A trip to Ranakpur: A place known, a destination Unknown.

The partly decadent Aravalli, Tropical desert forest, picturesque Jain temple, gurgling hilly brooks, and nature’s deadliest predators--- constitute the world of Ranakpur: A lifetime trip down memory lane.

The two are simply different: a ‘Tour’ to somewhere, and ‘Travelling’ that place, in real. The former is making an itinerary, booking the transport, conforming accommodation in the best possible hotel, and finally ticking against the checklist of a few ‘Tourist’ spots. However, ‘Travelling’ is more of a conscious experience on parts of individuals and is a process of continuous exchange between the ‘Other’ and ‘I’. It is more than just visiting the places of popular interest, buying souvenirs, or finding the perfect frame for a catchy social media feed.

I remember, somewhere I came across a beautiful description about who a ‘Traveller’ really is, by the French litterateur Baudelaire. The man delineates: a ‘Traveller’ is ‘An observer, is a prince, who is everywhere in possession of his incognito’. I am fond of such travels when I can just switch on the mode: ‘Incognito’. Well, lately, I have experienced one such.

     On our way to Ranakpur!

The Tempo lost its way in the jungles of a partially desiccated, red-soil, Aravalli. High on the mountain, cradled amidst Tropical Thorn Forests, in between the undulating plains of Jodhpur and Udaipur, awaited the next destination of our Rajasthan Trip itinerary, Ranakpur. Including our driver, we all were puzzled: which way to go? Well, not by the lukewarm responses of the satellites and Google, but trusting the worthy intuition, turning now to the left and now to the right, at last, we could make our way to the Government inn, Hotel Shilpi, our abode for the stay, at Ranakpur.

How to reach Ranakpur— How we made it!

Reaching, we all were tired and the inn had a perfect four-beamed portico to lean back on easy chairs and enjoy doing nothing. As the night quickly paced, every noise died in that valley. Our innkeeper warned us, the valley of Ranakpur, being infamous as leopard-haunted. This is the same valley, where the flagship Discovery Channel documentary ‘The Leopards of Jawai’ was shot, which puts Ranakpur on the wildlife enthusiast’s travel bucket list. Teased by the valley’s chilly wind, redolent of a forest smell, we could feel the temperature steadily going down. The moon, shyly, hid behind the curtain of clouds. Gradually, everything from our eyesight, the leopard- haunted valley, its deep gorges, the forest of unknown tall trees and the rut-covered highway edges started getting removed. The night was so dark that I couldn’t even see my hands, in front of my face.

 Ranakpur: The Hidden Gem of Rajasthan

 

 Located in Desuri tehsil near Sadri town in Pali district of Rajasthan, Ranakpur is situated, away from the busy and unfit-to-a-desert scenario highways, and the cluster of popular Hotels, dominating half of Rajasthan. The quaint, sleepy village is from a skip to a few hours visit and at most a one-night stay destination, for tourists. Most people give it a round while approaching Udaipur. Ranakpur is situated, just 91 km from Udaipur and 162 km away from Jodhpur. The nearest railway station to reach the village is Falna and Rani. Albeit, most people are oblivious to its presence, if, by sheer luck, one happens to pay a visit there, it is guaranteed, Ranakpur would claim a permanent entry in one’s storehouse of memory.

  Hotel Shilpi— The hotel we stayed at Ranakpur

The morning was rain-washed, simple, and soothing. Partly cloudy, partly bright, it brought life, back to the valley. At 10 o’clock after having our breakfast, a Rajasthan-Regular: Puri and Bhaji, we checked in. It is good to mention over here, Ranakpur is a place, where complete vegetarianism is followed, as it is one of the Jain pilgrimage spots. We decided on yesternight, not being very enthusiastic, to pay a visit of not more than fifteen to twenty minutes to the Jain Temple, the locals suggested us to visit. Who knew, it would cost us a perfect four hours and several revisits lifelong, through the anti-chambers of memory?

Ranakpur Jain Temple— A Magic in Marbles

         

    Inside the Ranakpur Jain temple premise, what we saw is beyond the capacity to describe in words. Of man’s finest sculptures, Ranakpur is surely one. Pristine white marbles, a Hindu temple, absolutely free from the crowd with its jaw-dropping grandeur, amidst wild nature gave birth, in my mind, a mixed bag of feelings. I felt like crying and laughing, at the same time. The temple, dedicated to Lord Adinath, is a sheer treat to the eyes. Carved out of marble blocks, the temple evoked an intense feeling of reverence. It is remarkable, in Ranakpur temple the balance between intense lace-lattice work of marble and relief of space takes its charm to some other level. Nothing is overdone. The temple positions itself atop a hillock, with an impressively wide frontal view. While I was approaching its narrow entrance, I could barely shift my sight from its richly carved domes. It is an august structure. A three-storied building. Atop all its Shikharas, red flags aflutter, making the whole valley of Ranakpur alert of its presence.

         The Mighty Ranakpur Temple Hall

         As soon as we entered the main hall of Ranakpur Temple, we simply were dazzled. Sometimes, the eyes ache to look at a work of art so perfect. A colonnade of luminescent pillars amassed our way. Exquisitely carved, we felt, each of these pillars as a work by one anonymous crochet artist, who has wrought on the marble intricate patterns, with her thin, long needles. The hall accompanies as many as 1444 pillars, each being in itself an impeccable sample of the artwork. When the delicious dessert sun pours through the gaps of these pillars, I imagined, what the temple structure would look like! Only subtle imagination can make you see, the desert sun caressing the Ranakpur Temple. Of the motifs carved in the pillars, common are lord Ganesha and other gods and goddesses, Kinnaras, Apsaras, dancing nymphs, Yakshas and Yakshis, etc. The muse of the local ecosystem, the varied ecology of Ranakpur, have also made their way in its temple carving. Scrutiny of Ranakpur Temple architecture reveals, each of its 1444 pillars has a unique idiosyncrasy, that separates it from the rest. Also, the pillars are aligned in such a way that the sun rays can reach each, at some point in the daytime.

Pro-tip

Be ready with your camera. Get all its settings done. The Ranakpur Temple changes its colour from rose-petal red at the dawn to whitish gold in the early morning hours, to grey in the afternoon, to dun in the early evening, and fawn in the evening. Therefore, plan an entire day to experience the maximum of Ranakpur Temple. Hotel Shilpi, the Rajasthan Tourism Government Inn, is just a few minutes walk from there. Simple, yet reasonably comfortable this hotel is the best stay if you want to experience Ranakpur, at its best.

Aue-Revoir to the Jain Temple of Ranakpur!

We simply didn’t want to leave. A temple so magnificent, that has defeated the inexorable march of time, seen kingdoms getting abolished, mighty emperors being martyred to save the motherland—the beautiful Rajasthan, appeared before my eyes as a saint meditating underneath the vast and enormous sky! A saint, who has traveled thousands of miles in the journey of life. Nothing now bothers him!

In the final moment, when in my mind I offered my reverence to the artists and sculpturists who could visualize and execute such a piece of object d’art, the Ranakpur temp uhle, and bid the sight adios…I somehow felt each one of them who contributed to the making of this colossal architecture is standing behind me. Their eyes savoring the sight of the pristine white marbles. As if they are awestruck, questioning in their mind:

                                      “How could we make it? This is unreal. This is magic!”

Photos from internet. 

A write-up by Souraseni Bhattacharyya. Souraseni has finished her post-graduation in English literature from University of Calcutta. Her writings got published in Bangladesh International Bookfair, Kolkata International Bookfair, Mumbai Literary Fest, Oxford Publications, India. She has won Half Cut National Poetry Challenge, and has been a National Poetry Champion, twice. Souraseni is currently in a mission with Durbar NGO, to spread education at Sonagachi, Kolkata, the biggest redlight area in India.