Jaisalmer Fort – The Living Fort
It was a beautiful morning in the Golden City of Jaisalmer and I was all set and excited to visit the Jaisalmer Fort. I had seen a few videos and photographs of the fort, which looked amazing and that made my curiosity even more intense. I, along with a group of friends headed towards the iconic living fort of Jaisalmer. The morning was perfectly pleasant to stride into the narrow lanes of the fort. On the way to the fort we had some breakfast along the street side. Everything around the city was so beautifully golden that I could not get my eyes off the most minute details of its architecture. It had a substance of its own, a substance of the ethnic core and the historic legacy.
I walked ahead and I was pretty close to the fort now, where there was a cluttered parking along the side of the narrow crowded streets. I got down from the cab and walked towards the fort gate. There it was, a huge architecture of an ancient and historical excellence. It looked amazing and gigantic.
This beautiful Golden City of Jaisalmer with a history of about 800 years, has been one of the favorite tourist destinations around the world. The Jaisalmer Fort is situated in Rajasthan. It is the second oldest fort in Rajasthan which was built in 1156 AD by Bhati Rajput ruler, Rawal Jaisal, from whom it derives its name.
The massive yellow sandstone walls of the fort during the day, fades to honey-gold as sun sets. For this reason, the Jaisalmer Fort is also known as Sonar Quilla or Golden Fort. The fort stands amidst the great Thar Desert on Trikuta Hill.
There is a small market on the entrance gate of the fort. There are shops of leather bags, blankets, eatables and jewelry all around. I saw this old guy playing a vintage instrument. He looked so ethnically perfect that I decided to click his photograph. I clicked his photograph while he was playing the thing that he was playing. He asked me for Rs. 50/- in lieu of taking his photograph. I was surprised to hear that but I happily paid him the same.
Further to my surprise, he asked me to buy a CD of his music album. He said that the CD has his videos in which he is playing the music of Jaisalmer. He was selling it in Rs. 200/-, which was pretty ok with me, but then he was almost forcing me to buy it. As I already heard his musical stuff, so I dropped the idea of getting his music CD and I walked ahead.
As I walked ahead, I saw this beautiful lady with a beautiful smile. She was selling some jewelry. She had this pleasant grace on her face and she looked very ethnic . I clicked a few photographs of her.
While walking further into the fort, I found the reason why it is also known as a "Living Fort". The fort still retains a resident population of 4000 people who are largely the descended from the Brahmin and Daroga communities. These two communities once served as the work force for the fort's one time Bhati rulers.
The fort architecture is a treat to the eyes.The beautiful carvings on the yellow sandstone all around, gave it a majestic look. I was totally amazed to see that the fort is their home and they have been residing here for years. I took a few photographs of the fort from different angles. I believe that it must be an amazing experience for the people who would be living in the fort for so many years.
I walked up the stairs of the Jaisalmer Fort to see the whole city from the top of it. The view indeed was amazing. The whole city was visible from there and the best part was that, the entire city was golden. I clicked a few photographs from there too.
On the top of the fort, there were certain cafe's and shops, where people were hanging and shopping around. There were many tourists from all parts of the world. There were certain passages within the fort which were beautiful. While walking into them, it felt like I was taking a royal stride along the roads of this magnificent fort.
After seeing almost all parts of the Jaisalmer fort, I got down and wandered again in the streets. I clicked a few photographs of the people and arti-facts staged on the shops all around.
As I walked a bit further, I saw a guy, he was some tourist from some other country. He was playing an instrument, I would say, he was trying to play some Indian instrument. He was accompanied by some resident of the fort. It was great to to see this as it defined that there are no boundaries to learning and sharing.
Walking further, I saw a cafe. The cafe was selling Apple Pie. I loved to see it and even just a thought of an apple pie made me crave to go ahead and grab it. i asked my friends to come along and try it. I wasn't so sure for if they'd like it as I guess they never tasted it before. An Apple pie has been a delicacy at my home, as my mother prepares extremely delicious one. That was one of the reasons why I wished t taste it. There was this lady. an old lady who was preparing and selling these pies.
I ordered one. Yes definitely it was tasty and I also loved the extra cooked sugar in it. It gave it a different taste altogether. I asked my friend to take a photograph of mine. I took a few pics of the market from the cafe.
I then finally reached the entrance fort gate again. Here I saw this lady, extremely charming and gracious. I have seen her in many photographs of Jaisalmer Fort. She had these beautiful cat eyes. She looked gorgeous and had one of the best faces I've ever seen in my life. She was smoking a local cigarette called 'Bidi'. I clicked a few photographs of her. I just loved her eyes.
This was the last photograph I took as a part of my travel memory inside the fort. I finally reached to the cab and drove back to my city, Udaipur.
On the way while I was still in Jaisalmer, there were these huge windmills all around as if the city was waving me a warm goodbye and was wishing for a happy and a safe journey for me.
I traveled a long way back home with this amazing experience that I lived with the Jaisalmer Fort. I will surely love to visit here again after a few years just to make sure that I visit few of the other places that I missed to visit this time.
