We’re in Pachewar with a couple of hours before setting out on our walk about town, so here are some of the details I lost the other day concerning our trip to Jaipor.

1.    The Imperial Palace at Sikri

While Akbar, Emperor #3, built the palace at Sikri and founded the town of Sikri, his predecessors, Emperor #1 (Babur) and #2 (Humayun) came here to get away from the noise and population of Akra, a feeling with which we can sympathize. No honking tuk tuks back then but still. . .

Akbar was desperate for a male heir so the dynasty could continue. Girls didn’t count. A Hindu seer of some sort at Sikri foresaw the birth of his first son, the one who would later be killed by som #2. In celebration he had built a religious shrine upon the birth of his son to wife #3, his favorite. Two years later he commissioned the walled palace. He moved the entire Mughal imperial operation to Sitri, 20 miles or so west of Akra, which he abandoned as the imperial palace.

Some call him Akbar the Great. He was, for a Muslim, quite liberal in his outlook. He expanded and consolidated control of the various Mughal domains on the subcontinent. He tolerated other religions and even went so far as to marry a Hindu and a Christian. He had a dozen or more wives and a passel of consorts. Some of the wives he took as diplomatic moves to bring loyalty to fiefdoms and kingdoms to the Mughal empire. He even created his own religion in a move to unify religion across the disparate regions of the empire.

After 14 years, he moved the imperial headquarters back to Akra. Poor water supply is the excuse. Some say he simply tired of Sitri. The palace was deserted and grew over in a jungle of vegetation. The Brits unearthed it in the 19th century.

2.    The Stepwell at Chand Bahri

This one had us all stumped until Jai filled us in. As you can see in the pictures, a stepwell is a square hole in the ground, 100 feet or so on a side, that tapers inward 13 stories down to form an inverted pyramid. At the bottom is a pool of water fed from underground artesian springs. Three sides of the hole are made up of sandstone blocks that form stairs leading to the bottom.

The fourth side, to the north, has several levels of rooms that are the royal bathing chambers: boys on the left, girls on the right. Water was lifted up on ropes and buckets. Commoners had to climb down and up the stairs to get water.

Jai said he has climbed the stairs many times back when it was allowed. Reagan said she’d do it, but I would die a thousand deaths watching her. I’d die only one death if I tried it.

This stepwell is the largest in India and was constructed by the Hindus in the 9th century. A Hindu temple was built later next door. The Muslims arrived and tore down the temple. They oppose any form of idolatry and images. They did, however need water in this arid part of the country so they left the well intact. They also defaced the carved decorative images on pillars and whatnot.

3.    Anoothi

Anoothi is an organization that trains disadvantaged women in the traditional arts of making Indian textile products. They taught us how block printing is done to create patterns on fabric that can be made into table cloths, napkins, dresses, bags, t-shirts and do-dads – we bought one of each.

Women who come here in some cases are living in poverty or abusive relationships. Others, however, are escaping traditional roles in farming communities. We had a discussion with the women of Anoothi about life as a farm wife. “Women work harder than men,” one said. “Oh boy, here we go again. I’ve heard this one back home,” thought I to myself. But they went on to say that farm women not only cook, clean house and tend kids daily but they also tend the crops.

Men, you see, are only involved in farming at the time of planting and the time of harvest. The rest of the time they sit at a coffee shop smoking and talking with their friends. In fact, we’ve seen many such establishments, outdoor snack bars, with a half dozen men sitting around in the middle of the day. Some of that is due to unemployment, Jai confirmed, but some of them are idle farmers.

I’m not sure how well it translated to Hindi, but I recited my Grandfather Libby’s saying, “One thing every farmer should know: never plant more than your wife can hoe.” I will say that my grandfather was a gentleman farmer. I never saw my grandmother lift her hand to pull a weed.

4.    Not much to say about the roof top dinner except to say the temperature was mild, the moon full, bugs absent, the food good and the company quite pleasant. We’re starting to get the hang of ordering Indian restaurant food without pulling the fire alarm.

 

That’s it, then. My first version, being fresher in my mind, was better but this will have to do.