Rajasthan trip: How it all began.

For oft, when on my bed I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances in Rajasthan sand and hills.

(Stolen from William Wordsworth; changed according to context)

As I sit now reminiscing about the past week, it all seems like a big jigsaw puzzle of memorable events which somehow has become all jumbled inside my head. As I write this blog I would try to solve the jigsaw puzzle and present a comprehensible picture of the Rajasthan trip to anyone who ventures to read.

It all started one day morning, maybe a week and a half before the trip. I had planned for a 6 days trek from Manali, a hill station in the Himalayas, during this vacation when almost all of my friends gradually dropped out of it. There were various personal reasons for that, which I don’t want to go into the details. I had applied and got leave from office. My trains were booked. Suddenly the trip was cancelled. I had gone to sleep the last night all dejected. As I opened my eyes in the morning, this brilliant idea came to me. I immediately called up Avinash. He did not pick up the phone, later when he called, I could not pick up the phone, but when I did speak to him I told him my idea. I had always wanted to go and explore Rajasthan. And he was based out of Jaipur. I humbly asked him for his time and company for a Rajasthan trip. And he said yes!

He did all the planning all the research. 'Dada, there are so many great and amazing places to eat in Rajasthan! Everybody comes here for the forts and sand. Lets include great food also to the list. Let's call this trip The Rajasthan Food Trip.'

The forts and palaces to visit and the places to eat we had fixed. Everything else was unplanned. We did not book any travel tickets, we did not book any hotels. We knew where we had to reach, but we left circumstance to lead us there. About a week later, I was on my way. I started from Bangalore in train and headed to Jaipur via Delhi. I got out of the bus in Jaipur and there was Avinash waiting for me to pick me up. It was almost evening when I reached Avinash’s place.

I freshened up, came out of the washroom; I was a bit tired after travelling for 48 hours straight. ‘Dada, mango juice and Idly for you, ‘said Avinash. The glass that contained the juice was easily the biggest glass I have ever seen. I drank it full, rubbed my hands on my tummy, I could not control the contented smile in my face, and I thought, ‘Here begins The Great Rajasthan food trip.’