Thoughts from a holiday

I'm just back from Udaipur and kind of missing the serenity of the place already. I guess it happens to almost everyone. Call it post-holiday blues! Udaipur has been on my holiday list for years. I've been to Pushkar and Ajmer but somehow this city had evaded me for years. So I put all my energy in hoping this holiday was going to be possible!

Udaipur is a small city (by Delhi's standards). I think it survives mostly on tourism. From my outsider's knowledge and what I gathered during my visit, there seem to very few industries -- zinc and marble is all I found. The tourist season must be bringing big bucks into the city with foreigners coming in large groups.

A visit to the City Palace is one of the main attractions and as our car navigated through the narrow lanes of the old city, we were naturally asked to buy tickets. All excited, I was ready to rush out just when the driver said -- madam camera ka ticket bhi lagega, shayad aap logon se zyaada hi hoga. I gave him a surprised look and proceeded to the counter and yes, just what the driver had said -- Rs 50 ticket per adult and Rs 200 ticket for all types of cameras. Mom and I had a laugh and well, what else could be done. We paid the amount and went on our way.

Some of the rooms in the palace are beautiful and as I went on clicking pictures, every few minutes, a security guard would stop us to ask for the camera ticket. It's not funny after the first three times, especially when you're engrossed in capturing the moment forever! I wondered whether it was a genuine security concern or they were just making sure tourists were paying to photograph the city's main attraction.

The palace is almost like a bhool-bhulaiya. Thankfully there are several markers to guide you in the huge complex, and the large number of security guards, almost one for every marker. Ok that's a bit exaggerated :). We laughed later remembering the 'This Way Please' signs which guided us at every step.

Even little places such as a mini muddy Delhi Haat-type place called Shilp Gram has a separate camera ticket. It's almost funny, but then I think they want to make the most of what they have. It's ironic that some monuments in Delhi are literally rotting away, making way for film posters and lovers' carvings and you know what. Lesson learnt: cherish your heritage!

Our hotel was lovely. Situated on top of a hill, it provided a view of the beautiful Fateh Sagar lake. Incidents at the hotel were mixed. I could sometimes sense the staff's inclination towards serving foreign tourists more diligently. I agree they form a huge chunk of the overall visitors to the city, but as objective as I was, this feeling didn't go away, especially when there were huge groups of foreign tourists. Extra-patient though we were, we once we had to wait an awful amount of time to get a table for dinner. Ever heard of the word 'reserved'? Please use it! I think many visitors may have been a bit unhappy that evening because from the next morning, I saw 'reserved' signs at certain tables. Or maybe the manager realised his mistake soon enough.

On the other hand, one of the duty managers was a pleasant fellow, who seemed eager to make conversation. But the more he spoke, the more stereotypes came to the fore. Within a few minutes of meeting us, he asked Mom if she had any sons and when told, no, he instantly smiled and said it doesn't matter - son and daughter are all the same... We smiled politely. I asked myself, if it doesn't matter, why did you ask at all? Mom and I exchanged looks but said nothing.

On the final day of our visit, as we sat in the lobby after checking out, Mr Manager came our way again and gave me more food for thought. He wished us a pleasant flight, asked us to come again and said he would love to meet us in Delhi. Then came the personal stuff. He always had a story to tell, most of which were genuinely interesting! He volunteered that he had three sons. How the youngest was named was a story in itself. He was told of the baby's birth when he was on work in Delhi and informed that it was a girl. He shrugged and said, never mind, I have two sons, it's ok. But then the relative said he was joking and Mr Manager was ecstatic, saying, I knew it would be a boy. It really surprised me how people still think, even in today's world.

Mom noticed the first day that there were no female employees in the hotel - not at the reception or even housekeeping, nowhere! We hardly saw any local women at any tourist spots or in shops. I think I saw a handful on the streets only during a visit to the local marketplace, who could have easily been Gujaratis since there were many tourists from the neighbouring state. It made me recall all the stories and statistics I had read about female infanticide. Women really seemed to be unwanted here, or atleast, not to be seen in public. This may be an outsider's point of view and could be skewed, given my short trip, but this is what I saw. And by then, Mr Manager's casual remarks about his sons had left an imprint on me.