Marwar-The Fringes of Drumkulya

Marwar

To The Fringes of Drumkulya?

"Fall in love with some activity, and do it! Nobody ever figures out what life is all about, and it doesn't matter. Explore the world. Nearly everything is really interesting if you go into it deeply enough. Work as hard and as much as you want to on the things you like to do the best. Don't think about what you want to be, but what you want to do. Keep up some kind of a minimum with other things so that society doesn't stop you from doing anything at all." ...Richard Feynman

It would be wrong of me to say that I had never nursed the thought. Infact, truth be told?I had been working on a visit to the Pink City for nearly a month. Two of my friends at Taj City Center Gurgaon had moved to the Taj Jai Mahal Palace and they had been quietly nudging me to pay them a visit. For some reason or another I kept avoiding the same.

Difficult in-bound tourism

In this country we often speak about the large population, but I have always found it easier to travel overseas than within India. Look at Jaipur, the flights from Delhi are at 5.00 AM and they drop you off at 5.30 or so. It is too early for? a small city that takes its own time waking up. Then look at the return flights, the last Air Asia (now AirIndia Express) flight is at 11.40 PM which drops you back in Delhi at 00.10 AM. Which means that even a small business trip would make you stay in the city overnight. This applies to many smaller cities in India, which are somewhat of a tourist attraction, that do not allow you to make a day-trip.

Technology to the fore

I don't?own a car, nor do I drive any longer. Yet, I have completed some 500 trips with Uber in the last five years making me one of their most frequent travellers. I was exploring the Uber App last Saturday and noticed I could take a Jaipur Intercity. An 8 hour trip, or 490 kms for a mere Rs 5000. This must have been at 10.00 AM and at 10.15 AM I had hitched a cab to Jaipur.?

Calling up Jai Mahal

As aforementioned, I had done some work on the visit and so I whatsapped the people at Taj. I wanted a proper Rajasthani meal-beginning with Mawa Kachori, Chach, the in-between millet based meals and ending up with Ghewar. Chef Pankaj Bharadwaj was excited and more than ready to help..he promised me the moon. Vineet was told to acquire 3 grown up Khejri trees for me..say about 5 feet in height and then I requested?GM Asha Gill to book me up at Cinnamon. That was pre-decided, Marble Arch and Giardino, the Italian joint were kept for another visit.

Drumkulya

The Marwar region stretches all the way from the Arabian Sea, with the Blue city Jodhpur on one fringe and moving up North and East towards the Pink city Jaipur. This barren, monstrous piece of land is the abode of warriors and the Rathore Kings who have not only steadfastly protected their lands but the people, food and their traditions for centuries. If we stretch the argument a bit further the arid lands of Gujarat and the outpost of Jaisalmer are from where the Great Thar begins.

Valmiki's Ramayana mentions that in his search for Sita, Bhagwan Rama asked the Sea King Varuna to give them a path across the waters to reach Lanka. Unaware, Varuna refuses and in Anger Lord Rama fires the Brahmastra at the Sea. Realising that Lord Rama was none other than an Avatar of Vishnu, Varuna cedes the way. But what to do with the Arrow and the Brahmastra that had been launched. Varuna suggests that the divine instrument of mass destruction be moved towards the region of Drumkulya-a sea which was infested with dacoits and pirates. The Lord's arrow turns the Sea into a desert-the modern Thar, and one which stretches as far as Kazakhstan.?

Collateral Damage

It is said that no matter how angry a mother gets with her children it never leaves them hungry. Though the divine arrow had caused immense destruction, there was collateral damage in the form of innocent people living there. Thus, in this barren wasteland sprung up the Khejri tree and sorghum on their own volition. The Khejri, Shami or Jand tree grows across the entire arid regions and folklore says, if even one family has one tree with them? it can save them from even the worst famine. The tree goes upto to about 15-20 feet, has roots longer than the trunk that hold and retain water and soil. The green leaves on the tree can be fed to the goats. The peapods cooked as a meal. Thus a family gets milk from the Goats which in turn can be turned into Ghee, Butter, Chach and Curd, the peapods of the Khejri as a vegetable. The sorghum and varyingly the pearl millets (Bajra) into flour to bake rotis. The dried stems of the tree for cooking up an oven fire.? ? ?

History has it that during the 13th year of their Exile, the Pandavas hid their Divine weapons in the Khejri trees while they were hiding as servants in the kingdom of Virat. They returned after a year to collect their weapons, which remained safe with the Khejri trees and thus this tree is considered auspicious and worshipped on Vijay Dashmi. For its divine benevolence and as a provider of food and safety, this tree is also called Kalpatru? and holds its own unique importance in Mewar.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ??

Pearl Millets

Around 1544 AD, the Slave Ruler of Delhi Sher Shah Suri attacked Marwar with an 80,000 strong infantry. The Rathore king Maldeo met them in a fierce battle with his own force of 40,000 odd soldiers. The war lasted for a month. Each day, fed with Khejri pods and Millets the Rathore soldiers came refreshed for a fight, while the Afghans began to run out of food and had severe reversals. History attributes this quote to Sher Shah Suri, "for a handful of Pearl Millets I would have gladly given up the Throne of Delhi". Anyway, outnumbered, the Rathores lose the battle, only to regain it back one year later.

Panchkuta

Jodhpur is thus the culinary capital of Rajasthan and within its fold are held the cooking secrets of Marwar. The most famous amongst them is the Panchkuta. Popularly known as Ker-Sangri, the Panchkuta is made with five vegetables Ker, Sangri, Gunda, kumatia and Amchur. All vegetables are ethnic to modern day Rajasthan and truly represent the food culture of Marwar. Here we should not forget the role of the Red Chili. In most parts of Rajasthan a particular variety of Red Chili is grown and it is called the Mathaniya.

Arid Region, Hot Food, Big Heart

The vast Thar?has extreme weather. While it could be 50 C in the day hours, it could easily dip to minus temperatures late in the night. The extreme heat requires thin, flowing blood to counter the heat. Thus the Mathania Red Chili has to be an essential part of every Rajasthani meal. At the same time, except for some patches here or there to find drinking water the human population has to dig deep into the ground. Thus, like the roots of the Khejri go down deep in search of water, so do the humans. So, it follows, that one who digs deep must also have a deep heart. The people of Marwar are sensitive, deep rooted, god fearing and with deep emotions and big hearts. Which invariably shows in their food culture and hospitality.

It's About 2.00 Noon now

I have reached the outskirts of Jaipur, when Chef Pankaj calls to find out how soon I would be reaching over. Crossing over Birla Mandir and Rambagh Palace I enter the gates of Jai Mahal Palace. It's as if the whole Taj team is waiting to welcoming me in. I am swiftly moved into Cinnamon, Chef Pankaj comes over and very soon Vinit and Asha. They apologise for having missed my birthday a fortnight back and gossip with me about here and about for about half an hour. Meanwhile Pankaj sends across a Tomato shorba with Tikha lal papad to get me going. Over the next one hour I would be served everything from Dal, Rajasthani kadi, Kesar Biryani, Bati, Chach, Gatta curry, ker-sangri, gulab sakri, curd, bajra ki roti, missi roti, the normal wheat flat bread, gulab jamun, ras malai and take back with me a small pack of Ghewar. To complete the icing, Pankaj had baked a small chocolate cake for me, with one candle and they all participated in yet another celebration of mine.?

The Khejri Tree

Just as I am about to leave, Vineet comes over.? His colleagues Bhanu, Manoj and the horticulturists at Jai Mahal have arranged not one but four Khejri trees for me. Beautifully wrapped up, they place the live plants into my Uber. After quick handshakes and goodbyes and a promise to visit them all again I begin my return journey to Gurgaon. A good highway, but which has potential to be bettered I leave sufficiently full, delighted and so much more learned. While I reached my apartment around 8.30 PM and could only wait till Dawn to plant my trees. All 4 planted on Ashtami, remembering God and thanking him for all that he has given and for this Life which has helped me meet some of the finest people on Earth.

I am reminded of this famous quote from Dr. George Sheehan, ""If you are doing something you would do for nothing, then you are on your way to salvation. And if you could drop it in a minute and forget the outcome, you are even further along. And if, while you are doing it, you are transported into another existence, there is no need for you to worry about the future."

Amen! #TajHotels #Asha Gill # Vinit # Chef Pankaj Bharadwaj # JaiMahal Palace # Jaipur