Chandra
I just became Facebook friends with Chandrajeet Rathore in India. Chandrajeet, or Chandra as he is more familiarly known, was my group leader for 2½ weeks during the northern portion of my 5-week trip through India in February and March 2006. Chandra, who is Indian, was, for the most part, an excellent guide and loads of fun. He knew so much about the customs and traditions of India, and I learned a lot from him. He was also quite the character; indeed, when I first met him and we were on an early morning quest for Indian rupees, he told me he had two wives and seven children. It wasn't until almost the very end of my time with him that he told me the truth: 1 wives and 2 kids!
At Madhogarh Fort with my sister, Susan
The aftermath of the Holi festival at the king's castle in Bijaipur.
At dinner
Chandra has "shoe watch" at Amber Fort near Jaipur.One of my most memorable times with Chandra was our camel safari in Pushkar. Below is the tale:
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After traveling through some of the most spectacular areas of India I was on the last leg of my incredible five-week journey through this wonderful country. In Pushkar - camel capital of Asia and home of the famous annual Pushkar Camel Fair - I was going on my very first camel "safari," and this was to be the highlight of my trip.
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It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon when 13 camels arrived at my hotel to pick up their human cargo: me, my traveling companions, and our guide, Chandra. However, my camel-riding excitement quickly turned to apprehension when I saw the monstrous size of those beasts. I decided on the smallest camel, a dark, chocolate brown "cutie" with a colorful pompom through her nose. After a quick show-and-tell lesson on how to get on and get off of a camel, which looked quite terrifying in itself, it was time for me to board this formidable creature.
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On command, Cutie lowered herself onto all fours, with her front legs tucked under her and her backside resting on her knees. Even in this position, her hump, onto which I was to sit, was chest-high. I grabbed onto the saddle - a term I use loosely since it consisted mostly of a heap of blankets secured with a couple straps - and swung my right leg over Cutie's hump. As I attempted to hoist myself onto Cutie, she unexpectedly stood up! First lifting her back side, then her front, I tried desperately to hold on. With only one leg over Cutie and the rest of me clinging onto her side for dear life, I was completely off balance six feet in the air.
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I could hold on no longer. On the way down, I could only say a quick prayer for fear that death by trampling camel hoofs was imminent. I landed on my back, and despite instantaneous intense pain and getting the wind knocked out of me, I attempted to scramble to safety as 13 camel drivers jostled to drag me out from underneath the looming belly of that camel. As I gasped for breath, Chandra, in his sing-song Indian accent, urged me, "Try again. Just like when one falls off a horse, you must get right back on." Well, there was no way I was going to attempt to get on that she-devil again. I resigned myself to ride in the camel cart, an excruciatingly bumpy ride behind a foul-smelling dromedary with a severe case of gas. Meanwhile, Chandra got out the first-aid kit for some pain relief cream. He presented me with calamine lotion, an anti-itch remedy for poison ivy! Lo, there was nothing in that first-aid kit to treat the aches and pains from a camel fall. So I just "grinned and bared it" for the rest of my much-anticipated camel safari.
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The next day, feeling extremely sore but wanting to do some exploring, I set out on a walk through Pushkar. As I swung my daypack over my shoulder, I heard "CRACK" and then felt searing pain in my chest like I had never before experienced. I knew right then that I had broken a rib in my fall off of that dang camel. It was amazing that right at that exact moment I also happened to be standing next to an open door with a sign that read "HOSPITAL." After peering through the open door into what Pushkar calls a "hospital" - another term I use loosely here - I decided that I would put up with the pain and wait until I got back to the United States in 4 days to visit a real hospital.
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(After an overnight train ride from Pushkar to Delhi, two days in Delhi and a 16-hour plane ride back to America, I went immediately to the hospital for an x-ray. It was confirmed: I did have a broken rib. But, that's not the end of the story. Having made it through 5 weeks in India without even a symptom of tummy trouble - unheard of for Westerners - on my second day home I got a severe case of Delhi-Belly and ended up being diagnosed with a wicked E. coli bacterial infection. I am now completely recovered and can laugh at the misfortune that befell me at the end of my trip. However, I would recommend to anyone going to India to stay away from camels; take the bus instead!)
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Chandra and me riding in the camel cart.
