Our Pukka Place

Look he is laughing at me again!!
and everyone esle in the electrical shop was as well!!...we were buying new light bulbs for the hotel and in India each one is checked to see it works and then the date is written on it.
I was amazed at such service and took a photo...everyone thought I was crazy when I explained that type of things does not happen in Australia- everything is left up to you...no 3 men to find the item, 2 or 3 to check the item and then 2 to pack it!!
They felt sorry for me- how do you cope in foreign places?

I wanted a certain colour for our bedspreads and curtains...where would I find it?
I asked this nice tailor man we know...and he looked at me. "What? show me the exact colour you want and I can have it dyed in 2 or 3 days" [unsaid- how else do you get what you want?"
...so now I have a lovely crimson and the block print guy had the sheeting printed in 1 day, I will use it as a border on our sheets and pillows...it will be gorgeous and the cost- wow I can afford to order these things more often...


With all the fun of the hotel housework is suffering
[ I never need much of an excuse for that to happen!]
Praveen keeps saying he will get a cleaner, but then I would have to stop to sort that...anyway it never looks so bad when rose petals are scattered through the sand that blows in the front door.
Most days I have to sweep half the That Desert back out the front door!

Here in Holy Pushkar we are strictly veg, don't the dried beans look like jewels on the plate?

Tonight I am making a classic rajasthani dal of 5 different jewels...

yum, the Boss had seconds so I know I am getting the flavours right.

shopping, shopping, shopping for Our Pukka Place

We have been so busy shopping, last weekend we went up to Delhi to Sadar Bazaar- India's largest wholesale market- they say anything is available there if you can find it!!
a few pics to try and give you an idea of the traffic- this was early in the morning before it got busy!!

in the traffic, we were in a cycle rickshaw amongst this standstill...

it is winter so they cows are all rugged up, even their horns are wrapped, this girl and many like her were also a part of the general traffic.

We ducked into an alley to find a stainless steel Godown [wholesaler's warehouse], you can see the lane was scummy and we walked into what was once the most beautiful house...can you see the faded glory of the arches and the marble floor under all the boxes?...wow is this one I would like to get my hands on to restore

Local shop where I bought Indian tea cups for the hotel and they old gentleman who owns it...Praveen sometimes wonders why I like all these very Indian things... I keep telling him it gives the place character, he suggests perhaps plain white western cups would be better- how boring- we are in India!!

He is so kind because he then agrees if it is what I like, ...now things are staring to come together he can see it is starting to create a 'look' and is rather happy with it and can see other things that would go well.

oh he is good to work with.

more shopping with our friend Raju. Raju, as you can probably see has a ready smile and great big booming laugh.

He is a local camel master, and his company takes people on camel rides....they are great fun, dinner is in the desert....I am always looking for an opportunity to tag along

In the backstreets of Ajmer, buying sheeting, the lanes were too narrow to bring the car in so Praveen got a lift on the shops motorbike to deliever stuff to our car- thank goodness he was there, I don't know if I could have done that!

An Indian Wedding

Amongst the excitement of Our Pukka Place we have also had the fun of helping to organize a wedding!
Friends of ours who have been volunteering at Shakti for the last month, very saddly left just before Christmas to continue their travels...we all knew we would see them again one day...and then we got a message, they were getting married and we enticed them to come back to Pushkar...it was easy as they really wanted to see the children again and sharing the wedding feast with them was a real treat for everyone.
Wearing a sari made me nervous...but when i put it on I felt like a pricess and it is so flattering to any figure...
one of our boys Satnaryan acted as the brother of the bride, a very important job and was he ever proud!

Our Pukka Place

Well we are as excited as 2 school kiddies, we now have

the keys and have started cleaning up our place...a big job, but it looks better all the time,

Today will be a major shop over the mountain in Ajmer- sheets, towels, things, things, things and our first clients are expected this evening. Wow!!

Here we are being silly, delighted with what the Gods have brought us and being able to do it all together.

The last 5 years have taught us to speak our ideas and then listen to the other one...and then sometimes we just need to keep discussing it and it will evolve into an even better idea that has input from both of us.

Our Pukka Place [Pukka in Hindi means 'sure' or 'true', the English Cook Jamie Oliver has made it famous in his cooking shows- it is English slang for pretty darn good!]

the name did take some discussion as all Indian hotels are called Palace or Resort or Villas...sounds boring to me and we are not going to be another Indian Hotel...Parveen was worried how would foreigners know this Hindi word? and what is a 'place'? still kindly he has gone with me on this one....

Our Pukka Place

Our new venture...

A big time for Parveen and I- we have taken a small hotel with a large garden to run in Pushkar!!very exciting and scary all at once!
5 mins walk from the centre of town and yet a whole world away of peace and quiet...

It gives us some work here in town, we can develop it as a warm family run B and B type affair, it has a huge kitchen for me to do cooking classes and gives us somewhere to hold workshops for our tours....

and it has a lovely garden and established fruit trees- yippee!! The back garden and swimming pool, you can see the hil behind, we are on the edge of town

There are custard apples developing on some of the trees, just as I write, lemons, amla, pawpaw,

I'll add bananas and lots of Bouganvillia for colour.


It is a great building, just needs some Tender Loving Care and we are the ones to bring all it's potenial out.

This is the front, rather uninspiring but I think lots of flowers and it will start to pick up instantly and then time to hit some of the marble and stone masons along the highway for some sculptures etc...oh it will be fun decking the place out..India has so much to choose from, a big marble bowl for the front door to float fresh rose petals in each morning....

lots to plan......nameste Fiona

Ajmer

I went exploring In Ajmer on Sunday with some new friends who are volunteering at Shakti at the moment. Ajmer is my neighbouring town, India is amazing where ever you go there are a few thousand years of history all living together, on top of each other or side by side....
so much to see in every little corner.
We went to India's most Holy Muslim shrine, dedicated to Khwaja Muin-ud-din Christi a mystic who live 900 years ago and taught all faiths should be tolerant of each other it is just different roads to experience the Divine.
His shrine is very busy with both Muslim and Hindu pilrims and a real pleasure to experience.
A gentleman visiting a mosque or shrine should always cover his head and leading up to the gates there were many shops to help him out...
I am going to get a new one each time I think they would look wonderful as a display mounted on the wall.

...and roses to take in for an offering- seems a real Hindu touch and smells divine. It is said the Prophet was fond of the perfume of fresh flowers, a man of good tastes.

Nearby is the ancient Adhul-din-ka-Jhonpra, according to legend it was built as a Sanskrit College in 1158 and when Mohammed of Ghori took Ajmer in 1198 it was converted to a Mosque....stunningly beautiful today all are welcome to visit.

one of the gates through the old town walls and the market place.

just down the road from there is a Jain Temple with an amazing diorama of the Jain vision of the Universe, huge, filling a large auditorium it is just stunning, I could only think it must have been fun [and a huge challenge] for those who built it!

I love living here and exploring around my new home!

Happy New Year!!

Prveen had to go up to Delhi for a few days, so I got a lift as far as Jaipur for a bit of tourist wandering...it is years since I have just wandered around and checked things out - usually I am looking after a tour group so it is not the time to check out new things- they could be good or not worth the effort...you never know. Parveen is such a mother hen sometimes- as he left he was worrying about me out and about alone, gave me all the warnings he likes passed onto out clients about prices, sweet talkers etc...

First off my favourite shoe store...Mojari Shoes http://www.mojari.com/ traditional jooti or mojari as they are called locally, beautifully embriodered, some with sparkles and turned up toes.
I had a little project going with them...stay tuned for the results! http://www.mojari.com/insidemojari.php?ctxt=Procurement tells a little of the idea behind the shop.
The handloom and hand block print sector is a very poor income area, yet it is also the conduit of much of India's textile heritage. :Lately it is good to hear often Handloom is becoming very fashionable, once it was a social indicater of status/wealth; now it is also a sign you support the whole idea of preserving heritage at a livable level, you want to ensure a better life for all and a respect for those that live our cultural heritage. Lots of good feel-good reasons to buy some of the most yummy textiles you will see around.


A big part of my mission yesterday was to check out a few more of the outlets in Jaipur and see what was around, make a few more contacts with those who produce it etc - went very well, I have a pile of lovely fabric and an 'in' into to a production unit.
The pic is of the window of the State Run Khadi [handloom] shop in Jaipur- it has been given a huge face lift and had some great stuff inside.
Like the arty shot where I showed you the intersection as well?

This gentleman had a great shop [just above my new favourite bookshop in Jaipur = a real double bonus!]

I bought heaps- but there is so much else I liked...for a few moments I was thinking I could learn about reatail therapy and like practicing it...
the reality of the heavy back-pack soom put me off...still an excuse for another excursion to Jaipur, just one or two leads at a time and the book shop will be fun!

South Indian cotton weaves- lovely for summer trousers, I think, with a block print top and dupatta [scarf]





more and more luscious, I have some of the darkest colour for winter trousers.
Winter here is still Tshirt in the sun in the day time, socks and a cardigan in the evening...





all hand blockprinted, these with pigment ink others with Dabu[mud resist] and natural dyes...
After all that I had lunch at one of my favourite restaurants in Jaipur -Handi, it is called- great tandori and Murghali Cuisine, 'ethnic' style...pic gives a clue- I like the sparkles glues to the wall.

then home to Pushkar... after 3 hours on the bus I did not feel like cooking so had a snack at a friend's cafe in town.

This is the view out across the Holy Lake, sorry about the power lines I was too lazy to walk upstairs to see over them...love the lights and reflections

Happy New Year to you all.