Udaipur Favorites

Hathipole

This is my favorite neighborhood in Udaipur. It is near the touristy Old City, so it has some of the characteristic narrow, winding streets and shops selling colorful handbags, but it is far enough that it is exclusively local. To me, it is an exciting market neighborhood, full of all the colors and sounds and smells that I love about India.

Hathipole centers around a traffic circle that hosts a white temple-looking building, though I'm not really sure what it is. Past the traffic circle are small, narrow streets that wind around each other dizzingly, and there are plenty of alleyways where I easily get lost. Near the center of Hathipole, where the tempos stop and drop me off, there is a huge, viney tree that casts plenty of shade. There are always men - some wearing all white, many going barefoot - squatting in the shadows watching the traffic pass. I am not sure what they are doing or how long they sit for each day.

I go to this neighborhood to buy cotton. Several streets are lined with cloth stores - some sell cotton, some sell silk, some sell saris, others have ready-made clothes with sequences and tiny mirrors sewn into the bright patterns. All the shops have fabric samples hanging in the windows or doorway, and it is a very colorful neighborhood. After I sift through piles of cotton, I buy a few meters, then take it to my favorite tailor (who by now knows exactly how I like my shirts to be cut) in a small alleyway. We speak a hybrid of Hindi and English.

There are endless fruit and vegetable carts being wheeled through Hathipole. I have been trying to learn all the different types of mango now that they are in season. Also I have a favorite store where I go for fresh juice. I can choose from sweet lime, pineapple, orange, pomegranate, and coconut - one glass is between $0.10 and $0.50! There are also many sugarcane juice vendors who churn the long stalks of cane through the hand grinder, but personally I don't care for sugarcane juice.

The streets of Hathipole are both mesmerizing and frustrating. Though there are many people walking everywhere, motorcycles and autorickshaws are constantly forcing me to back into a corner or press against a building so that they don't run me over. The streets are crowded with frail old men in white dhotis (what we think of as Ghandi pants) riding bicycles, autorickshaws, vegetable carts, pedestrians carrying bags of crops on their heads, and motorcycles carrying a full family of five, all compete to get around the same narrow corner first. There are also many animals - herds of goats sitting in the shade, a group of small donkeys carrying loads of sticks or cement, and sometimes elephants and camels. The donkeys here are especially cute - they are very small compared to the ones at home. Don't people sometimes ride donkeys? These little guys are only waist high next to me.

There are all sorts of stores and roadside shrines in Hathipole. At certain times of day a shrine will loudly clang its bells and burn lots of incense and people enter to see the divine image. Many stores sell Hindu paraphernalia - incense, candles, ribbons and cloths to decorate a shrine, pictures of various gods, and even Ganesha stickers.

This weekend, Auntie and I went to Hathipole to run errands together. She showed me the Muslim neighborhood in Hathipole, which I never would have found myself. It felt like a little secret world. The men were all wearing the traditional Muslim caps, and the women all dressed in Muslim prayer dresses. The tiny alleys seemed peaceful and calmer - there was hardly any traffic. She also took me to the Darga, which is a building that houses the tombs of three Muslim holy men. We went inside and she taught me to pay my respects.

Then - so exciting!- we went to the mosque. Afternoon prayer was just letting out, so we waited for the mosque to empty and then went inside. It was very cool and peaceful and quiet. The walls were lined with blue and green tiles spelling out script from the Quran. There were balconies for the women, and on the ground floor there were lofty ceilings but also quiet corners with columns and low ceilings that made me want to curl up and have a moment of peace. One very old man was just leaving, and he asked me a bunch of question about where I was from, and explained to me the importance of daily prayers in Islam. For some reason I was scared he would ask me to leave when he learned I was not Muslim, but he never did - he was so kind and excited to tell me a few things about the mosque.


Other favorites

After dusk. I love the evenings in Udaipur. Right around 7:30 or 8, after the sun has set and the shops light up and the streets are still bustling and busy. The city seems lively and exciting as people leave work, buy fresh vegetables, and head for home. With the sun gone it is (only slightly) cooler, and I can smell samosas frying and incense burning, and bells clang loudly from temples all around.

Baby animals. Some things never change - I am still a fanatic animal lover. My favorites are baby goats, and for that reason alone I love visiting the goattery at KVK. I melt whenever I see someone on the back of a motorcycle holding a baby goat in his arms, who is happily sitting in his pile of herbs munching away. Once in a village I cuddled with a 10-day-old water buffalo - adorable! I am generally scared of the adult buffalo, but this little guy was too cute. Also baby monkeys, puppies, and chicks provide endless entertainment for me.

Solo autorickshaw rides. I love riding in them by myself, especially at night. It is a peaceful way reflect on India as I pass through the city - I am sheltered under the low roof of the auto but still able to experience India with my eyes and ears and nose.

Om Shanti Om. This is a new Bollywood movie and everyone should go rent it now. If you love song-and-dance movies with cliche but beautiful characters, this is the movie for you. I'm in love with it - the soundtrack is great, it stars Shah Rukh Khan (the God of Bollywood), and the plot does slightly deviate from the normal Bollywood template.

Fennel seeds. Most restaurants here offer fennel seeds mixed with sugar as an ending to every meal. It is a natural breath freshener and digestive aid - perfect!

Bangles. They are everywhere! There are many bangle shops (especially in Hathipole) but also some vendors roam they city with carts full of colorful bangle bracelets. I already have about 10 sets.