Most of India lives in its villages. And to see the real India, you must visit a village. If that village is brought closer, nothing like it. Okay, so Chokhi Dhani is not your typical Indian village. In fact it’s nothing like an Indian village. And yet, nothing introduces to Rajasthani culture and folk feel like this resort, situated on the outskirts of Jaipur.
Hospitality, service, and ambience – it scores on every point. Even if you aren’t staying at the resort, one can always visit this village for a traditional Rajasthani meal and the daily fun fair.Our visit started with a traditional tilak welcome by colorfully turbaned staff at the entrance. The strains of rusty folk music were already beckoning us in. One step inside, and you go wow. Music and dance, mud huts and open sitting areas, puppet shows, animal rides, fake forest, tea and snack sellers, gola valas, mehandi, magician – the list just went on and on.
A puppeteer was just starting his show and we settled down in front of him on traditional charpais. A bit of folk music, a bit of Bollywood – the show was immensely enjoyable. From there, we got up to almost bump into a guy doing a balancing trick on high strung ropes. Standing at the tea seller’s we watched him for some time while munching on spicy pakodas and crispy jalebis.
Next I wanted to see a traditional dance performance. As the dancers in traditional costume swirled to the tunes of the folk beats, and balanced themselves on sharp knives and glass pyramids, you couldn’t but help clapping and tapping. They were joined by a fire eater whose performance saw a lot of shrieking from onlookers.
I also had some henna applied to my hands in the traditional pattern, and the color stayed for days. There were options for bullock cart ride, elephant ride and camel ride. Considering the camel is the ship of the desert, we opted for the same. It took us around the whole village, but was kind of bumpy. Next time I’ll go for an elephant. We got our fortune told by a parrot, and a palmist. My husband also tried his hand at some archery and balloon shooting. Good mela style fun.
And then the food. The popularity of the resort means you might have to wait in line to be served. But once we were seated, in front of enormous thalis, the food just kept coming. Makke Ki roti, saag ke saath khao, baajre ki roti, gud ke saath khao – I can still hear the sing song voice of the waiters as they kept bringing in the courses. Stuffed to the core, we picked up some trinkets from the handicraft store before heading back to town. If you are visiting Jaipur, do plan an evening at Chokhi Dhani – it’s an absolute treat.