Solivagant - part 1

Decide that you want it more than you are afraid of it - Bill Cosby 

What we fear of doing most is usually what we most need to do - Ralph Waldo Emerson 

Here I am out on the roads again, out of my comfort cocoon I call home. I have read somewhere that "life begins only when we move out of the comfort zone where the magic lies". Not sure how true that is but I take that to my advantage! Not the first day I had expected on this trip, but the pink city stood to its colour. “It is 8:00 AM, weather in Jaipur is 'cloudy' and it is 'raining' so we expect some blah blah blah”. Rest of the announcement did not register in mind because my flow of thought is already interrupted by the two keywords the pilot just uttered. The anxious me has already begun mentally going through my stuff to assess the rain-readiness. Outside the flight window, the sky looked gloomy and the ground was wet. As I stepped out of the flight, chilly wind swept over my face taking away the heat. Pulled down the warmer to cover the ears. The sky has already turned and built up for a good downpour. Guess that was my cue as to how rest of the day might pan out! 

Refreshed in the airport facility, and then filled the water bottles at the filling station. Came to the lobby area and booked a uber taxi to go to Nahargarh fort. 

Rain drizzled on and off throughout the Taxi ride. It was Indian republic day; saw street hawkers selling the tricoloured flag, bike enthusiasts riding with a flag on a pole that was attached to the bikes. On the way saw a small gathering of people in front of some building to celebrate republic. The driver told me he is a localite but rarely drove in this part of the town especially to where I was headed. He also told most of the drivers may not accept if the trip is to Nahargarh fort because they may not get return trip (which is something I newly heard coming from a uber driver). He also told this ride will be only till the base of the hill from where I have to take a jeep to continue the journey up the hill. I just wondered how on earth am I going to make it through to the fort in this rain! At one point we drove through a section where all buildings on both sides were painted in a reddish-orange colour, he told it is called Gulab Marg because of the colour (I told myself, that is not pink!). Then he drove into some gullies and the road narrowed as we proceed. He was on map navigation so I did not bother much, just ensured the destination is correct. But he also asked a few people on the way, so I checked on my mobile and found we were going away from Nahargarh. From what I figured, he took the short route, but now that route is not navigatable anymore, and so we are driving back to a different route, which is also a longer route. Estimated ride time as per Uber was 30 minutes and we have already overshot the initial estimation by 45 minutes. There was an intersection in front of us from where he would take left and take the long route to go to the Nahargarh fort. Instead, I decided to get down at the intersection and proceed straight which would take me to Man Sagar lake and Amer fort aka Amber fort and its vicinity. Paid for the ride using Paytm, the driver requested for 100 rupees extra but decided not to pay extra. Later gave feedback on the ride in the Uber app with just a single star, blaming it on the bad navigation. I can be such a nincompoop sometimes.

Drizzling had stopped and the fresh air did some magic to relax me up. I asked a chai vendor for distance and the means of transport to the next destination. Fresh hot Kachori in his shop looked tempting. Ate one pyaaz ki kachori with hot and sweet red sauce. In that damp weather, eating crisp kachori felt real good. Came to the intersection and started walking towards Amer fort when I saw one minivan with passengers taking off in the intended direction. Wanted to board the bus but couldn’t reach in time, so waited and got into the next minivan. Thirty minutes ride for 10 rupees stopped near the base of the hill. Even from that distance stone walls of the fort looked massive with rock steps to climb above the hill, and require a bit of hike to reach the entrance. 

(PC - Internet)

The weather has just turned splendid, at first hesitated to take photos to save time, but made-up the mind somehow to click a few pictures. Before I could even start to admire, the drizzling started again. I put on a water-resistant jacket and covered the rucksack with a poncho. There is no nearby spot to hide so continued hiking up. There was also the option to travel on elephant back to reach the gate. Poor animals ate and defecate while walking and carrying the people up and down. The sheer sight of it made me depressed. Tourists thronged the square foyer that connects the first gate to the second entry gate, which was located above a set of rock stairs and will lead to the main fort. Realised that I had missed the ticket counter, only when I reached upstairs, where security demanded a ticket to go ahead and informed the counter is below on one side of the foyer. When I was about to step out rain started again, this time it poured elephants and horses. After attending to a few tourists the security turn around only to see me still standing there. She was about to ask, then I pointed my hand outside and she also glimpsed the rain, both of us laughed without any exchange of words. She told me to sit in a corridor beside where I stood. I told her it is fine, but as time went by, unstrapped rucksack from the shoulder and kept it in the corridor. Gazed at the rain meanwhile contemplating the onslaught of events happened since morning. The rain continued for nearly another 30 minutes then it slowly receded. The entry ticket was provided at an increased rate due to republic day. Considering the crowd and the meagre time I might get to see inside the fort and the ruckus tourists might create, decided not to go inside. Rather roamed around the foyer for few more minutes clicked a few more pictures then descended via the same steps. Drizzling started again meanwhile I reached the bus stop. Meanwhile waiting for the bus, grabbed one more hot pyaaz ki kachori with hot and spicy curry and a steaming adhrak ki chai. Just the fix I needed for the cold weather. Noticed a bus pulling over but I ignored it and focussed on the kachori, near completion the bus was still pulled over so slurped the tea and ran to board the bus. The conductor couldn't understand the stop when I said Man Sagar lake, even some fellow passengers tried to crack but all of them unsuccessful against my poor south accent, till I mention Jal mahal, which is a palace located in the middle of the artificial Man Sagar lake. 

The bus stopped well in advance from the lake. Drizzling also stopped but the dark clouds were still looming with frequent thunder and lightning. By the side of the road, there was a lawn patch, next to it was a footpath laid in red tiles that extended till the end of the lake, and on the left side of the footpath was a cement balustrade beyond that was the lake. The gangway leads to a reddish-orange colour arch. Clicked few pictures and continued walking, suddenly it started to drizzle that quickly turned into a rain shower that immediately intensified into a downpour. All happened within a matter of seconds. The only shelter to hide was a small tea selling place covered with decently big blue-colour tarpaulin sheet which was tied to a small tree. The strong wind made the sheet shake severely as 8 to 10 of us cowered under the sheet moving along with the sheet as it swerved. They had lit a small fire in the centre and 4 of them tried hard to keep the flames going on by burning sticks and jute sack. I unstrapped the rucksack from my back and nuzzled some more inside as the wind from behind was splashing the rainwater on my back. Kept the rucksack on the leg, removed the poncho from the easy rope on top of the sack and covered the sack fully. Then I removed the wind jacket and struggled to put it on as the sack kept slipping away, the guy who stood near helped to keep the rucksack upright by jamming his knee against the rucksack. I put on the jacket and thanked him for the help. Rain receded to drizzle so I walked out to the wet and deserted gangway and started walking towards the city. I was about to complain then I remembered the quote by Khalil Gibran. 

If I accept the sunshine and warmth, then I must also accept the thunder and lightning - Khalil Gibran 

That quote might have a profound meaning, I just related it to rain and relished the quiet walk. When I was 100 meters from the arch rain poured again, the shade beneath the arch was already occupied so I had to cross the two-lane road to the petrol station on the other side which was the only other nearby shelter. Now pant, jacket and poncho all got drenched. How much rain should I accept I thought as I removed the wallet and mobile and kept them in the inner pouch of the jacket, waved the poncho in the air to remove excess water off of it. Took a bus once the rain stopped to reach Jaipur fort.