In between the Lakes and Palaces

If you’re

A poet

A misfit

A dreamer

A schemer

A rebel

A loner

A doer

A thinker

Please

For the love

Of the universe

Don’t change

A piece of blue paper with these words on it was handed to me on a bowl with many others, with different quotes to it. The universe chose this for me, amongst all the other chits of paper, stuck between my fingers as I lifted it from a ‘bowl of quotes’ placed at our table along with the bill at a café, in the narrow lanes of Udaipur. With partially digested pasta with pesto and a shot of caffeine in the form of Irish coffee, I was hit with strong words making me ponder about- What am I doing? - in middle of the largest state in the country. Of all the café’s in all of Udaipur, I walk into this and this little blue paper falls in between my fingers. I was lost in a sea of thoughts, each word playing on repeat in my head as I walked down the narrow lanes towards Bagore ki Haveli, again. I couldn’t hear the words of my friends, just shaking my head to what they were saying- as we made our way towards the Haveli. The long line was still there, just like an hour ago when we stood to get the tickets. Now we walked right into the front, walked in as the doors opened amongst the mixed breed of tourists- Indians and Outsiders in equal amounts, all making their way to witness the culture and folk arts of Rajasthan. We walk through narrow staircases, up to an open courtyard, roofed with shamiyanas and colorful lights, giving us the sense of the show, we could expect. Seats spread all across, a tree growing in between giving a rustic feel to it. The walls of the Haveli, giving the feel of the past histories and mysteries that the city held within it. We took our seats, close to center stage as the performers entered- first, the musicians did. Kesariya Balam Aaonee Padharonee Maare Des Rey- they kicked off welcoming all of us, to their world of rich heritage and culture. As the show began with their regional folk dance forms, my eyes caught a glimpse of a person looking at all of this, through the lens of a DSLR. An artist or at least I thought she was one, looking at the colors around the Haveli, through her lens. Wearing a black T-shirt and jeans, with dark circles around her eyes and lost in her world of clicking the right shots- I was getting lost in the artist within her. I was distracted, as she tried to take various shots of the performance from various angles, and I tried to look at it, the way she did through the lens of her DSLR. Then a puppeteer arrived with a magician, making his head and hand go all places- exciting the kid in front of me, who got all scared, while I asked her name. And then I look again at the extreme opposite end, the artist had kept her DSLR aside, to enjoy the show, the magic that was spread all around us folding her knees and hugging them. The magic was reflected in all our smiles. And then arrived the dancers again, as she tried to click them from a closer angle- she was blown off by their spinning skirts, making her hair fly off and lingering a genuine, natural smile on her face- she was lost in the moment for a second, forgetting her action to click and enjoy the colors of Rajasthan. As the last performance was going on, where a 70 year old lady from Kakkinada performed a Rajasthani Dance carrying eight mud vessels on her head, and performed without even a glitch- smooth like the sands of Rajasthan. As everyone went on applauding, she was lost in trying to capture it all in film. As it all came to an end, the crowd spread all around, making their way towards the exit- she was lost in the crowd, vanishing into the narrow lanes of Udaipur as I tried to make my way towards her. I felt a strange feeling in me, as if I knew her. But I didn’t. Who she was? - A mystery to me. Was she an artist? – Only the universe knew. But just like the city, I was in- I felt like I knew it, but I didn’t. I wasn’t introduced to the mysteries that were hidden deep within the timelines of Udaipur. But it was leaving an impression on me, just like she did. I was trying to reflect myself on her, like the city did on the lake Pichola. And as the lights went off and the city went dark, I was in love with her.