I have a new talent! I can play Finger Billards, or rather Carom. After visiting the Taj Mahal I decided to continue my tour of India with a six day tour of Rajasthan. (Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur)
Why so quick? Well there has been major turmoil going on involving the Gujjar. The night after I took the Jaipur-Delhi train that stretch of rail was torn up in protest. But since I was already safely in Rajasthan all I had to worry about was getting home, but I had a week to figure that out.
Rajasthan while defined by some as a land of Palaces, Forts, and the Desert, for me it signifies Hospitality. After five months I have been followed by touts, ripped off by Rickshaws, gotten sick by a fair number of food born causes, so as I left Delhi alone to go into the heart of tourism I had my best poker face on. The one that says don’t mess with me and I know where I am going even though I have never been here nor can I tell you what street I am on.
Rajasthan while a bustling tourist destination normally, was in the off season, which means it is hot. So hot that I think shop keepers couldn’t even be bothered to shout out onto the street at me, let alone follow me. I stayed at three different hotels, all Lonely Planet approved, but I found them by Rickshaw recommendations…a chance to be ripped off and be paying their commission, but it was a blessing. It was truly too hot to wander around lost searching on my own for hotels.
My entire laid back attitude towards the trip allowed me to sit for hours sharing photos, drinking Chai, go spice shopping for a dinner of Mutton I was then invited to, and to play hours of Carom. Thus discovering my new talent. Carom, a game not for the weak in geometry, is all about bouncing off one wall and knocking pieces into goals. I did go to beautiful Palaces, Forts, and the Desert (where I rode a Camel) but by spending the hot part of the day hanging out with hotel owners and tuk-tuk drivers I saw more into the lifestyle of a specific community than I think I had experiences in Delhi over the last 5 months.
Spices:
Udaipur Lake
Oh and although the train is still disrupted (two weeks after my trip), my ticket home took me a different route so there was no problem getting home.
Jodhpur: Blue city
3 comments:
I want a picture of you playing this game...I don't understand it at all.
We used to have the little red and green wooden rings on a wooden board, called Carroms. You hit them with a cue stick, though I don't remember the purpose.
We also had a carrom board like Adam discribed. As usual, I gave it to Goodwill just last fall.
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