On a Sunday morning in Rajasthan, India, I had the amazing opportunity to check out a part of Jaipur that I don't think many tourists get to see. If it had not been for the efforts of Sita (for the purposes of confidentiality names have been changed ;-) my ISSJS colleagues and I were able to take a Heritage Walk around the Old Pink City side of Jaipur.
The Heritage Walks were started by a group of history buffs that wanted to take their knowledge back home and booster pride and historical knowledge about their home towns. I think that's personally amazing. I barely know anything historical about Fort Worth. I could tell you where to go eat, shop, cycle, picnic and the most beautiful spots there, but I couldn't give you the background, the journey it took to get there. So the fact that these Jaipurians (???) can divulge so much cultural information is so interesting.
But anywho, Sita arranged for one of these walks and we got to walk around the backstreets of Jaipur and you wouldn't believe the world that's back there. When I first went to this part of Jaipur I thought it was filled with bazaar after bazaar. I never imagined that there were people living behind them and the cost to stay there is baffling. Just a mere 50 or 60 rupees a month which equates to about a dollar, but that comes at a cost. The conditions were shocking and would be unimaginable for many Westerners. And yet, many Indians or at least many of the one's in Jaipur live this way and choose to live this way (according to the guide). I can't explain the conditions in words and that's where the wonderful invention which is photography comes into play.
I took many pictures, but I will only select a few impactful ones for this blog...
The Heritage Walks were started by a group of history buffs that wanted to take their knowledge back home and booster pride and historical knowledge about their home towns. I think that's personally amazing. I barely know anything historical about Fort Worth. I could tell you where to go eat, shop, cycle, picnic and the most beautiful spots there, but I couldn't give you the background, the journey it took to get there. So the fact that these Jaipurians (???) can divulge so much cultural information is so interesting.
But anywho, Sita arranged for one of these walks and we got to walk around the backstreets of Jaipur and you wouldn't believe the world that's back there. When I first went to this part of Jaipur I thought it was filled with bazaar after bazaar. I never imagined that there were people living behind them and the cost to stay there is baffling. Just a mere 50 or 60 rupees a month which equates to about a dollar, but that comes at a cost. The conditions were shocking and would be unimaginable for many Westerners. And yet, many Indians or at least many of the one's in Jaipur live this way and choose to live this way (according to the guide). I can't explain the conditions in words and that's where the wonderful invention which is photography comes into play.
I took many pictures, but I will only select a few impactful ones for this blog...
