Ranakpur - Supreme Devotion

Tuesday 6th May

- goodbye to Jodhpur
- the Jain temples at Ranakpur
- hello to Udaipur

early starts are a frequent necessity when travelling, but we'd had many in the last week and so managed to negotiate a later one for our journey to Udaipur via the Jain temples at Ranakpur. as a result, we had time for a shower, pack and breakfast before we left, the latter taken with the majority of our co-stars from the day before. we also met Magnus for the first time, our new Norwegian friend who was hitching a ride with us to Udaipur. we'd spent what seemed like such a long time at Yogi's that it was a little strange to be leaving their cheap food and location, but we were paying them a fair amount each night for the privilege and it would be good to spend a little less for somewhere to stay. Raj came up to the roof to wish us well and we sorted out all of the bills with him, before another Raj - our driver, it transpired - helped us load our bags into the back of his small white car and commence our departure from Jodhpur.

after so many weeks of rickshaws and second class sleeper trains, it was decidedly odd to be travelling in an air-conditioned car. including our actors' carriage yesterday and our expedition to Fatehpur Sikri, it was only the third car in which we had found ourselves since arriving in Delhi. being removed from the hustle and bustle of the streets, its proximate noises and smells, was a bit of a shock. the rush of air through a rickshaw was replaced by the controlled cooling of the air conditioning, the real world cut off behind a barrier of glass. Raj was a nice man and a good driver, if somewhat quiet, but Magnus had the perfect second language English that shames so many Brits abroad and was a good companion. he had only three weeks in India and seemed to be making it up as he went along, although if we had that little time we probably would not be planning to fit arriving in Delhi before a visit to Kerala in the South and then leaving from Delhi again, as Magnus was. we got the impression at first that he could be a little naive in his dealings with India and its scams, but he had already been to places like Mongolia and elsewhere on his own and, on further consideration, struck us as someone who was entirely content to drift while travelling. his home and work life especially in Norway seemed very well controlled, with a challenging, international style job in consultancy. when on holiday, he just appeared to sever all of his ties. we would probably always plan in a little more detail than that, but he did come across as very relaxed indeed.

Ranakpur lies some 90 kilometres South of Jodhpur, across miles of unexpectedly well maintained highway and even a toll road at one point. the view through the strange and foreign glass of the car began with the now usual desert tracts interspersed with villages and parched dry scrub.

as we got closer to Ranakpur, the landscape became greener and the trees more lush and frequent. one stretch of the road boasted a long avenue of old trees, indicating clearly the long term relative fertility of the area compared to the desert-tinged North of the state. closer to our destination still and rugged, half-wooded hills emerged from the haze, presenting a little-seen backdrop to the small towns through which we were passing. we saw larger numbers of impressively horned cows and of strikingly dressed, pierced and bangled women, with elaborate tasselled metal nose rings and racks of bangles increasing in circumference as they filled the forearm and then the upper arm, even going over the shoulders in some cases.

reaching Ranakpur itself required navigating something akin to a hilltop road. Raj parked up and left us to explore. the temples lie in a tree-filled enclave among some sharply sloped hills, several lesser temples scattered around the large main structure.

the Jain is now a small religious group, but their history and influence - especially in architecture - is considerable and widespread. Jain followers consume and use no animal products; some even wear a cloth across their mouth to prevent swallowing insects accidentally. being Jain buildings, we could not take in any animal products or leather items, while even our water had to be left outside. their obsession with purity even extends to banning menstruating women from their temples.

the Jain consider the carving of their temples to be an act of devotion and, by any possible measure, the main temple at Ranakpur is a gold standard in devotional art. the large structure is 72 yards square and contains 1440 individually and exquisitely carved pillars. friezes and carved relief appear on every wall surface.

finely detailed elephants and shrines adorn any open space or alcove.

the ceiling is weighed down by incredible circular carved motifs, spiralling in like fractals as you pick out more and more details.

ceiling detail, Jain temples, Ranakpur (this group is about 4 metres across)

and every single part of the above is fashioned out of marble, with one or two specifically chosen pieces here and there of a yellower stone.

ceiling detail, Jain temples, Ranakpur (this piece is about 2 metres across)

we have never seen anywhere like Ranakpur. Edd almost fell badly down steps three times, as he was wandering around gawping at the ceiling. so stunned was he by the never-ending procession of such detailed marble precision that he even walked into the 'priest paints a saffron and sandalwood tikka on your forehead and then extracts a 'donation' ' trick.

openings to the outside world revealed the tops of lesser temples peering over trees or bright pink bougainvillea blossoms.

the main temple's central tower rises up above you from the inside, surmounted by coloured flags with small, tinkling bells attached, which also adorn the sides of the structure.

in one corner, a large and aged tree continues to grow,
the marble having been constructed around it.

priests in red and saffron robes occasionally add splashes of simple, vibrant colour among the pearl pillars and excessive detail all around.

as a visual, sensory experience, it's a real overload.

Philippa among pillars, Jain temples, Ranakpur

ceiling detail, Jain temples, Ranakpur (this group is 4 metres across)

it's all too much for this Jain priest

Philippa has to eventually drag Edd out. few places overwhelm so completely and so immediately that it takes a while before you can regain your footing. the Jain temples at Jaisalmer in their yellow sandstone were exquisite, but a mere hors d'ouevre when compared to Ranakpur. the combination of the main temple's impressively large size and the unending decoration to such an especially fine degree was an almost incomparable experience and a rare privilege to see with one's own eyes.



we also had a look at one of the smaller temples, the lunchtime sun (the temples are only open from midday to visitors) searing our of course unshod feet via the medium of heated marble floors in the open. while impressive on the outside, they were fighting a losing battle to make us think of anything other than the main temple.

renovations continue despite the heat

smaller Jain temple detail, Ranakpur

smaller Jain temple, Ranakpur, plus Edd, with the main temple behind

Marcus spent at least half of the time that we were in the buildings sitting outside and reading a book, but he seemed to have enjoyed what he saw.

with genuine regret, we left Ranakpur, the first place in India that Edd felt he had wanted to stay longer than he had been able. the road out snaked around many razor sharp hills, mountain pass style, though this didn't seem to stop Raj or indeed anyone else overtaking on blind bends or corners. the vegetation continued to change, with whole sections of virtually leafless trees standing with their branches spreading out like bronchioles, waiting for the monsoon rains.

the place that we stopped for lunch was a bit of a disappointment - good service and food with spotless conditions was offset by a menu that indicated we'd been brought somewhere that placed an inflated price on anything Westerners might order. the fact that the only people in the venue, beautifully situated in the hills, were two German lads and another Western couple, all heading South with drivers, confirmed our thoughts.

heading on to Udaipur, we were in for more landscape surprises. the countryside became semi-domesticated, lines of dry stone walls running over the hills and segmenting the fields of the various different crops that had suddenly sprung up. the scene was more redolent of the hotter areas of the Mediterranean than the Rajasthani desert in which we had spent the last five weeks. women in bright orange saris carried water vessels past large irrigating water wheels placed on small hillocks or against stone walls. it was all very bucolic and pastoral.

more changes were to come. the road thus far had been minor but well maintained as it undulated over the countryside. suddenly we were on either brand new but unfinished dual carriageways or old roads skirting giant excavations as whole hillsides were rent asunder by a project that signs informed us was already three years old. the size of the scheme and the changes to the landscape were reminiscent of quarries but - save for one, excavator-filled area - the whole road was apparently being developed ad hoc and piecemeal along the hour-long stretch we traversed. at one point, teams of women were loading broken fragments of hillside into strong yellow plastic bags. at another, others rested under the shade of a tree with blazing tangerine blossoms.

the new road scythed its way through communities and nature alike and it was a genuine relief to be away from its violent path and back on urban roads again before, finally, Udaipur. we crossed a number of waterways in this lake-bound city before finally arriving at our new home, the Panorama Guest House, with Magnus staying somewhere close by. the place had a simple and basic but acceptable and almost charming air, with some of the bare white walls sporting large scale versions of the sort of scenes you regularly get in miniature paintings here. we checked in and planned our next few days, but had to change from room 009 almost immediately when our toilet fell off the wall on top of Edd! he laughs now...


our new room was, appropriately enough for the city featured in Octopussy, 007. although smaller and low ceilinged, it was also cheaper and contained one of the coldest and most powerful showers we have experienced in India - result!

it was low season, so the rooftop restaurant had a restricted menu, but the head man was speedy with his service and generous with his smiles, while the food was good and well-priced. in any event, when your immediate backdrop is the floodlit walls of the City Palace complex and one half of the famous Lake Palace hotel sitting on the water with reflected torches burning across its surface, the lack of certain dishes on the menu is never a major consideration.

tired after our journey and the impact of Ranakpur, we turned in eager for sleep and the sights of a new city that we felt we somehow already knew, if only on film.

our best

edd & philippa