Indian Blues

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"Our second stop in Rajasthan is the blue city of Jodhpur. This city is famous for a couple of reasons. First, it is home to a large and imposing fort that occupies an entire mountain top. The fort was superbly constructed from a militaristic standpoint and over the centuries it was never taken by force. The inside, on the other hand, exhibits some of the most beautiful and delicate architectural detailing ever produced by men. It served its masters well, and now the masters are serving it. The current Maharaja (though never having lived at the fort himself) has built a very successful foundation charged with the care and restoration of the fort.

Radiating from the fort in 360 degrees is the city of Jodhpur itself. In the days of old it was custom for the Brahman (or priest class) to paint their homes blue. This turned to be something of a natural mosquito repellant when word spread everybody in town, each and every class, was painting their home blue. This is how it was explained to us, anyway. Regardless of the reason, the results are astounding. From the rooftops you look out across a beautiful sea of blue with a tremendous fort-mountain busting out of the center. Not too bad. "