Northern Rajasthan

Two nights in Jaipur was two too many, and I headed north to a town I had picked out, not mentioned in Lonely Planet, which thus had inherent appeal. After a local ‘express/super deluxe’ bus, I whittled down a rickshaw driver to the standard range of about 60% of his starting price. The puzzled expressions offered by locals at the sight of me were clear indications of a well-chosen destination off the potato trail. One particular motorcyclist, after passing my rickshaw on the highway, slowed down to yell at me through the wind and over the noise, with a look of concern, ‘Where you are going sir??!’



At last I grabbed my things and watched with unease as the rickshaw drove away into the fading, dusty sunset, only to soon realize there was no accommodation to be had in this town of my choosing. For the next week, however, I returned in day trips from a nearby basecamp, where I stayed with a family on a small organic farm. The journey on dirt roads between the two villages consisted of constant entertainment, and the attractions en route often eclipsed the destination itself.



After several inquiries about local marigold production, my ‘host mom’ offered to arrange for me to stay with her friends on another farm, one of the largest in the region, and of course I cheerfully accepted. It was now 2:15pm, and their marigold harvest began at 3:30pm, so I quickly packed up and flagged a motorcycle. The 900-acre property contained plum and mango orchards, an equestrian facility, a plant nursery, and cut-flower, vegetable, and dairy operations. It’s run as a true family farm, a collaborative effort of the 25 family members and their hired help. Staying here as a fly on the wall was a special experience on many levels - to observe a rather large Indian family with four generations under one roof, to partake in the daily affairs of a Rajasthani farm, and of course to gain an intimacy with local people that’s difficult to come by as an independent, anonymous traveler.