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Falling Short

I imagined a Pepto-Bismol pink city when I saw Jaipur for the first time a few weeks ago. Growing up, I had read stories of mystery, adventure and intrigue set there - with the obligatory reference to its preternatural pinkness. Since I had never come into contact with the reality of Rajasthan, everything was highly romanticized in my mind. This is where I would travel back in time, see the India as it had once been. There would be perfection that never made it out to the rest of the country. Our car crossed one of the city gates and into Jaipur - dream had come into contact with material things. Absolutely chaotic traffic, no real pink but the color of sandstone, the impossibility of taking anything in without the clamor of vendors, peddlers, tour guides, scam artists, and rickshaw guys all trying to sell and pitch you things. 

The level of chaos is such that is impossible to focus on anything. You just want a few minutes of peace and quiet to see what is around, savor coming to the place of your dreams since childhood. The City Palace had been rented out for a wedding party. Hundreds of workers were busy decorating the place. A large image of Shiva and Parvati was part of the decor and had been placed in the center of a large pillared hall. Whoever was getting married was obviously rich but lacked good taste - the decorations were very overboard bordering on tacky. Tourists like us were passing by and many took pictures by the papier-mâché idol painted to look like brass.

It is all about faith in the end - so what if it did not belong to a temple of unknown and unknowable age, was made out painted scraps of waste paper not stone. It did not have to lack in divinity for any of that. Our driver took us to the best chaat place in town in the some deep back alley. That was a rewarding experience away from the madness of tourist attractions. I can't claim to have a lot of knowledge or experience with chaats but this one tasted exceptional to me. The city was very far from what I had imagined it to be but the food consistently exceeded expectations including the lassis and the Rajasthani thali. 

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