In more ways than one... greetings from Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan. It was a toasty 108 degrees Farenheit today, perfect for sauntering about the city. Yes, folks, it is hot in India. The silver lining is that New Delhi was 112 degrees, so I guess that means Jaipur was experiencing a cold snap.
Our tour has been changed slightly due to civil unrest in Rajasthan. You may have seen something about it on the news. One of the castes in this region, called the Gujjars, is demanding some kind of recognition from the state government, something tantamount to what we call affirmative action. It's hard to piece it all together what with the Hindi news stations and all, but as far as I can tell the Gujjars claim they were promised recognition, they haven't gotten it, and now they've hijacked the national highways of eastern Rajasthan and are clashing with state police. To complicate things further, another caste called the Meenas oppose this special recognition for the Gujjars, and so they are counter-protesting. Many people have been killed, tourist buses burned (not ours), and the highways have been closed for days. Team India hunkered down in Ajmer for the past 3 days at a hostel, and we made a break for Jaipur this morning, arriving safely around noon. The worst of the unrest is to the east of Jaipur about 25-30 miles, which is also the same highway that takes you to Agra and the Taj Mahal. Depending on how things turn out, Team India may or may not get to see the Taj. But Jaipur is safe. We're in very nice quarters at a university here. I just watched the Daily Show and feel caught up with news events from back home. Haven't heard much news these last 3 weeks.
Hope everyone is doing fine and that you enjoy the blog, what little I've been able to do. So long for now, PW
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