I am writing this story a week into a two week tour and I know I have not seen all of what India has to offer but I have had an unexpected opportunity to be able to edit some images and write this story, so here goes.
What can I say other than India has been all that I expected and more and Manawa is no exception.
I have spent four days in Delhi before arriving in Mandawa but I will write about that experience in another story.
Mandawa is a small town located ninth state of Rajistan, which is approx 250kms and took 6 hours from Delhi to travel here, it may be hard for allot of to comprehend why it took so long but as I have found out very quickly, to get anywhere in India you must be prepared to spend hours getting to your destination.
The traffic congestion was a sight to see and I lost count the amount of times we seemed to play chicken with the oncoming traffic, I am not sure how but it just seems to work and we reached our destination unscathed.
We arrived at our accommodation which is known as a Haveli and were once owned by rich merchants who once traded on the Silk Road.
Many Mandawa locals have purchased these properties and renovated them and turned them into hotels, as you enter the have you are treated to traditional drum playing, a marigold lay a Hindu blessing ( red dot on the forehead and marigold petals sprinkled over your head. Once you enter the Havali it is like we are in our own tiny oasis that is hidden from the real world that lies beyond the large teak wooden front door .
Mandawa itself is a town of streets lined with stones and dirt, open gutters, cows, along with cow dung, beautiful old buildings in varying states of repair, women in their colourful saris heading out for their provisions, friendly children heading to school with their backpacks on and smiles on their faces.
The stray dogs are in abundance and can be found sleeping in the sun and do not seem to bother to move or register that you are there, you can forget them moving for you, it just does not seem to be on their agenda for the day.
In the middle of town you will will find the Main Street which is bustling with men going about their business of the day, you will also have your pedlars, that seem to follow you where ever you go to try and entice you to buy what ever goods they are carrying, some of them are quite relentless where others will leave you alone once you have purchased something from them. As you wander the streets you are greeted by locals with warm smiles and greetings, especially from the children or cheeky boys whizzing past on their motorbikes.
The dawn is broken by the chants of the call to prayer and it is a reminder that you are in a different place and in some ways a different time. It is quite a nice way to be woken gently from your sleep , that is until the rubbish tractor makes his way around the streets, music blaring, for what I can only guess is to notify the people of the households to bring their rubbish out.
Mandawa is very much an eclectic town where everything here seems like it is 50 yrs behind but it has the charm and simplicity that makes you take a breath, take your time and revel in the eccentricities that Mandawa exudes.
