Favorite Destinations
The desert cities of Rajasthan are some of the most popular destinations in India for good reason. The opulent Mughal and Rajput palaces, romantic hotels and colorful bazaars symbolize for many people mythical, regal India. The challenge is uncovering less visited sites and festivals where you aren't elbow-to-elbow with other tourists. This is a major focus of my tour research activities in India. Last year I had the good fortune of visiting the Ramdevra festival in western Rajasthan. Baba Ramdev was a 15th-century saint who believed in the equality of all human beings and is revered by both Hindus and Muslims. Thousands of pilgrims come to the Ramdevra festival each year, some of them walking for hundreds of miles in bare feet, to pay their respects to the saint. I stayed in the nearby town of Pokhran, which features a number of beautiful havelis, which are intricately-carved mansions built by the region’s merchants out of red and yellow sandstone. My small hotel was inside the 14th-century Pokhran Fort; half of the old rooms had been converted into lodging, while the other half remained in their original state. Part of the fort also housed a small museum that reputedly contained the sword of Baba Ramdev. My enormous room was at the top of a tall flight of stairs, with views overlooking the palace grounds and old fort walls. I was awakened each morning (very early...) by the sound of ringing bells and shuffling feet; only later did I realize that my room was right next to the main temple in the palace, and that EVERY pilgrim to Ramdevra stopped by Pokhran Fort to see Baba Ramdev's sword and say a prayer in the fort's temple. In fact, during the Ramdevra festival, Pokhran Fort comes alive again, reminding guests like myself what it must have been like hundreds of years ago.