Our driver Ram Ram arrives a little late to pick us up in Jodhpur, but he's in good spirits. The roads are quiet because a lot of the country is shut down due to Diwali celebrations. He is on the phone almost non-stop, even asking me to please wish his various family members a happy holiday, since that way they'll believe he really is working. Also he seems to know everyone everywhere. He chats with the driver of the car next to us through open windows as we drive down the (fortunately) empty road, then catch up with a "brother cousin" at a gas station. He stops constantly, and then finally justifies all the mysterious stops by explaining that Ranakpur, the great Jain temple we're planning to visit on our way, doesn't open to non-Jains until noon, so it turns out we've got time to kill. It's a cup of chai at one stand, some well-meant but nauseatingly sweet and sticky rice flour balls at another, and later still some lentil flour chips with chilis--which he suggests we might not want to eat--"most spicy". Every stop we're asked whether we'd like whatever he's offering, but clearly a "no, thanks" still brings him rushing back to the car with his latest idea.
The road is wide and empty for the first bit, but then we bump onto a semi-asphalted track with aspirations of being a road-- a mite tricky when we do encounter oncoming traffic. Today, though, most of the traffic is livestock, some of it very inconveniently parked in the middle of the road. For the first time we even come across dead animals--the inevitable result of hanging out on roads. The nice thing is that Ram Ram isn't in any hurry, so he's not driving like the more typical madman, and after a couple more stops he suddenly picks up speed, and we roll into Ranakpur right around noon.
It's a madhouse in the parking lot, so we hop out and head to the ticket line, which is equally nuts. Long lines, lots of don'ts on a bill board, and of course, queuing is for amateurs. We do finally secure a place in line, but it then turns out that cell phones need to be left behind in lockers, that there are strict clothing guidelines, and on and on, but the reality is again somewhat different. As foreigners we have to pay an entrance and camera fee--no-one says anything about mobiles--, but we have to take an audio-guide, a sort of compensation for the fee, as locals don't pay an entrance fee at all, and don't typically use an audio-guide, but instead are expected to give a donation to the temple. The Indian woman behind us in line does her level best to unravel all this for us. Tickets in hand we head to the security lines to get into the temple, where some people lose their water bottles, others are fine, a man in shorts in sent out, while behind him, several others in shorts walk straight in. A bit of a circus --without the clowns, though--.
The inside of this 14th century gem is breathtaking. Ornate pillars and domes in beautiful symmetry surround us. The detailed stone-carving high and low is truly stunning. Despite the sign to keep silence, there is very loud chatter everywhere. Some Jains--not sure if they're priests or not--wander around the temple, regularly stopping to ask people if they can pray for them. They're prohibited from asking for donations, but that doesn't appear to worry them in the least--, on the contrary, they're very forward about the donation aspect of their prayers. Guards are everywhere and often right in the line of where you want to take a photograph, so the visit is an exercise in patience. Jains pile in and out of the main altar area, which is closed to non-Jains.
Check out the photos, as they do the temple more justice.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/3vcQpw4DepmN4ctGA
The road is wide and empty for the first bit, but then we bump onto a semi-asphalted track with aspirations of being a road-- a mite tricky when we do encounter oncoming traffic. Today, though, most of the traffic is livestock, some of it very inconveniently parked in the middle of the road. For the first time we even come across dead animals--the inevitable result of hanging out on roads. The nice thing is that Ram Ram isn't in any hurry, so he's not driving like the more typical madman, and after a couple more stops he suddenly picks up speed, and we roll into Ranakpur right around noon.
It's a madhouse in the parking lot, so we hop out and head to the ticket line, which is equally nuts. Long lines, lots of don'ts on a bill board, and of course, queuing is for amateurs. We do finally secure a place in line, but it then turns out that cell phones need to be left behind in lockers, that there are strict clothing guidelines, and on and on, but the reality is again somewhat different. As foreigners we have to pay an entrance and camera fee--no-one says anything about mobiles--, but we have to take an audio-guide, a sort of compensation for the fee, as locals don't pay an entrance fee at all, and don't typically use an audio-guide, but instead are expected to give a donation to the temple. The Indian woman behind us in line does her level best to unravel all this for us. Tickets in hand we head to the security lines to get into the temple, where some people lose their water bottles, others are fine, a man in shorts in sent out, while behind him, several others in shorts walk straight in. A bit of a circus --without the clowns, though--.
The inside of this 14th century gem is breathtaking. Ornate pillars and domes in beautiful symmetry surround us. The detailed stone-carving high and low is truly stunning. Despite the sign to keep silence, there is very loud chatter everywhere. Some Jains--not sure if they're priests or not--wander around the temple, regularly stopping to ask people if they can pray for them. They're prohibited from asking for donations, but that doesn't appear to worry them in the least--, on the contrary, they're very forward about the donation aspect of their prayers. Guards are everywhere and often right in the line of where you want to take a photograph, so the visit is an exercise in patience. Jains pile in and out of the main altar area, which is closed to non-Jains.
Check out the photos, as they do the temple more justice.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/3vcQpw4DepmN4ctGA
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