What took me to Castle Bera was the search for leopards but
the people of the area stole the adventure.
But the castle itself was impressive and different from those I am
familiar; mostly in Europe. The castle also
known as the “Rawala” gets its name from the village where it is located at the
highest point. It has been recently
opened as a hotel and the ambiance is that of the 1920-1940s. The guest areas are spacious and the bathrooms
huge equipped with porcelain fixture of the time period. The one I stayed have a central living room
and separate sleeping quarters, all furnished in a quasi-art deco style.
The photographs of several generations of the family dressed
in royal dresses with jewels, feathers and swords denote the wealth and royal
pedigree of the family. One of the
family members was a famous hokey player, the castle has horse stables but they
are no horses…gone with the wind. One
final note, the dining room is British in style and the Indian food was the
best I had, freshly made to order. The
owner was very polite and makes you feel as you are a friend and not a
customer. A “must stay” place.
As previously mentioned, I went there for the leopards;
photographing them was another issue since they are mostly seen at nighttime. Several were seen, more that I can say about
East Africa, were you are lucky to see one.
These animals were in rocky hills but came down at dusk to hunt. I understand that they feed mostly in the
sacred cows, and that since nobody owns them there is no much of a
problem. I did see the feathers leftover
from a peacock that who was eaten by leopard.
The images of the leopards were taken using ISO above 4000 so the colors
may be off a bit.
There was other wildlife such as the Eurasian Eagle Owl, the
Peach Headed Parrot, the House Crow and the Sarus Crane. These birds were very suspicious of
approaching people.
The Saurus crane was photographed in nearby Jawai Dam; the
largest in western Rajastan, but due to the current drought is basically dry.
Just as the rest of the world, India is undergoing extreme weather
changes. Near the dam I passed and
interested abandoned home built among the large boulders in the side of the
mountain.
The people made the trip, their colorful turbans and
clothing made the camera’s pixels jump with joy. Since no many westerners are seen in this
area, you become a curiosity to them.
All willing to be photographed; I was invited inside homes where the
hosts gathered the family for introductions.
I was always offered water to wash and to drink using pantomime language,
since I could not speak their dialects. In most parts of India, the people speak English
that is the alternate official language, but not here. It is hot in Bera with
116 degree F the day I was walking down the streets. Above are the images of a couple whose home I
visited.
There was a Kodak moment down every street. I noticed that in this village, both the men
and women were wearing their traditional costumes. Unlike the people in other countries where
the women still dress in the traditional outfits but the men as adopted western
style clothing, the old dress norm has been maintained both.
While driving down the roads, plenty of photo opportunities
were available. Since I was traveling to
get to the sites where the wildlife was, the photos above were taken on the go
from an open Jeep. Most of the people
walk and carry their loads in their heads, the more prosperous ones may have
bicycles or motorcycles but cars were rare except for commercial trucks. Red turbans were predominant in the
countryside.
To go in search of the leopards, I was on the road by 5 AM
and routinely stopped at a tea house. This was the most delicious tea, a mix of tea
with milk and sweetener. I do not like
tea but this was different, I was told that the tea they used was the secret
since it had such a pleasant flavor. It
was served in a small clay cup…an Indian version of hour disposable drinking
paper cups. I was surprised when the
people finished their tea; they smashed the cups against the ground. The story is that these cups are very cheap
to make and since they made out of clay, they are environmentally friendly and
will return to the soil as they break down.
By using these cups, there is not a need to wash them and also creates
jobs in Bera for those who make them.
Above is an image of a woman walking by a roadside dump (very common),
notice a clay cup at the bottom left corner.
An image of a cup is above…I collected 6 but only one made it back home
intact. I wonder how much it is worth at
the Antique Show?
