Mysore - another Maharaja's palace

So after a day spent in airports or in the air we finally arrived at Bangalore just in time to catch the sunset - and the traffic! We drove through the early evening to Mysore, arriving at about 10pm, although the darkness made it feel much later.

Next morning chance to explore before meeting the group for lunch. We walked in the general direction of the shops, passing these strange banana palms outside the cinema 

an old sewing machine shop which has seen better days 

and another strange tree

before getting down to some retail therapy. In this shop it seems we had every saree off the shelf so we could choose  the ones we were going to buy (purely as fabric, as neither of us intends to start wearing sarees).

More great scissors and a metal measuring tape

By the time we had decided and visited the third floor where the silk scarves were kept, we were running late, so had almost to run back to the hotel to meet everyone.

Then we set off again for lunch: masala dosa - a southern Indian speciality, a sort of pancake made from rice and filled with vegetables; the creamy stuff is coconut chutney - very nice. After a visit to the market we went back to the hotel to get bikes sorted out.

Later on our way to dinner we were able to see the Palace lit up - something that only happens from 7 to 7.30 pm on Sundays. When you realise that there are 97000 tungsten light bulbs involved you can understand why!

The next day we had a guided tour round the palace, which was rebuilt after a fire in the early 20th century. Unfortunately no photos allowed inside, but it was highly decorated. The Maharaja at the time was very much influenced by British art nouveau and employed Henry Irwin as architect. There are ceramic tiles from England, ornate iron pillars painted turquoise and gold, and peacock stained glass from Glasgow (reminded me of the Palau di Musica in Barcelona ).

The red domes are made from marble, and there are eight temples in the grounds - here's one of them.

Apart from that Mysore is very busy and hectic, so two nights there was enough. Looking forward to getting on a bike!

Jodhpur - the blue city

The last city on our tour of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, Jodphur boasted the most magnificent of the palaces, Mehranghar Fort. Run by a private company set up by the royal family, it was a very professional set up (think National Trust). No hawkers badgering you to buy tourist rubbish here.

Started around 1460 by Rao Jodha (after whom Jodhpur was named), the fort is situated 410 feet (125 m) above the city and is enclosed by imposing thick walls. 

Most of the current fort was built by Jaswant Singh in the early to mid seventeenth century.

We entered through the Victory gate (Jai Pol) built by Maharaja Man Singh to celebrate his victory in a war with Jaipur. It depicts the wedding procession of Lord Shiva.

The approach is by a steep slope up to the usual huge, elephant-proof doors.

Inside the final gate (Loha Pol) are the handprints of the wives of Man Singh, who threw themselves on his funeral pyre

But look around and you can see swallows' nests on the ceiling, huge oil jars (for making the slope even more slippery), and interesting shapes everywhere 

The palaces inside boast several courtyards with intricate sandstone fretwork panels in the upper levels, each one different to the next. 

These allowed the women to watch proceedings in the courtyard below without being seen themselves.

Here are some views from inside

Right at the top are the Maharaja's private bedroom 

and several other intricately decorated rooms, 

 including the Pearl palace which was a throne room.

There is also a large museum containing intricately decorated silver howdahs (elephant seats),

Royal palanquins (elaborate chairs carried by up to twelve servants in which royalty rode), 

armoury, a large collection of Indian miniature paintings depicting the defeat of the evil Mashishasura by the goddess of power, Durga, and many other artefacts. 

All quite spectacular, but simple things also have beauty

And this is the view of the blue city (the old city) of Jodphur from the courtyard, which is the closest we got to it unfortunately. The walls are painted with indigo to repel mosquitos apparently.

On the way out we saw this bridal party on their way to the temple for a blessing - look at the decoration on her hands

Next was the Jaswant Thada, the Mausoleum of the Maharajas, white marble in the sunlight, the original building in memory of Jaswant Singh II.

The sunlight shines through the six-inch thick marble walls and sets them alight,

whilst the bright offerings left by worshippers add an interesting contrast.

And that was the end of our Rajasthan tour. Next stop Mysore!

The Stitching Project

Day two in Pushkar was quite different to day one. We had arranged to go and visit The Stitching Project in a village just up the road - it's run by Fiona and her husband Praveen, and is a collective employing local people to make ethical clothing. You can look them up here: www.the-stitching-project.com/home

Finding it was interesting because there are no maps or roadsigns, so Shyam drove out of Pushkar, past the nomads selling grass for cows and all sorts of other things, through the desert, 

and in the general direction of the village, asked for directions (probably along the lines of 'do you know an Australian woman who lives near here'), picked up a local man as a guide, and off we went to find the workshop.

We had a warm welcome from Fiona and Praveen, who were happy to chat about the aims of their project, how they got started and what they're up to today. A textile artist, Fiona has set up the workshop to bring work to local women in the village, that can be fitted in around family life, and enables them not to have to look for work further afield.

This lady is a new supervisor, learning the projects so she can work directly with the women working from home, and the blackboard gives the day's schedule.

They source ethically produced fabrics - many are Khadi or homespun fabrics, produced locally on hand looms in 11 metre lengths,

print them using traditional skills but contemporary designs, 

and then make clothing and homewares, using their own fabric and recycled saree silk and cotton. This garment is a cross between a wrap and a waistcoat - it's got armholes so that it doesn't fall off when you move. It has been hand stitched at home by one of their ladies, and this man is finishing the binding.

Much of the hand stitching is outsourced to local women, whilst the block printing, cutting, machine stitching and finishing is done by the end at the workshop. 

Even the coat hangers for shows are decorated with saree silk off-cuts, and the packaging is done in a tiny room. There is stock everywhere, but the men know exactly when to find most things. 

Indigo dyeing in done by a local dyer, 

and blocks are cut to Fiona's designs by another local man. 

He apparently took a lot of convincing to cut what he saw as imperfect blocks for Fiona's designs, which have a lovely hand drawn quality about them. He wanted to line everything up and make perfect squares and circles.

There is also unintentional art to be found on the workroom walls and the drop cloth - oh to have a workroom space like this - I think the key is keeping it uncluttered!

Garments and other products carry a label identifying who made them, and also the CraftMark for kantha stitching.

We spent a happy half an hour looking through the garments for sale and playing dressing up, and inevitably came away with some purchases. This lady is just adding some buttons to my top.

They sell their products through trade fairs, but also through Etsy and their own website - have a look ...

https://www.etsy.com/in-en/shop/TheStitchingProject?ref=hdr_shop_menu

https://www.etsy.com/in-en/shop/TastyOldChooksClothz?ref=hdr_shop_menu 

Our morning ended with a roti making lesson and a shared lunch. 

Having been made very warmly welcome by everyone, we left for the long drive to Jodhpur. The road was interesting because it was not a 'highway'. Instead it ran across open countryside 

through local villages and towns, each one seemed to specialise in a different trade or craft - scrap metal and lorry repair, tyre recycling, quarrying, where trailers were beautifully stacked with stone blocks. 

It was also interesting because it was non-existent in places, with huge potholes and the obligatory speed bumps when you least expected them. They even caught Shyam out at times, and we were very glad it was him driving not us!