Life On The Banks Of The Chambal

This post is for the nature lovers amongst us.
These are  pictures of some of the life at the Bhadrawati Safari Lodge Savti Sawaimadhopur. If you want to spend some time comuning with nature on your holiday this is the place to be!

Jungle Babler

Whitethroat

Oriental Magpie Robin

Common Sitting Area At Bhadrawati Safari Lodge

Chambal

A fisherman working the Chambal at daybreak

sunrise on the Chambal

Mandana at the common area at the Bhadrawati Safari Lodge on the Chambal

Pampas Grass- Sunset

parrot

Swiss Cottages at the Bhadrawati Safari Lodge

Pampas Grass

Pampas Grass

Rufous treepie

On the banks of the Chambal – An Album    

Bhadrawati Safari Lodge Sawaimadhopur

Guldaudi Is All Set To Bloom Again!

Guldaudi

Mums, Chrysanthemums, Guldaudi, Sevanti… Call it what you like but it is the first week of November and Guldaudi plants are in the process of budding. The Sevanti will bloom  in a riot of colors, shapes & sizes within a month. That is when the Rajasthan University Nursery is planning its yearly Mum Exhibition.This year there will be about 4000 potted Guldaudi plants of about 215 different varieties. This 3 day exhibition concludes in a sale of these potted plants. This year the authorities are going to sell these pots of Guldaudi for 50 Rupees each to the Jaipur populace.

Guldaudi Sevanti Mum Chrysanthemum

The Flowers Are Back!

Sisodia Raani Ka Baagh,Jaipur,Rajasthan,India.

No two ways about it Jaipur is in the middle of the monsoon. Though the rains are taking there own sweet time to come as and when they see fit. A couple of days of rain and the rain lily is in full bloom. Pink, yellow, white, big or small the rain lily leads the riot of color which is going to follow. The Aravali mountain range, guarding Jaipur for all these centuries, has a solid cover of green, which is going to last till after the monsoon has left Jaipur. The people of Jaipur & the tourists are thronging the three Forts, Jaigarh, Nahargarh & Amber, during and after the showers. During the summers the people were eating to live, now they are living to eat, choorma-dal-baati & other rajasthani delicacies. No weekend goes by which does not see a ‘Goth’ in a picturesque locations surrounding Jaipur. The plant nurseries of Jaipur are chock- a- block full of  various plants in anticipation of the huge demand by public. The people usually plant trees during monsoons as they take root relatively easily. Also, others would like to replace the plants which did not survive the harsh summers.

So if you were thinking of going on a picnic, planting a rose garden or visiting folks in Jaipur, then now is the time!

A Pink Rain Lily in full bloom

A yellow rose in full bloom.

Sevanti-A Reprise

It is, holi- the festival of colors, today. Winter is gone. The trees are shedding dry leaves. The various colors and shapes of Guldaudi are just a pleasant  memory now. So I decided to do a post on Chrysanthemums.

The word,  Chrysanthemum, is a combination of two Greek words, ‘chrysos’ meaning gold and ‘anthos’ meaning flower. Its botanical name is Chrysanthemum sps. It belongs to the Compositae family and the flower originated in China & Japan. How ever some say it was brought to Japan by Buddhist  monks in 400 AD. It can grow up to a height of 15 cms to 120 cms. It can be propagated through root suckers or terminal cuttings or air/ground layering. It flowers after rainy season and before the winter fully sets in.

There are more than 250 varieties of Sevanti available in India. They have been classified according to the shape & size of the flower the plant produces. They can be broadly classified as large flowered & small flowered. There are 11 large flowered varieties. Namely, Incurved, Incurving, Reflexed, Intermediate, Ball, Quilled, Spider, Spoon, Single,Double & Decorative.

Small flowered variety are Korean Single & double,Decorative, Anemone, Pompon, Cineraria or Charm, Button, Quilled, Semi- quilled, Spoon & Stellate.

Cultivating Chrysanthemum is an art and you have to start around July-August to get full grown plants in full bloom by September to January. It is a popular plant in India. Various horticulture departments in India cultivate them and hold exhibitions annually.

In Jaipur, the Nursery in the Rajasthan University holds a highly successful, yearly,  exhibition & sale of Chrysanthemum plants in full bloom.

Australians traditionally gift their mothers Chrysanthemums every Mothers Day.

Sevanti is the sanskrit name for guladudi or mums or chrysanths.

The YWCA in N. Delhi has been putting  up  the show ‘Glory of Chrysanthemums’ for more than 60 years now.

A Chrysanthemums Show is organized each year in the month of December at the  Terraced Garden (Sector 33) in Chandigarh.

Chrysanthemum flowers generally signify fidelity, joy,long life & optimism. However a red colored flower signifies love. White colored mum signifies truth and loyal love & yellow colored mum signifies  a slighted love.

National Chrysanthemum Society USA

Dutt Flower Farms,Karnal

Marriages May Be Made In Heaven But Are Solemnised In Jaipur

Be it a reaffirmation of their marriage vows or the actual ceremony,foreigners or Indians alike, come to Jaipur to do the honours.And Jaipur does not let them down in any way.It has all the infrastructure needed to host a perfect wedding of even 3000 guests.It is said that more than 70,000 people are in one way or another involved in performing weddings in Jaipur. There are more than 400 marriage gardens. Jaipur has The Weather,The ambiance,The People,The Traditions,The Rituals,The Cuisine, The Forts, The Palaces,The Havelies,The Gardens, The hotels,The Guesthouses,The Caterers,The Bands,The Folk Dancers, The Folk Singer, The Sheanaiwala,Camels & Elephants & Horses,The Lawajama,The Tent Houses,The Panditjis,Lightwalas,Halwais,Taxi services,Travel Agents,Helicopter Service,Chartered Planes,Marriage Planners,Event Managers,Designer Fashion Studios for bridal finery,  Bridal Makeup Artists,Jewellers,Dress Makers, Jodhpuri Suits,Achkans,Safa walla,Uniform Makers, Photographers, Fruit Sellers,Panwallas,Hinawalla,Card Printers,Wine Merchants,Mojris,Potters and Honeymoon Destinations .Whatever your elders name it for an auspisious wedding you will find it in the Bazaars of Jaipur.

Let us do a War Plan like exercise on planing a wedding in Jaipur.

To begin with you need an auspicious date.Let us consult a Pandit ji.He will consult a Panchanj or a computer and fix an auspicious date favourable to both boy and girl according to their horoscopes for their long life and happy marriage.

There are more than 500 event organising companies and  numerous travel agents who will be happy to help you organise the wedding from pre wedding ceremonies to shopping for wedding finery to sightseeing for the guests, printing and distribution of invitation cards, wedding cake, choreographed  ladies sangeet,venue,caterers even choice of honeymoon destination with hotel package is done by the wedding planner- or you could do it on your own.

Once the date is fixed,all services are booked accordingly for that date and advances are paid. Let us begin with the venue.There is such a wide variety of venues available that your choices will only be restricted by money or prior bookings.Name your choice A grand Palace(Hotel Rambagh Palace),A small Haveli (Devi Niketan Or Raj mahal Palace on Sardar Patel Marg)A fort(Jai Garh or Nahargarh).Venue for reception( Sisodia Rani Ka Bagh or SMS convention Center or Rajputana Sheraton Hall).

Now you have to find that perfect Wedding card.Kashi nath ji ki Gali situated in Gopalji Karasta,in Chaura Rasta,in the Walled City.There are about 40-50 card shops here and they sell about 30 lac cards every year to people coming from all India.Cost of the card ranges from Rs.1 to Rs.500.There are more than 700 different sorts of cards available at a time.People are preferring hand made cards made in Jaipur presently.

An army marches on its stomach so does a good wedding.Menu? Your hearts desire.Just name the cusine you want.It will be there gracing the buffet tables on your wedding day.Money is the only object.

So for a catering service- ‘Caterers’ on Bhagwandas Road,Jaipur Quality Sweets,Off Ashok Marg- for Vegetarian food.  Mohan’s Opposite Neelam Hotel for Non Vegetarian catering.They are top of the line.

Jaipur is such a big tourist destination and marrige hub that it consumes flowers worth lacs of rupees every day.Keeping this fact in mind the Agriculture Department has decided to introduce floriculture in the city and alwar with the help of M/s Florance Flora ,Bangalore.They are going to cultivate jarbera,dutch rose and statis. And who can deny it a lot of flowers are a must in a wedding.They give wings to the brides singing heart. Event managers have gone a step further and are providing theme/season based flower decorated stages and wedding venues.They also use artificial flowers and vibrant colors and multicolored lights.For a different look they are even using dried flowers for decoration.

Big part of you time will be spent on buying stuff for the wedding.Or renting it for the day.This is the list of bazaars of Jaipur and what is sold there.The best thing to do is to provide the eldest relative with a car and a bright young man to shop for those little things you know nothing about but without which an indian wedding is incomplete.These things are available in the walled city only.
THE LIST

Rana’s in Johri Bazaar for Bridal Lehanga’s and sarees.

Raymond’s on M.I.Road for suit lengths.

Rajputana’s on panch batti for Achkans,shirts.

Mojari on Shiv Heera Path for jooties.

Jodhpur Tailors for Jodhpuri coat.

Bhuramal Rajmal Surana for Jewellery.

Relince Fresh,Big Bazaar at 22 godam, Spencers,Tru Mart,Subhiksha, National Hand loom,More… for Fruit Vegetables Groceries

Tej Tent Decorators on Sardar Patel Marg  Crockery,Chairs,etc

You will need a vediographer and a photographer and some friends who can shoot photographs well so that a  record can be kept of the happy event.And remember it should be all digital for the marriage blog or website or for that live broadcast on the net for the near and dear overseas who could not make it to the wedding.

These are the days of Bachelor and Bachelorette parties.So you have to decide the venue and the menu.If the guest list is only of a few intimate friends have the party at your home and have the food delivered from the nearby restaurants. Get your own wine and music.The other choice is- rent a lawn in a club and get a caterer to run the show.Or get a room in a hotel- let the hotel feed the party via room service.

If you do not know people whose chauffeur driven cars you can borrow for the duration of the marriage you will need to hire a fleet of taxis.Any travel agent will be able to help.For the groom An Elephant Or a mare Or a stretch Limo and for the bride a Palki no less and a Brass Band  from the 200 odd avilable to accompany them.You have to book them all&Pay the advance.They will be there on the appointed day right on time because they have other marriages to attend to also.

Do not forget to book the beauty parlour for the bridal Makeup.And the groom needs to visit a Salon too.One more booking.

A lavish suite for the first night in one of the palace hotels.The Groom has to be reminded to buy an expensive jwellery for the bride for the ‘Muh Dikahi Rasam’.

No indian wedding is complete without the Barat.You will need Dj, Light Wallas, Band, Mare,Elephant,Firecrackers,your friends to walk in the procession and dance in the street ahed of the barat.Youngest male member of your family will ride  with the groom as the child image of Ganesh.In Rajput weddings  the barat is formed by the male contingent only of family and Friends of the groom.

Finally the Barat reaches the brides home.Dwar pooja is done.Rest of the ceremoneis take place one by one. Pheras take place.The Bride and The Groom take the seven vows.

If they still do not believe that they are married.They can get their marriage registered right after the ceremony by the marriage registration officer at the wedding venue it self by paying the requisite fees & the officers travel allowance etc. and get their certificate duly signed and stamped.

The Guests offer their best wishes and some money.Everybody has dinner.The couple leave to get their elders blessings after which they retire for the night.

Couples from all walks of life-from all parts of the world come to Jaipur-to tie the knot.In the process they see their dreams come true on this earth. They are richer for the experience and poorer for the money they drop here.But-there is always a but-the locals have to suffer the noise pollution late night DJ parties,Traffic Jams,booked venues,overbooked trains and flights. sudden increase in price of milk and vegetables and sweets,scarcity of petrol, cooking gas&new small denomination currency notes.A lot of cooked food-which was not consumed in the party- is just thrown away on the street.It could be given to the homeless in jaipur.

Web Sites for Women

www.sitagita.com

http://www.stylecraze.com/

Matrimonial Sites on the Web.

http://www.bharatmatrimony.com/

http://www.shaadi.co.in/

http://www.jeevansathi.com/

http://www.secondshaadi.com/index.php

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