Going wild in the country : next stop ,the Bijaipur luxury tented camp at Pangarh Lake Retreat. The same Maharajah as Castle Bijaipur has set up this wonderful campsite on the edge of the mesmerising Pangarh lake (a lake that apparently has never dried up for the last 1000 years). Firstly head down a vertical rock slope to get to the lakeside.Once your heartbeat haseturned to normal there are more english country garden flowers in a very tasteful border by the tents and a view across the lake to the ruined fort beyond. We have already seen Syrus cranes (well i can see a vague speck in the far distance , they could be birds or stuffed aubegines with my binoculars. I am assured they are indeed the real thing .Paul can see them perfectly with his better binos and Lottie has probably got close up pictures !!
Tents, and camping a la luxe: firstly you notice the teak deckchairs and handy drinks table outside and you think hello , this is impressive!! inside the fully plumbed bathroom (loo , fitted wash stand etc )is a shock but the shower would be a step too far , even though we are assured it has hot water !! it still is cold at night and first thing, and the very idea of taking any layer of clothing off is unthinkable ! plus the fact that your silhouette is illuminated like an awful shadow show by a very bright bulb and you would provide the next village and beyond with an impromptu striptease .The blankets are a bit suspect though and despite piling the fusty old things on during that night I wake up a lot.Dreaming of scorpions and snakes doesnt help.
Life on a lake : if it wasn’t for the constant thrum of a generator pumping up water all through the day this would be a peaceful place. There are guys sculling to and fro on dug outs going where ? and why ? we never find out.Plus there is a crazy building site in the further village. They are building something big which looks like a temple. Working on bamboo scaffold and in flip flops it is a real health and safety nightmare. Despite all that ,the birds are pretty super .
Bassi brides and the big brass sound: yes of course there is a wedding at the Fort of Bassi. We get involved somehow and up stage the groom (miserable and moody- so no change there) the ladies are sweet and want to be filmed , in a whirlwind of colour and noise (sort of mad jazz on speed) Bassi is of course famous, although it takes a bit of finding , for its woodwork and wooden toys. Really handmade. Their storybook boxes which sort of fold out and tell a story will be super things to make and have for the children at the hospital. We saw a cupboard size version in Udaipur at the museum.
Bassi fort is crumbling like a teetering wedding cake into sad bits and shards and there don’t appear to be any guests. We met a french couple who have just arrived to stay and who are in a state of shock and horror . They scramble back into their taxi and demand to be taken to somewhere more lively and happening .Very telling.
We do see a fabby stone trough which would be super in large size at Disha.. Imagine it filled with dark water lillies…
Sunset scramble : Prakash rounds us up and we fire back to the lakeside for a screamingly snazzy sunset . They are always so dramatic and pulse with all the colours imaginable in the paintbox. Wildlife scatters as we zoom back through the villages, passing shepherds with herds of their unwoolly sheep/goat mixtures returning for the night and ladies struggling back with half a tree on their heads and bundles of fodder for the cattle. This scene is unchanged and probably has been thus for so many millenia.
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