KAMALAN X CEREAL, MARCH 2016

Light is a curious phenomenon. The way it interacts with its surroundings, as well as its pervasive nature both reflects the extent to which light affects the world. When Cereal first travelled to India, they chose light as their subject and decided to observe its effects on spaces and structures. Keeping in mind their aesthetics and requirements, kamalan devised a journey through the golden expanses of Rajasthan and the home of the iconic Taj Mahal in an attempt to converse with light.

PROMINENT THEMES

History & Architecture

Jodhpur

Jaipur

Agra

Jodhpur

A city enamoured with the colour blue. Houses spread out like roots of a tree from the imposing Mehrangarh Fort. A golden glimmer in the horizon. The mighty city of Jodhpur had us enraptured the moment we laid our eyes upon it. The group could not wait to start exploring this iconic city.

When we were discussing about what feature could possibly be done in Jodhpur, the reason behind most of the city having this unique shade of blue in the middle of the golden desert appealed to them more than anything else. We set out to explore Jodhpur on foot and the reason why its blue in the mornings and the evenings in order for us to capture the city in the perfect light.

Our stay, RAAS Jodhpur, also piqued the interest of our guests, especially in the way it was renovated, bringing touches of modernity into this dated structure. Rich wanted a pair of the famous jodhpuris, riding breeches, and we helped him pick the ideal fabric and tailor for the same, having them stitched and ready to be taken back to England with him before the end of the trip.

The last stop on the Jodhpur leg of the trip was Mihirgarh. Bathed in the golden sunset, it looked too beautiful to be real. We spent some time with the Marwari horses at the stables there, before heading out into the desert for our last dinner. Our guests really enjoyed this experience as it gave them a true taste of living like a royal in Rajasthan. The way back from the desert was spent lying down on the bullock cart which was our means of transportation and looking at the stars, a good way to end a good day.

On our way back from the desert, we lay down on the bullock cart that was our means of transportation, a good way to end a good day.

Jaipur

The next place on our list was the pink city, Jaipur. Early in the morning, we stepped out of Samode Haveli and went for a walk around the old city. Soft pink facades greeted us in the soft rays of the sun, our eye on the lookout for interesting variations. We went to the Hawa Mahal and the environs of the City Palace while the city slowly woke up around us.

As the day progressed, we explored the structures of the City Palace, finding symmetry and playing with shadows. We went to the Jantar Mantar post that and had a wonderful time understanding the astronomy and mathematics that went behind building these great structures. Because of this special vested interest in this monument, we stayed there for longer, watching the shadows change and lengthen.

Agra

The last leg of our trip took us to Agra, the city of the Taj. Wanting a fresh look at the Taj Mahal, we decided to observe the geometrics of Mughal architecture from a vantage point. We were not only lucky enough to catch the first rays of the sun falling on the marble façade, but also able to get some stills of the monument without any people. The early hours also gave us ample time to explore the Taj the way we wanted to, with an emphasis on architecture, mathematics, and colours.

Then we went to the Agra Fort, which also holds several treasures of architecture. It gave us another look at the Taj as well. For dinner, we decided to sample the naan Bukhara, the largest naan, which is usually shared by a group of people. At the end of it all, we were happy that our journey was quite fruitful and that we were able to see it through the eyes of Cereal.