Beautiful Bundi

bjp

woohoo! kristinm! i'm here! guess where i'm staying?

i got here this morning, train from Mathura. i checked my print-outs [Lake View, Katkoun...] then braced myself and walked out of the station. ! , unlike any other place i've ever arrived at, there was no-one there! and not a single auto or riksha! just an auto coming down the road. a welsh guy got out, he wanted to find out about trains to Udaipur. we waited for him to come back. he said he stayed at Lake View one night and then moved to a gueshouse he did like. so we passed Katkoun, and i got the room next to his. nice people. nice little boy. later on i met the little girl, who got involved playing bubble ball on my mobile, then we went upstair for food. she was doing a good jopb of promoting her mom's food and so on, when a tortoise walked through the door. i said is the tortoise's name Gopi? it was, of course, so then realised. then the print-out of your post went to the kitchen to be read out to mommy. Anushta came later and asked if they could have that page.
so. Manglam. Manglam Guesthouse.
yes, these kids are smart.

kristinm

That's fantastic - please give them our love. Remind Anushta and her sister that Oscar was the 13yo Australian boy they tried to teach to do the latest Bollywood dance! They put on the disco lights and everything... We were there in January. Oscar wants to send them a photo, so if you could post the address that would be great - I've lost it of course. They are the nicest family aren't they? And you must have the cashew curry and the delicious Lassi with dried fruit!

machadinha

That's just the sweetest story, Bjp, Kristin! IM strikes again!

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kristinm

They are the most bewitching children - beautiful looking and they speak perfect English..really really smart too. They are a lovely Brahmin family, traditional in many ways I guess but also a very warm family - Dad and Mum cook & run the guesthouse, they also have an ice cream shop. Upstairs live Nanna and Grandad and the 'Upside sister' who I think is a cousin. The tortoise was Dad's pet when he was a boy..They are the type of kids you want to stay in touch with and maybe help out one day if they ever came here to University or something. We went for dinner and before you knew it the girls had their parents wedding album out (there was a wedding in Bundi the next night so they were all excited), then came the best saris out of the cupboard, and Mum's jewellry, then the tour of the house (all in one bed in winter to keep warm and separate rooms in summer) then the music went on and the dancing started. I think Oscar had a little crush on Anushta as I've never seen him get up and try to dance like that before.

machadinha

Ah well, there could be worse reasons to revisit (Yes, that upcoming itinerary keeps falling apart with every post I read here, but it's for another thread )

bjp

Thanks, machadinha.

kristinm, I'm sorry about the late reply. Since then I was back in Vrindavan for a week and now I've been back in South Africa for two weeks, and only now getting around to replying to the notification message in my Inbox at work.

Your description of the children is so good.
Purnima, the father, is a real gentleman.
You're right about trying to stay in touch with them, and the idea of the possibility of the children going to university overseas.
(Your details say Bondi - does that mean Sydney, Australia?)

I think I'm fortunate to have met them, to have stayed there. It was a relief from much of the rest of my experience (which was why I went to Bundi.)

I have the full details on my mobile here, including the email address.
It is Mangalam Guesthouse, not Manglam as it is spelled on the narrower sign outside. [Mangal means auspicious.]

It's two cousins (mother's sister's children) ...who sing very nicely doing evening arati.

You were there in January. It was very hot in April. The one day we hired motorbikes and rode out of town, and the heat - it was like someone had opened a giant furnace door - quite stunning.
I got as far as the palace, in the heat, on those slippery stones, and I decided not to try to go up to the fort, that I'd rather go sit with my friends in the shops down the road. The house was so cool, it was amazing.

I did have the lassi every day, it's about the best thing in the heat, but I never had the famous dried fruit lassi, only plain with elachi or with banana. Lots of chappatis, and the pumpkin and the calabash was the best I've ever had.

Here are the contact details (from the business card):

Mangalam Guesthouse
Rawala Gate (near Surang Darwaja)
Bundi 323001

mangalam_bundi@yahoo.com

home phone: 0747-2442555
mobiles: 98295-44642, 98871-44642

Purnima and Ashwini Sharma



PS: I have many photos of Bundi, mostly taken in around the guesthouse area, some of the Mangalam guesthouse. I'll try to post them in the gallery/attachments.

kristinm

I just pmd you so ignore that - I have the address now from your popst thanks, Oscar wants to send them a print of a couple of photos. I think one day we'll be watching that Anushta in a Bollywood movie, or running a multinational company and dining out on how we met her when she was a little girl!