Its been like 2 and a half months that i visited this place in Rajasthan, about 100 kms from Delhi towards Alwar. 'Neemrana'
I had approached a Design studio based in Delhi for some part time work. It was towards the end of august, 2011 that i fortunately got a chance to report to Sarthak and Sahil Design CO. after my college hours.
A giant chandelier as i was told by my boss. Something that catches hold of your sight as you enter the building. and it does not let you shift your sight for the next 5 minutes.
2nd February 2012. A day before my 21st birthday. The day when the final installation had to take place. Luckily i got to accompany the team to the fort 'NEEMRANA FORT'
A lamp 18 feet high, took almost 8 hours to be hung from the ceiling of the hawa mahal. What interests me the most today is the time spent in the fort during the short breaks we got in the entire process. The fort is under renovation and will soon become a holiday resort. Widely spread on a plateau the fort is currently (as on 2nd february) approached by just load bearing lorries and SUVs.
A shrieking voice of a boy who runs a kitchen would create suspense when he says "dilli toh sau kilometre dur hai" (delhi is approx 100 kms from here). An era when people ensure that their location presents proximity to the capital, this young man says 100kms! Ironically, in and around Delhi, when distances increase people start talking in terms of time.
Approached by the unstoppable winds and the epic love birds you realize how linguistically homogeneous the place was through the love quotes and messages in English Hindi Urdu and a few foreign languages. Extending my view from one of the openings i could see the lush green fields and a hamlet right there surrounding the well constructed house of some higher authority.
Thhandi hawa hai thhandi chhaaon hai
Door woh jaane kiska gaaon hai
The pulley principle followed to hang the lamp reminded me of the Kerala fishing nets but here it was to attain 'a luxury' not 'a need'
By the time it was dark we had completed the task and had to leave for delhi which was 100 kms away. With a common demand of food we stopped at a dhaba and stuffed ourselves with the first meal of the day.
It was around 22:30 and we were about to reach Gurgaon. With high hopes of catching the last metro I managed to board one at around 22:45 probably the last one! Next i had to escape and rush to the elevated platform at kashmiri gate to board the Red Line, and yes i got the last metro. I had traveled in the first metro of the day and the last metro of the same day on the same route and that gave an amazing start to my birthday as i got my first birthday call.
