Assistants toting Table, Chairs and Hampers of food for us
Causeway to Water Palace
Refreshments in Cupola
God, I wish they had railings on their stairs!
I had to walk across the damn thing!
Drinks before dinner
Dinner
We checked out of our hotel in Bundi, and drove to Fort
Begu. The countryside was surprisingly varied. Sometimes we were driving by
lush green farm fields. The greenery would disappear and we suddenly are in the
rocky Rajasthan desert. Then green farms would reappear. It all depended on
irrigation and soil condition that kept changing. The vastness of the desert is amazing. Here is a small clip to show it:
We stopped at a Jain Temple. I have never met a Jain in the
United States, it is primarily an India Religion. They are very strict, won’t eat
meat or any vegetable grown underground that includes potatoes, garlic, onions,
carrots, etc. They are thought of as being rich. Their god is always shown as a
nude male.
Cathy had done her homework and wanted to spend a couple of
nights at Fort Begu. I knew nothing of it. The tour people that help arrange
the logistics for our tours, had never heard of it. Our driver had never been
there and didn’t know where it was. I knew this was going to be an interesting
stay.
We arrived at Fort Begu. We drove through the narrow gates of its walls. We passed through many gates's, until we arrived in
the interior courtyard. The Fort's high, thick walls protected the Palace for centuries. They now appeared to be in
a state of disrepair. We were greeted and escorted to our rooms. It turns out we
are the only two guests in the Palace which only has 5 guests rooms. It was up several flights of narrow, steep stairs to the very top level. I couldn’t
imagine myself navigating these stairs at night or if I had been drinking (both
assumptions would be proved wrong).
I wasn’t sure what I was in for, but decided to just go with
the flow. The manager explained they would have another tour for us at 4:30. We
retired to our room and at 4:30 climbed down the steep stairs. The prince, who owns
the property, then met us. The Kingdom of Begu and the Palace has been in his family since its
inception in 1430. The family lost its title of Maharaja of the Kingdom at the
birth of India in 1947. His grandfather and father are still alive; hence he is
still a prince. He made it clear that the family was very noble, even if they
aren’t rulers. He can’t be called a prince in the newspapers, but still has the
airs of superiority and entitlement. We weren’t thrilled with him.
He invited us into his 1943 Jeep and drove us off through
the villages - in a procession followed by a 2nd car with the manager of
the hotel, 2 attendants and our driver Vijay. We went through villages his
family used to control to view some ancient Hindu Temples and another step
well. These wells are amazing to me. They are extremely deep and beautiful. We
then drove to the cremation grounds that only his royal family is allowed to
use. We then drove to the family summer palace. The entire royal family moved
to the Water Palace that is situated on a man made lake, each summer. It was cool on the
lake, compared to the harsh heat of the main Palace. The Palace and adjoining
Temple are still owned by the family. The palace is in a state of obvious
disrepair, totally uninhabitable, a relic of time gone by. It was connected to
the land by a narrow walkway.
The 2 attendants scampered ahead across the causeway
carrying, chairs, tables and hampers. I had two thoughts: this procession
heading out for a picnic reminded me of the scene in Citizen Kane, where Kane
takes a procession of cars out on a similar picnic. My other thought was of
sheer fear; I suffer from vertigo, and the thought of walking across the narrow
causeway connecting the Water Palace to the land scared the hell out of me.
I tried not to look down and slowly crossed to the Water
Palace and then the Temple. I had made it! They eventually led Cathy and me up steep narrow
stairs, to a cupola overlooking the Palace, Temple and Lake. It was sunset.
There was a table and chairs arranged, food and drink were set out for us, and
then they departed. They said stay as long as you like, when you want - come
down, we will hear your steps then we will leave. Of course the entire time I
was thinking I have to walk down that narrow causeway again, it did take a
little of the charm away, but it was still a very magical moment.
Our mini caravan drove back towards the palace. On the way we
mentioned some Bollywood stars we knew, and the Prince became a different
person. It turns out our prince wants to be an actor. Acting is his first love.
But the downside of being a prince is you have to stay in the royal business,
which isn’t acting (although in a way it is, I suppose). All of sudden we were swapping Bollywood Gossip. He became
much more real with us as we connected on this superficial level. It is actually kind of sad, that he feels constrained
from doing what he has a passion for. Pity the head that wears a crown as Shakesphere said. When we arrived back at
the Palace he said we should come down at 7:30 for drinks and dinner in the courtyard.
When we descended from our room to the courtyard there were kerosene lanterns illuminating
the yard, classical music be played, and 3 chairs arranged around a fire.
Nearby was a portable bar stocked with liquor. The prince explained in India, the host
never says when dinner was to be served. We should enjoy the conversation,
drink the wine, and when we were ready to eat, we should inform him. 10 minutes
later dinner would be served. That works for us. We drank, we talked of
Politics, Bollywood, US and India, and then if by magic, we happened to mention
Cathy’s Indian born doctor: Sonu Ahluwalia. It turns out the prince went to
school with his brother and knows Sonu. It is a very small world. Our connection deepened.
We said we were ready for dinner. The prince departed, and Cathy and I were left alone in the
garden. There was a table set and the staff started to serve us a delicious
dinner. All the while we were enjoying the magnificent stars overhead. In Los
Angeles, we don’t see very many, in Rajasthan the sky is filled with stars. After dinner we when we
decided it was time to retire we successfully navigated the steep steps to our
room. It was an unbelievable experience.
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