Well, life has somewhat settled down here in Jaipur (for us at least). Over the last few days the monsoon has really come in full force, turning Jaipur into a fetid river of special surprises (jo got a good taste of it as she ran home through sideways rain yesterday). (The picture to the side is of me indulging in our nightly desert-three mangoes! Usually I end up as I appear in this picture-content and covered in sticky mango yumminess)We have both been pretty busy. I recently finished a semi-final draft of my thesis, and am now working on another project associated with my job from last semester. Jo is busy, as always, with her language program work. On Thursday I leave for England with mixed emotions. The white sand beaches and turquoise waters of the Isles of Scilly do sound slightly more pleasant than the 'natural' environs of Jaipur, but the company I'm sure will be lacking (Jo is much more engaging than sea gulls, most of the time at least).
Over the last few days we've explored Jaipur on foot, walking, instead of rickshawing, to some of our favorite decadent respites. On Saturday night we went to the Rajmandir cinema, which is considered the most extravagant cinema in India. It was an incredible experience (the movie was absolutely aweful, as most cheesy bollywoods are). The building is a mix between Disneyland and some sort of Frank Gehry meets Salvador Dali meets a pastry chef. The outside is normal enough, but when you enter through the lotus shaped doors the mystical majesty of the inner floyer take your breath away. I have included a photo that sort of adds some illustration to my poor description, but the theater itself was more incredible than it indicates.
It was cavernous, seating at least 600 people. It was decorated like a merangue cake, the walls covered in giant enormous moldings like cake frosting. Luckily it provided me something to look at while i sat dumbly listening to jo's running narration of what was happening in the hindi film (easy enough to follow, dance, romance, dance-the usual).
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