10 Strange things I observed by spending 20 days in RAJASTHAN.
It was back in 2022 when I visited Rajasthan for celebrating Navratri’s eve, I decided to stay there for few more days and get involved in their culture to experience Rajasthan from their eyes.
I saw many differences and strange things there in terms of their lifestyle, food habits, behavior and environment that amused me. I decided to write those experience here so that you know what to expect when you visit Rajasthan, especially when you are living their as an insider not as a tourist.
Here are those strange, exciting, and wired experiences of mine when I spent 20 days in Rajasthan as an resident:
№1 Their dressing sense: They wear traditional too often, their dressing style is quite different from the rest of the country, they wear dresses with glass and stone embedded with traditional design pattern very much like the designer one. Women usually wear dark colored dresses and in elder men, white colored dhoti-kurta* are quite common.
№2 Too much spicy food: They use chili in almost all dishes, their food contains fried chili flakes with different aromatic spices. They often include fried version of all thing in their mega meal thalies*. Also, I’ve noticed that curry leaves are their favorite spice, they add it on curd rice, dals and nearly in all of their main course dishes.
№3 They love animals and treat them as their family member: Our country treats animals with more love than the rest of the world, but in Rajasthan they made that affection a way more intense. They treat them like their family members, they feed them, take care of them and even some village women hold them on their laps like they do with their child.
№4 Venomous Vipers are too common: I live in an area where finding a venomous snake is quite rare, they do exist but are quite few in numbers. In Rajasthan you can easily find venomous snake too often, in desert area, you can also hear their Hiss here and there, especially when you accidently invade their spaces.
№5 Haveli’s design: Their home follows a pattern of design which contains pillars and dome-shaped roof to increase its majesty and imperial appearance. Looking those houses from a distance will make them appear like some aristocrat or king is living there. Finding such architecture in rest of the country is quite rare but in Rajasthan it’s common.
№6 White dhoti- Kurta and film-like appearance: Have you seen those movies in which a typical house in Rajasthan’s village is shown, where the elders are wearing traditional clothes? They wore Pagddi’s and traditional dhoti, with a stick in hand. It is scripted and designed artificially in film, but in real life that’s how they live. In the village areas of Rajasthan, they wear such things on a daily basis: a white kurta, dhoti with red or white Pagddies on their heads.
№7 Royal Families who still rules over some territory: Rajasthan is one of those state which still have royal families, regardless of the democracy and people still follow their administration. They have their Haveli * and organize meetings to address public issues and they have their influence over local government where they can resolve public’s problems sooner.
№8 Garba at almost every crossroad during Navratri: During festivals they perform Garba * where everyone from children to adults, wear fancy traditional clothes and perform dance in circle. You can observe that in every village they have a specified place to perform Garba, where there is pillar at the center with Lord Durga’s statue. They perform Garba by dancing around it in circle.
№9 Early marriage: Rajasthan is few of those place where, people get married sooner once they attain legal marriage age, Although they do follow laws related to the legal age of marriage in India (i.e 21 y/o), but these days marrying late is quite common. People decide to get married when they are around 28 y/o, but in Rajasthan they marry quite sooner than other places.
№10 Vintage cars on road: This is the place where you can see vintage car running like a new one on road. They preserve their belongings and maintain their old cars very well, I’ve seen many families who have their ancestor’s belongings and car in a very good condition. They do so to remind their future generation of the rich culture and lifestyle they used to have.
After spending nearly a month in Rajasthan’s village, I can confirm that this place is worth visiting and staying. You will experience a significant difference in terms of culture, clothing pattern, weather, food etc. from the rest of country.
These are the strange things I experienced during my 20 day stay at Rajasthan’s village, all of the above mentioned points are my own experience they may or may not appear relevant to you. Do let me know what you think about the same.
Thanks for reading!
- Navratri: The word Navaratri means “nine nights” in Sanskrit, nava meaning “nine” and ratri meaning “nights.” Navratri celebrates the feminine nature of the divine, by honoring the unfathomable power of Goddess Durga in defeating a buffalo-headed demon, Mahishasura.
- Dhoti-Kurta: a kind of male garment
- Thali (meaning “plate”): is a round platter used to serve food in South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Caribbean.
- Pagddi: a type of turban male wear
