The Bollywood Experience

After breakfast yesterday I left the Hotel and walked up the street into a camel coming out of a private driveway. It was pulling a cart full of building material. The owner/driver said its name was Kamal.  This morning there were 5 cows sitting at an intersection just along from where the camel was yesterday so I suppose tomorrow it will be a tiger or an elephant. You have to love this place!

Today I am heading into town to look at the shops and go to a recommended restaurant for lunch and then later to Amber Fort. Yesterday I was going to the Bus station for my ticket to Pushkar  - the usual tussle with the autorickshaw man for a price, the usual tusle with the beggar for some money, and also  as usual, very helpful people in the Bus Station making sure I got the right ticket and offering to show me the  correct platform when I come back tomorrow for the trip. Outside again, the Beggar girl was sitting in the dust smiling at the Policeman who had a nasty looking heavy stick in his hand and he was speaking sternly to the girl but she just kept smiling. I think he wanted to stop her annoying me but I smiled at him and said she wasn't. So then the next sentence was "Where you from..?" and you know the rest! Mind you he didnt have anything to sell, or much time to chat as he headed off before I did!

After that I headed for my Bollywood experience. The LP (Lonely Planet) said if you are going to see a Bollywood movie while in India, THE theater to watch one is the Raj Mandir off MI Road in Jaipur so thats where I went. My ticket was for the 1230 show - its so hot here I decided this was the best time to be indoors - and cost 150 Rupees which is about  $3.50. I was an hour early and there was a plague of child beggars who soon enough depleted all my loose change but still they wouldnt leave me alone so I retreated into the nearby McDonalds . My pack was scanned by the Guard at the door, and I sat reading the newspaper with a small Coke and  McAloo Tikki - which I think was a vegetarian burger and quite tasty. Next thing the kids are tapping on the window beside me!

So off I went to this extraordinary movie theatre that was vast and richly and ornately over-decorated inside, but really wonderful to see. My seat was upstairs - probably 90% were downstairs and much cheaper, - very luxurious and comfortable though very worn, and right at the front so I had a perfect view. The movie - "Dabangg" -  was in Hindi of course, no subtitles and I missed a few of the jokes but overall I got the story worked out - sibling rivalry, greed and treachery, love interests, wild chases and brawls with lots of smashed furniture and huge panes of glass shattered, ripped shirts and "six packs", brooding looks, scowls of anger, tears and rage, shooting and missing the goodguys and baddies  going down by the score, massive explosions ,sultry  dark eyed women and of course the dancing and singing which was really wonderful. Obviously hugely enjoyable by all as attested by audience screams and shouts throughout. It was a three hour  experience with an intermission for drinks and popcorn but also huge cream-filled pieces of sponge cake,and spicy samosas and a round flat fried thing with spicy onion mixture inside that I enjoyed.. That was such fun.

No sign of the beggar kids when I went back outside and caught a cycle rickshaw to a glistening white Temple. A cycle rickshaw is a 3 wheeled pushbike with an extra - and  wider - seat and canopy on the back. They're great for shortish trips as they are slow and quiet. The driver wasnt sure where I wanted to go so I directed him down the streets using the LP Map! - wasn't sure how accurate the map would be but it worked perfectly!  Autorickshaws are the ones called tuktuks elsewhere, three wheels but a motorbike engine at the back and noisy but quicker. I got one of these to take me back to the Hotel for 50 Rupees : $1.25. For dinner I had one beer, Cumin Rice and whole baked tomatoes stuffed with cheese and swimming in a lovely spicy sauce. That was about $5. 

All the Indians were thrilled about beating Australia by One Wicket - theyre calling it The Miracle at Mohali! - but there doesnt appear to be that much interest in the Games.