I had finally reached a calm and happy place mentally, and it was with this attitude that I boarded the train to one of my favourite places on this planet.  It was another long train trip, but I enjoyed it, and when the train stopped along the way, I strolled up and down the platform enjoying the sights.  We arrived at Falna station, and as always, Himmat had arranged for a car to be left at the station.  We took a leisurely drive to Bijapur, stopping on the way to take in the sights.

On arrival in Bijapur, I loved the fact that everything was so familiar, and at Himmat’s home, I was given a wonderfully warm welcome as always.  It was so good to be reunited with my “sister” (Sajjan Kunwar) and beautiful Manisha, who painted my hands with henna.

My first day was spent at the Jain Temple in Ranakpur.  Himmat was conducting tours, so I went along, and with Rag ‘n Bone man playing in my ear, had an extremely chilled day.  I could probably have made a fortune, had I asked for payment each time I was approached for a selfie.  Being an amazon with blonde hair does attract attention.

The boys preparing New Year's dinner

New Year’s Eve was upon us, and to celebrate, a special supper was prepared.  The boys prepared everything while I watched in fascination.  We sat outside, and chatted until supper was cooked and then enjoyed a good meal.  I’m not a huge New Year celebration person, and was happy to see that this was the sum total of our celebration, before going to bed.  On New Year morning, at about 1 or 2am Himmat had to board a train to Jaipur.  He would be gone the whole day, so I was entertained by Manisha, children from the village and of course my sister.  I watched the children fly their kite, played badminton with Manisha and chatted to a teacher I met, while my sister and I shopped for fruit and vegetables from a travelling vendor.  I suspect that Manisha stopped our badminton game sooner than I would have liked, because as always, the exercise turned my face scarlet, which worried her a bit (the joys of being a white amazon).  Himmat had asked us to stay up and have dinner with him, so what else could we do but oblige him….

The following day Himmat, Manisha, my sister and I travelled to Himmat’s grandmother’s village.  His sister also lives there, and I was shown the house that my sister was building – yes, she is one awe inspiring lady and I love and admire her a great deal.  True to form, I was welcomed with open arms and it still amazes me that no matter where I go, the welcome is overwhelming.

After our visit, I was taken to a dress shop so that my sister (Sajjan Kunwar) could buy me a Rajasthani outfit.  I have to tell a funny story here, which proves that toilet humour is appreciated the world over.  We were giving friends a lift, and because of space issues, one of the children asked if he could sit on my lap in the front passenger seat.  I told Himmat that he was welcome to do so, as long as he didn’t fart on my lap.  Once the message was translated, everyone laughed their heads off.

My sister bought me 2 outfits.  When an outfit is bought, it has to be made up, and so one was made up by the dress maker at the shop where it was bought, and the other was made up by one of the ladies in the village (Bijapur).  I FELT THOROUGHLY SPOILT!!!  I absolutely love my outfits, and only wish I had occasion to wear them.  Once they were made up, I was dressed by Manisha and Himmat’s wife, and gave my very own fashion show by twirling around and having my photograph taken.

It was time to take a trip up the mountain, and so the following morning, Himmat, Manisha, the children who had adopted us and me, did just that.  I loved the trip for a number of reasons. It is beautiful and peaceful, Manisha and I had great fun with the children, and 2 dogs followed us, and stayed with us until we descended the mountain.  I’ve been a swimmer all my life, so when I saw the rock pools, I stood on a boulder, and pretended to want to dive into the water.  Manisha and the children squealed with delight and fear that I would actually do it.  Himmat (as the picture proves) slept the entire time.  Every step of the way there is something different to see and experience.  You will see from the pictures that we visited a temple, watched men carving marble, and stopped off to have some fun on swings.

The next day brought with it the sinking feeling I get every time I have to leave.  We went to the dam which I always love to do, and then drove to SheoGanj (Himmat says it’s his cousin’s sister’s home).  I really love these little towns/villages because they have so much character and each one is so different from the other.  We went to a restaurant to get something to eat, including my absolute favourite - jalebi – me and my sweet tooth!!  We then visited Himmat’s cousin’s shop and rested for a bit in the upstairs room which gave us a great view of the town’s comings and goings.

It was during this visit that I received a call from my colleague at work, who needed some guidance.  While I chatted to her, I noticed a cow had walked up to a motor bike and was rubbing her head on it (she had a major itch).  The owner of the bike approached very warily, and tried to shoo the dear creature, to no avail.  Without thinking I walked up to (let’s call her Daisy), and gently put my hand on her rump and said “please move sweetheart”, which I am happy to say, encouraged her to move on.  It was so funny telling Chantille “please hold on, I just need to move a cow”.  This incident also made me realise that a lot of people seem quite wary of the dogs and other animals that surround them constantly

My last night in Bijapur was spent watching a Bollywood movie, and then just sitting next to my sister with my head on her shoulder.  I think Himmat thinks we’re nuts, because we don’t understand each other, but even though we don’t understand each other’s language, we actually understand each other, and that is very special.