Solo Trip To Chokhi Dhani

When a post on a trip made earlier this year takes so long to appear on the blog, it has clearly been a bad year for blogging. The bigger challenge in writing this post was the photos. I'm not exactly a photo friendly person and find it quite daunting to transfer, organise and upload photos to make a decent post out of it. I have been working on this post - one step at a time - to put this together. 

I have been out traveling by myself on work. But this trip is special since it was planned solely for fun/leisure with no work involved. I was in Delhi earlier this year for a coaching conference and decided to give Chokhi Dhani a try since it is close by and was unexplored. After almost missing my flight, thanks to the Delhi traffic, I made it. Since it was off season, I was bumped to some royal suite. And as you can see, I was the queen of the space for a night. It's soaked in tradition in every element around - not just the room but read on to see where else. 

The suite at Chokhi Dhani - traditional with modern amenities

The view from the room

The attraction is the village built around the concept of local, traditional life in Rajasthan. Low mud houses and figurines of local people doing different tasks are made around the resort. 

Life size figurines depicting everyday life at Chokhi Dhani

The actual village that opens at about 6pm and goes on till 11pm. There are traditional dancers and musicians, puppet show, games, acrobatics, shopping arcade (called Kalagram), restaurants among other things. 

Feeble attempts with my iPhone in the dim light 

The paintings strewn across the campus only serve to keep the art form alive. I am told that all of them are hand painted. 

In one of the huts in the village, an old lady was actually cooking bajre ka roti on an old style chulha and giving in leaf bowls with garlic chutney and a little jaggery with the roti literally dipped in ghee! It felt like a mother feeding her kids with the same love that probably families shared before they went nuclear. A couple of people just sat there and asked for more! The taste was truly divine! Fresh and hot!

There are so many pictures from the trip that brings back lovely memories!

Paintings on the walls

Mud huts that double as guest rooms

I think such places are really great and should be patronised. In the ever changing world where western influences and modern conveniences are taking over our live rapidly, Chokhi Dhani preserves the world of tradition. It is a must visit at least once. Going around the village, watching so many traditional dance forms, listening to traditional music and the man made mud huts felt like living a slice of life the way local people live.