Most of the people are Hindu with Hindi being the national language. There is no way for me to explain their beliefs adequately. There are three main gods which include Rama the generator, Vishnu the operator and Shiva, the destroyer. There are over 20,000 gods and goddesses including the children of the three primary gods. Gnasha is the elephant god symbolizing good luck and is the son of Shiva. He appears by the door in most homes. Krishna is the god of love and is said to have over 20,000 girl friends as our guide explained it.
All along our journey we noticed many people feeding the birds, dogs and wild cattle. This is good Karma or good luck.
The man in the orange turban is a Saddu, a Holy man from the priestly cast who travels between temples.
Enroute we stopped at a site of worship where pilgrims were laying flowers and praying. This site was created in 1999. Apparently a young man died in a head on collision, was pronounced dead at the scene, was cremated and his ashes spread on the Ganges. His motorcycle was at the police station when it suddenly started. The bike has since started every year on the anniversary. The bike is totally decorated in flowers.
As strange as you may think, Hinduism is not much different than most. They believe in a peaceful existence with nature, respect for all forms of life, and striving to do your best without interfering with the rights of others. Our guide said it was what was in your heart.
As we approached the temple area, our guide , Yogi, said that he was from the area and there were many leopards in the hills. We asked if we could try and see them. A few calls later and our day changed dramatically. No temple today. After checking in to the hotel, we had lunch and were off on a leopard siting safari complete with jeeps and expert guides. First stop was Yogi's family and farm. They grow cotton and wheat.
They were so gracious and welcoming with refreshments and flowers, and of course the blessing. They are of the Warrior Class. Yogi is the seventh generation and is related to the Royal family of Udaipur. Here you see him with one of his ancestors who battled the Moghul Emperor Akhbar.
Then we were off in the jeeps.
The leopards come out in the evening so It wasn't till an hour after sundown that we spotted one high in the rocks. It was quite far away and we were only able to spot it with the help of a search lite. After two hours looking we packed back into the jeep and headed to another flatter location.
We were not disappointed. We spotted a very large beautiful leopard just in front of the jeep. Simply amazing to see them in the wild.
We ended the evening with a delightful meal back at YogI's parents.
This morning we were woken up by visitors, a group of monkeys chatting loudly.
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