Basecamp India

At dusk I find myself sitting on the roof of a 350 year-old fortress, watching the village below settle for the night. I feel like a king up here, a feeling strengthened by being in the company of Prince Praduman, my Basecamp host. He shares stories of his noble family, with roots going back to the 11th century, of wars and the legendary Maharajas, of India and of Hinduism. When he asks what I have enjoyed the most during my visit in Rajasthan, I do not mention the Taj Mahal, camel trekking in the desert, the train ride from New Delhi, the holy lake at Pushcar, the impenetrable palaces rising high above the sun-charred plains, or the Blue City of Jodhpur No, I tell him honestly that it is Chandelao – «his village». The hours I spent this morning just watching the women in their bright colorful saris fetching water at the nearby lake – that was pure magic! Far away from the tourist crowd, but I thought, close to the soul of India.