A jolly jaunt to Jodhpur
26 February 2012….India is a great place to visit and a great place to do business. For me the two are closely linked, especially with our biggest customers in the market, the fastest growth of any market in the region and some of the most challenging business conditions. And when your biggest customer invites you and your spouse to a ‘Leadership Retreat’ to thank its partners and suppliers for a successful year you can bet Julie and I will be there.
This year the event was held in beautiful Jodhpur, a modestly sized ancient city by Indian standards (only 3.6 million people) and the second largest in the state of Rajasthan. Jodhpur is also known as the Blue City because many of the whitewashed buildings have a tint of indigo blue in them to help reduce the glare from the hot sun. Rajasthan is the huge state west of the capital Delhi spanning all the way to the Pakistan border. The state is famous for its Maharajahs, its magnificent palaces and forts and its desert. And as part of this prestigious Leadership Retreat long weekend we saw all of these in spades.
In the late afternoon, when we were exhausted from constant eating and socialising with new and old friends, we were driven to our hotel for the weekend, none other than the Umaid Bhawan Palace, the stunning home of the current Maharajah. Built in the last century on vast lawns covering a small hill outside of town, the Palace is truly one of most grand structures ever converted to a hotel. With 347 rooms (some in the private section where the Maharajah and his family still live), its own extensive museum, multiple restaurants, and indoor and outdoor pool, gardens flaming with colour, beautiful peacocks strutting their stuff and stunning rooms this was a place to savour. And we did.
The funny thing about this magnificent Palace is that we’d been there before. Crazy but true. During our three week family trip around India in January 2006 we stayed a night in Jodhpur, not at the Palace but at another place in town. It was Anna’s birthday and we came out to the Palace to see if we could have a special birthday dinner for her. But the opulence of the place was a little beyond what Anna or the rest of us had in mind so we opted out and ate elsewhere. Small world.
Julie and I were escorted to our room by our butler. Our bedroom, changing area and extensive bathroom area was almost the size of three garages and fitted out for royalty. And that night we were treated as royalty on the huge back lawn with a (too) long show of cultural dancing, live music, singing and the like. Oh yes, and food. The buffet was so long and had so many taste treats that despite repeated attempts I never actually made the end of the buffet. And I tried.
The next day our driver took us on the 90 minute drive north of town into the Thar Desert for a great day of fun and food (yes, surprisingly, more food). The land was quite sparse with minimal agriculture and some pretty scrawny goats scratching out a life. The villages were fairly basic but bustling with the normal Indian chaos all the same. With every turnoff the road got smaller and smaller until the pavement ended and our driver plowed through the sand to the end of the track.
But our journey wasn’t over yet. From there we were escorted to our camel with its bright yellow blanket and bitter disposition which reluctantly got down on its knees for us to load up before lurching to all fours and almost pitching us over his head and into the sand far below. Surviving that meant we knew we could survive anything.
Having mastered the camel and arriving at our destination we were in for a real treat. From our seats under the tents, and with background music from the beautifully uniformed band, we enjoyed a series of camel races that were the hit of the weekend. And because we are in India of course we could bet on them. And it turns out I’ve got a pretty good eye for a fleet-footed dromedary because out of the four races I picked two winners and a second, walking away with a tidy profit for the day of 400 Rupees (about $8). So there.
Still more drinks and another endless spread of colourful Indian food, tandoori fish and chicken, multiple options of nan and roti, spicy soups, vegetable concoctions you couldn’t dream of, many things we couldn’t recognise but could see and smell. There is something about tearing off a bit of nan, scooping up a tasty morsel of meat and sauces, dipping it into your mint chutney and then shamelessly shoving it into your mouth until it runs down your chin that makes you happy. At least Julie looked pretty happy.
Back to the Palace hotel (or hotel Palace), reload for another grand night and then off to the Mehrangarh Fort, set high on the buttress overlooking Jodhpur. This is one of the most magnificent forts in India, built in the 15th century with its windy ramparts and 7 gates for defense against other evil Maharajahs, now one of the true gems of India.
We were welcomed by an army of decorated camels with their masters sporting long curled moustaches and eccentric costumes, whirling dervishes, musicians playing strange ancient instruments, pounding drums, fire breathers, rose pedal showers and all the rest as we walked up 500 year old ramps. And in one of the many ancient courtyards, surrounded by thick walls and covered by a blanket of stars we listened to more music, ate more food and drank more whatever. A stunning way to end a memorable weekend, all courtesy of the generosity of our major customer. We love big customers for many reasons.
On Monday morning Julie and I went to the old part of Jodhpur around the old Clock Tower where we wandered through the ancient markets and marveled at how little life had changed over the centuries. The women in their beautiful saris, the men shouting their wares and the kids running hither and non, all great fun and perhaps amongst the colour and chaos we took a photo or two.
From there it was on to Bombay via the over-worked and under-funded domestic air service where I had business meetings for a few days and Julie flew straight home. And amongst the splendor of India, and I say that in all manners of the word, we were fortunate to experience a gem of a weekend and accumulate lasting memories of Jodhpur and Rajasthan.