Saying Goodbye to Udaipur

For our final day in Udiapur we decided we had enough temples and castles…   this was to be a day for retail therapy.   I hung out on the streets waiting or in a coffee shop with my lap top. One “find” was a shop that just sold Rajasthani puppets. When we went inside, the owner took me in the back room and demonstrated some of his puppets. He took out newspaper clippings showing that he’s famous…. He even had an invitation to present his puppets at an exclusive crafts fare in New Mexico three years ago (he had problems getting a visa and couldn’t go).

After his demonstration I took out some balloons and made him a balloon puppet.   He asked if I could return after 3pm (when his 5-year old daughter got home from school). Annie and I returned and he put a puppet show for just the two of us.   His sensitivity reminded my so much of Alice May Hall, a close puppetry friend who died about 25 years ago at the age of 97… a few days after her final puppet show.   He didn’t even try to attack us by selling anything… it was just an artistic exchange.

We visited the home of the man who was our guide the day before.   He’s been investing all of his and his family’s money building a hotel/restaurant/art gallery in town.     We wished him luck and said we’d mention him to anyone we might run into who’s looking to invest money.

We watched as some local folks were preparing a big street dinner for their families:

That evening Annie finished her shopping and I did some more balloons outside the shops.

 

In the morning we had some time while waiting for our driver, so I thought I’d say goodbye to Udiapur in my own way –