badal Mahal (Cloud Palace). It is absolutely covered with the original vegetable dye paintings of clouds, yellow streaks of lightning and rain showers - a favorite fantasy in this arid land.

The Anup Mahal (The Hall of Private Audience) is sumptuously decorated. Every inch is covered with red and gold lacquer patterns and further embellished with mirrors and gold leaf. Another of the Maharaja's thrones is at the center.

Ceiling painting

The Maharaja liked to be amused and entertained by people sword walking and lying on a bed of nails (a display of faith and endurance). Here is what they used for that! OUCH!

Exterior walkway built in Italian Carrara Marble.

The Phool Mahal (Flower Palace) has painting that will blow your mind. The floral painting on every surface is so unbelievable! This palace contains the Maharaja's small, low bed with short silver legs, on which he slept with his feet touching the ground. The bed was so designed to enable the king to jump quickly to his feet and fight of murderous intruders. Mirrors are also strategically placed so that the Maharaja could see any intruder entering the room.

I love how the elephants are used as decoration throughout the fort.

Maharaja Rai Singh

This is what it looks like to look outside through the modesty screens. Its hard to imagine this is the view the women were given of the outside from their controlled viewing spots within the palace.

Marble tiled floor

Since this is a fort, there must be weapons. Here are some of the historical weapons used to slice and dice anyone silly enough to challenge the current ruler of the kingdom.

The ivory inlay work on these rifles is magnificent.

We found this DH-9 de Havilland plane in the museum at the fort. Here is the interesting history of how the WWI plane got here.

Now for some food entertainment!

We left the fort and were just famished after absorbing all of the art, history and culture. Our driver took us to an authentic Bikaner restaurant for lunch.

We started with this Dhokla (a bread like thing in sweet syrup with a kick-yo-ass side of green chilis! Weird but tasty...)

Yummy sweet Lassi to drink (yogurt based drink).

I ordered the Naan Tali - Shahi Paneer, mixed veg, Dal Makhani Pulao, Raita, Achar, Naan Roti, Missi Roti, Salad, Papad and a Sweet! All eaten with THIS..........

:o) HEAVEN!

We left the restaurant, bellies full, in the 97 degree heat to head off to see a camel breeding farm. That is coming next.............