Once again - back in India!
It is so familiar - sitting here at the Inn Season in Jodhpur. Quiet evenings after a long day of shopping. The dust and grime of centuries crusted over the day's clothes, tucked neatly into the hamper for the laundry wallah to take away later. We stalk through warehouses and yards acres wide for days here looking for the treasures we send back home to the store.
Familiar...
The slight electrocution of my computer as I type - whenever plugged into the makeshift sockets here the voltage ever-so-slightly quivers through the metal casing of the keyboard.
A Kingfisher beer in a colonial era cut crystal glass.
Trilling horns from passing Tata trucks, the wisk-wisk of the bundled stick brooms the yard boys use for leaves, the faint melodies of temple music -- all wafting in the window.
Awkward five course dinners served in the tiny dining room downstairs -- the only dinner service at our guest house -- soup, half a dozen delicious Rajasthani veg dishes, and even ice cream - I think it all costs around $6.
Waking up again the next day - before dawn to realize the power is out again and the room is still and hot -- what to do until the light comes in again...
And starting the hunt again - new warehouses piled high with remnants of colonial powers, ancient villages, tumbled down towns' worth of goods...
To be continued.
It is so familiar - sitting here at the Inn Season in Jodhpur. Quiet evenings after a long day of shopping. The dust and grime of centuries crusted over the day's clothes, tucked neatly into the hamper for the laundry wallah to take away later. We stalk through warehouses and yards acres wide for days here looking for the treasures we send back home to the store.
The slight electrocution of my computer as I type - whenever plugged into the makeshift sockets here the voltage ever-so-slightly quivers through the metal casing of the keyboard.
A Kingfisher beer in a colonial era cut crystal glass.
Trilling horns from passing Tata trucks, the wisk-wisk of the bundled stick brooms the yard boys use for leaves, the faint melodies of temple music -- all wafting in the window.
Awkward five course dinners served in the tiny dining room downstairs -- the only dinner service at our guest house -- soup, half a dozen delicious Rajasthani veg dishes, and even ice cream - I think it all costs around $6.
Waking up again the next day - before dawn to realize the power is out again and the room is still and hot -- what to do until the light comes in again...
And starting the hunt again - new warehouses piled high with remnants of colonial powers, ancient villages, tumbled down towns' worth of goods...
To be continued.
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