Ajmer, India: Make This Last on Your Places to Visit

My experience in Ajmer was so unnerving that I'd be happier if I had driven right through it. But then I wouldn't have a colorful story to tell.

During my 2005 visit, Ajmer had one paved road. That's not saying much, considering Udaipur didn't have any, and I plan to go back. Ajmer's dirt streets tell you about the whole city: filthy and scary.

All right, so Ajmer has a mosque built for a Muslim saint. The mosque was beautiful; one room was entirely inlaid with gold. The piety of worshippers was sincerely felt by myself, but I don't think any other member of my party felt the same. They were so disgusted with the outcome of their visit they gave me the kerchiefs they purchased to cover their heads in the mosque.

First, we had to park our Toyota Quallis and pay for a horse buggy, since walking through the streets was not an option for us as they were muddy and strewn with the pollution produced by horse buggies. It took us twenty minutes to go a quarter of a mile because the buggie driver was not as aggressive as our taxi driver. I doubt he had anything else to do and he probably overcharged us anyway. Whereas in most cities I went unnoticed in my traditional wear and the rest of my party (all Indian nationals) completely ignored, everyone in Ajmer seemed to have a radar and targeted us.

Stopping in the street to buy kerchiefs, I remained behind in the buggy with driver. A man with long, discheveled hair and beard came up to me, wearing little but cloth covering his lower extremities. He put his hand out for me to give him moeny and I ignored him, as the Indians do. He stood there for a while, speaking to me in Hindi. Most people, even beggars, know a little bit of English, enough to make a tourist understand that they want money, but this man spoke no English at all. Soon he became enraged, dancing about violently and shaking his fists high in the air. He cursed me and pointed his finger at me while spit flew from his mouth. Immediately, one of my party came to drive the man away. Harsh words still did not cause him to leave and he left after my companion shouted loudly at him. He told me the man told me I was going to burn in hell for not giving me any money, and all he kept talking about were the ways I was going to be tortured. Good thing I speak very little Hindi, lest I have shit myself out of terror.

We boarded the buggy and came to the entrance of the mosque, where we prepared ourself for entry by respectfully covering our heads. A man came over to a petite woman in my party and grabbed the water bottle she was holding, attempting to rip it from her hands without saying a word but looking her straight in the eye. Being so frightened, her grip was too strong for the theif and he left thirsty.

Inside the walls of the mosque, the males entered the tiny golden room where many men walked in circles around a centerpiece. On their second circle, they attempted to leave but were pushed from the outside ring to the innermost, eventually having to shove people out of the way to get out of the room. Outside, two elderly men began to talk to the youngest male in the group and knelt him down next to a curtain. From underneath the curtain they produced a black piece of cloth which they placed on his head and all three entered beneath the curtain. The young man emerged, wide-eyed, believing to have had his head placed in a shroud.

Back at the Quallis, we broke out some soap and began to vigorously rub our skin and quickly wash it. I was the last to use the water to rinse of the suds and no sooner had I placed my hands under the water an old man sitting on a rock nearby shouted at me, "Pani no waste!" which translated means "Water no waste!" I was so shocked I didn't have anything to say. I was filthy, needed a wash to prevent possible infection, and was being considerous of Indian customs all along. Try that for a fond goodbye.

We left the mosque, left the city, and got back on the road to Agra. "No more Muslim places!" shouted the woman who nearly had her water bottle ripped from her hands. The man who got rid of the beggar said, "Taj Mahal is Muslim. Are you saying you don't want to go to Taj Mahal?"

Of course you want to see Taj Mahal. You want to see pretty much everything else India has to offer, but unless you want to be in an episode of Indian Fear Factor, drive straight through Ajmer!