Schools, Sanctuaries and Streets!

Over last night’s dinner, Vivasvat told us that his family controlled a trust that, among other things, helped to fund a school in a nearby local village of Kaila Devi.

When the school first opened we were amazed to learn that the Maharaja himself made a vehicle drive through all the surrounding villages with a loud speaker and plastered in banners in an attempt to encourage people to enrol their children in the new school. It did take a little while to get the enrolment levels up but now 820 students are attending. Kindergarten through to year 12.

This school has a female principle who is a very progressive thinker and works tirelessly to improve the life of the children in the area. She puts in an extra effort to make sure the young girls are equally encouraged. It is quite common to only send boys to school here in India as many young girls are kept home to work the house and the land.

 We were walked through the school passing by each classroom while the kids were studying. The year 3 and 4 students were learning English at the time and we had the pleasure of one young boy read some of his work for us. He did really well and we felt that these kids were being offered a really good opportunity thanks to the Maharaja.

As we moved through the school we could not help but notice how quiet the classrooms were, even taking into account that each class had around 50 students. They were well behaved and under the control of just one teacher. There was an obvious level of respect shown to the principal and teachers.

All in all it was a really positive experience and we hope that we can in some way support this school in the future.

The lunch bell was due to ring and the staff took us over to a separate building where all children are supplied lunch daily. The kitchen was buzzing with activity with many staff members preparing lunch for 820 kids.

The one piece of modern equipment they did have was a paratha (traditional flat bread) making machine. One kitchen hand sat on the machine and with a deft hand dropped balls of dough onto a rotating table timing it perfectly so that in the next action a press banged down and flattened the dough. The paratha then rotated through the machine and over a heating element and dropped out the other side cooked and ready to go!  A real time saver when catering for so many!

The bell rang indicating it was time for us to go before we got mobbed by 100’s of hungry kids so we headed for the car.

After visiting the school we drove back through the village of Kaila Devi. A bustling traditional village far from the westerner tourist trail. It was an important pilgrimage town and catered to these visitors with a number of purpose built guesthouse.

 Vegetable vendors lined the streets through the market area selling seasonal vegetables including cauliflower, radish, aubergine and red onions. Carts pulled by camels were commonplace as they pushed their way into the market area, loaded with goods

On the way back to Karauli we detoured through the Kaila Devi sanctuary. This area is the home to a number of simple villages, and as simple as they are, we were pleased to note that some of them generated their own solar power. The population levels were quite low so there were lots of open spaces and great views across vast plains. At one point the road dropped off the plateau dramatically down to the valley below .

A quick walk from the car was a lovely lake view offering some good bird watching opportunities. We saw what looked just like a Jabiru along with super sized geese and many ducks.

Back at the Bhanwar Vilas Palace we were greeted by Vivasvat and offered the chance to see more of the palace grounds.

The estate covered approximately 50 acres and included its own vegetable garden, dairy, chook pen and stables. The Palace garden etc completely supplied the kitchen and restaurant’s needs.

It’s a pretty major operation and employs 65 permanent staff.

We had to both stop for a second look as we passed the large garage area as it housed an old Bedford bus, a number of ex army ‘Willys’  jeeps and to our amazement a classic Desoto car that was in pristine condition but apparently hasn’t been driven for years, along with a lovely old Buick. Probably a good thing they stay in the garage as they would get knocked around on the busy India roads.
After a walk through the Palace grounds we were surprised to learn that the Maharaja himself was arriving soon and Vivisvat insisted we join them for lunch.
Now that was a first, Gools and Thommo dining with Indian royalty enjoying a very traditional colonial/ Indian spread.

Next stop, Ranthambore National Park, home of the endangered Bengal tiger!