Alwar and Sariska

This was a New Year trip to remember.

Our road trip to Alwar and the Sariska Tiger Reserve was just meant to be a break - from the dreariness of Covid Lockdowns and the usual overcast gloominess of peak-winter in Delhi. The expectations were rather low - we had not spotted a tiger during our trip to Ranthambore, so in our calculus, Sariska, with less than half the number, did not stand much of a chance. I had not heard much about sightseeing in Alwar, and the hotel too did not seem remarkable.

As a fallback option, I had armed myself with a nice fat book to cope with the anticipated ennui - "Slavery and South Asian History", a compilation of essays by Indrani Chatterji and Richard M. Eaton.

Four days later I am looking back with wonder and amazement over the fact that Alwar does not attract even a fraction of the tourist traffic that throngs the so -called Golden Triangle of Delhi-Jaipur-Agra.

It is a lovely getaway. Alwar is a plain little town that hides its treasures very well, and Sariska Tiger Reserve has the feel of a Jurassic Park biding its time, waiting for the world to wake up to its potential.

We started out road trip on 30 Dec., 2020, half expecting the roads to be blocked by agitating farmers. The journey was smooth - except for the switchover from National Highway 8 to the State Highway. The junction at Bhiwadi is a pot-holed mess and for a few dozen kilometres the SH has a nasty collection of unmarked speed-breakers. Once you get past these, the driving is smooth as can be.

Hotel Alwar Bagh Aamod is about midway between Alwar and Sariska. It covers a large area alongside the Aravali hills, with lawns, orchards and gardens. The rooms are so-so. Many of the facilities it promises on its website are not available (space observatory, table-tennis), while some of the 'sports facilities' are downright pathetic - especially indoor games like snookers, darts and carroms. The hotel blames this on cutbacks linked to the the C19 lockdowns. However, it does have a bunch of really helpful and proactive staff. The obstacle course is particularly good, and is staffed by an able Lucky-ji. They also offer a decent buffet spread for breakfast and dinner as a part of the package.

The drive from Aamod to Sariska is quite interesting. The gentle Aravali hills seem to grow higher and broader, you drive past an unmarked fort surrounded by jagged rock formations, past the buffer area of the park until you reach the main entrance which seems to sit at the centre of a massive U-shaped valley. 

I was surprised to learn that this park covers 881 sq.km which is more than double the size of the Ranthambore reserve. It has lovely scrub forests and valleys filled with dhok trees, plenty of deer (Sambhar, spotted and Neelgai) and birds. We hired a jeep and drove around route-2 for more than two hours, enjoying the pin-drop silence broken only by occasional animal calls, and the low rumble of the vehicle. One obvious flaw of this park is that it allows private vehicles owned by local villagers, unfettered access right through the park. No wonder the tiger population here fails to grow here -- the domestic cows and buffaloes that roam around in the park are clearly not bothered by the tigers. 

The park has a ticket counter but it is better to make online bookings at Sariska Tiger Reserve site. It is better to choose the open jeeps over the noisy canters at about INR 800 pax.

The park does gives you a sense of how this area would have looked for thousands of years. Alwar district located along one of the old trade routes to the Arabian Sea, so it is not surprising that it has a long history. During the Vedic era and the Mahabharata wars (~4000 BCE?), this area was ruled by the Matsyas. An Ashoka edict in nearby Viratnagar (Bairat) dates back to 300 BCE but  the structures that stand today are the palaces, tanks and forts built by the local Rajput clans.

Alwar's medieval palace now functions as a dreary government secretariat but three things here a strong impression -- Musi Rani ki Chattri (a mausoleum), the terraced water-tank, and the government museum. At the mausoleum a board tells you that it was built in the memory of Raja Bhaktavar Singh and his wife, Musi, who committed "sati" on his funeral pyre. 

The truth is a bit more complicated. According to the book on Slavery, Musi was actually war booty - a slave girl snatched from the Meo tribe defeated by the Rajputs. 

The museum here is a bolt out of the blue - neat, well organised with excellent displays of paintings, artefacts and weapons. Some of the collections here surpass the National Museum in New Delhi!

It would be wonderful to see the rest of the Alwar palace, and the water-tank restored to its former glory. 

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REFERENCES & LINKS

- Sariska Tiger Reserve - http://www.tourism.rajasthan.gov.in/content/rajasthan-tourism/en/tourist-destinations/sariska-tiger-reserve.html

- Dhok Trees - https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/dhok-the-purple-heart-warrior-of-the-aravallis/article28295083.ece

- Rajasthan Tourism - http://rtdc.tourism.rajasthan.gov.in/

- Alwar Bagh Aamodh Hotel, Sariska - https://www.aamod.in/sariska/ -- note - photos and details here are completely out of date. 

Herat - City of Spires and Pines

Ancient cities have a life of their own. We read stories about them and build a certain picture in our imagination. Ground realities however turn out to be something else.

Herat is no different. To a visitor coming from Kabul it gives you a glimpse of what cities in Afghanistan could be. Relaxed, dignified, and aware of its own stature and place in history at the crossroads of civilizations.

This was once a city of fire-worshipping Zoroastrians, an area famous for its great wines until the Arabs took over after 650AD. Here ruled the Macedonians led by Alexander, the Turks, Chinese, Mongols and, of course, the Persians. It was also one of the few cities of the Islamic world to be ruled for an extended period by a woman- Queen Gawhershad - remembered today as the builder of the grand towers of the Musalla Complex.

In present day Herat, the first thing that struck me is the pine trees. Almost all the roads are lined with towering old pines. Having seen these trees only above the "pine-line" in the Himlayas, I always thought they needed steep slopes to grow big and strong, so it was bit surprising to see them all lined up in a city that was as flat as a chappati. 

Unlike Kabul which is sectioned by 2000m high 'hills', and urban settlements that have grown along a meandering river, Herat has a clear grid-like layout. A straight road brings you from the airport, right into the city centre. The security footprint here is more subtle - fewer warplanes in the airport, hardly any buildings barricaded  with T-walls and barbed wire. There are no military blimps watching you from the skies or  helicopters constantly buzzing overhead, rattling the window-panes.

The streets and markets are bustling with men and women. Fruits seem larger, jucier and more colorful; the saboos naan a lot tastier; streets are less cluttered and far less dustier, the air crisp and clean. Children crowd around street vendors; strange looking, colorful three-wheelers fashioned out of motorcycles trundle on the streets, looking as though they are going to take off any minute into the skies.

And yet you are constantly reminded that this city is not peaceful as it looks. Violence and robbery on the streets is not rare. A colleague was recently coming out of a restaurant, chatting on his mobile when a car stopped in front of him. He thought the driver needed directions, until he saw a pistol aimed at his head. Within seconds, his mobile was snatched, his purse taken out of his pocket and car was gone.

Things may not be what they seem, but I would like to think that the people of Herat hold one of the keys to peace and prosperity in this war-torn country.