The dusty village of Alsisar in the Shekhawati region is as much about sights as it is about sounds. It’s bizarre and eerie. In the dead still of the night, the cacophony, amplified many times, seems ominous and surreal. A dusty desert town abandoned by those who built it. An ancient haveli. And our first night – you would understand why we had our reasons to be confused and uneasy. The night was spent in a sleepy haze: Half awake, half dreamy. What was it? Was it a cat fight? Or were they the last muffled screams of a dying animal?

If Alsisar, a village in the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan, is about sights by day, it is certainly about sounds after dark. At the evening aarti in a century old temple, the conch, the cymbals, the camel skin drum and the brass bell combine to create a tantrik trance, hypnotic and monotonous. It was a spiritual experience for sure as we sat solemnly, but the loud pounding unnerved my little one. She got fidgety, her tiny fingers plugging her ear. This over, we returned by the narrow lightless roads, the tinkle of a cowbell around the corner. But no, it wasn’t some cow heading home after dusk. A group of turbaned villagers were actually lifting a massive ox on a cart: It wasn’t injured. It was dead.

We pace up the roads, as fast as one could on these narrow ancient lanes, woven with uneven stones and reached our haveli Indra Vilas, the largest in the area. The haveli has been converted into a 48 room heritage hotel now and this ten-acre property was a part of the hospitality group Laurent & Benon’s Heritage Collection. Soon we are ushered into the comforting environs of the open air courtyard, where more sounds awaited us. This time, however, it was the divine folksy rhythm of a crooning couple from the village whose music had become a standard fare at several international heritage music festivals. “I have been to London and Paris and Berlin,” said the man, while his wife stood demurely behind a veil. Having done our dinner, we went back to our room that boasted of period furniture like a four poster bed, but sadly it commanded no view: The windows simply opened out to a dusty byelane. And to make things worse, those bizarre sounds of the night kept us half awake all through.

It was only in the morning that we found out the source of the noise. Much to our disbelief, the guy who brought tea to our room told us that the source of the noise were the peacocks! And they were everywhere—on rooftops—on microwave towers, on satellite discs, on the boundary walls. And now, under the bright morning sunshine, as if to make up for the nuisance they inflicted upon us throughout the night, they were dancing away to glory for our viewing pleasure.

By day, of course, Alsisar is all about sights – splendid and colourful. The paintings of flowers, faces and animals on the walls and the ceiling of our haveli came alive; the sky was crystal blue. A no-nonsense breakfast later, out we went with a guide to explore the abandoned havelis of the rich Marwari merchants, who built them in the 17th and 18th centuries. Famous the world over for its frescos, these havelis were painted brilliantly, depicting mythology and folklore. The merchants had left for greener pastures - as trade centres moved, the families moved on - leaving these havelis to caretakers, daily wage earners, farmers, shopkeepers and a handful of craftsmen.  

As we walked around the near empty lanes of this sleepy village, we found that most havelis were in complete disrepair. Apart from the one we were lodged in, there were no attempts to restore them. However, with a steady influx of foreign tourists – one could see signs of change, in the form of prominent ISD signboards, money change signboards and cybercafés – Alsisar might just get back some of its lost glory. Following Indra Vilas’ success, others might follow. We also met a local resident who ushered us into a haveli which he owned now. He had bought it from the original owner for just Rs 5 lakh around 15 years ago. Now valued at Rs 55, he plans to open a boutique hotel after refurnishing it.

The finest example, however, of such restoration came from the Alsisar Mahal, the largest building in the area. Complete with chandeliers, impressive frescos, gun and sword collections, leopard skin, palanquins, extravagant door handles and chairs, spacious interiors, this mahal that belonged to merchant Gaj Singh, has also been converted into a hotel now. The dining hall alone has been rebuilt at a cost of Rs 4 crore. But, we decided that living in the middle of all the grandeur could be intimidating.

Which is why we were rather happy with our more modest accommodation in Indra Vilas, which actually felt like a real home. The restoration work here hasn’t really disturbed the original architecture and interiors. There were no add-ons. It also had the homely comfort of a guest house. The haveli hotel had a swimming pool and a new restaurant is being built up. Giving glimpses of the past, the walls of the haveli were adorned with black and white photographs of the extravagant life of Indrachand Kejriwal, who built the haveli. It’s another story that his grandsons squandered away the wealth and now live in a rented house in Kolkata.

Being off season meant there was not much to shop around. We went all the way to Jhunjhunu town, but the market there was more China than Rajasthan. But never mind, the camel cart safari was an amazing experience as it slowly carted around the village under a desert sunset.

A lazy weekend and it was time for us to go home. As I threw one last glance around my room to make sure we left none of our belongings behind, my eyes fell on the open window. Beyond that, I saw one of the most awesome view of nature. On the roof of the house, across the lane stood a peacock in all its magnificence – its feathers up like a throne in all its multi-coloured splendour, doing a private little jig for me. Rajasthan, you see, never disappoints.

Attractions

Camel cart rides

Village walks

Painted havelis

Shekhawati Festival (Jhunjhunu)

Temple of Rani Sati Mataji (Jhunjhunu)

Sit around the village pond and chat with inquisitive kids, artisans and wizened old folks.

Q-I want to invest Rs 6,000 every month for the next six months and increase the amount to Rs 9,000 thereafter. The goal of my investment is wealth creation. I will get married in 2014. I have no loans and dependants. Suggest some good investment plans.

-Archie Ahmed, Guwahati

Answer-You need to invest regularly and systematically in equities. It is not very clear whether you want to withdraw funds for your marriage. In case you plan to use some amount for the same, then a part needs to be invested in more secured assets as you may need money in less than two years. You need to have three funds in your portfolio from across categories. From the diversified funds stable, you can pick between HDFC Equity and Fidelity Equity. In the mid-cap category, you can consider IDFC premier Equity and HDFC Midcap Opportunity. Among balanced funds, HDFC Prudence, HDFC Balanced, Canara Robeco Balanced Fund and Birla Sun Life 95 are good picks. Currently, you don’t need any insurance. However, you should consider the same once you get married and have dependants. Term insurance is one of the best way to get yourself insured. Also, make sure you have a health insurance.

Q-I am 31-years-old and would like to build a corpus of Rs 1 crore by the time I turn 50. Please guide me on how and where to invest. Also, how much do I need to invest to reach my goal?

-Monika Sharma, Nalbari

Answer-You will be surprised to know that to achieve a target of Rs 1 crore, you need to save Rs 7, 800 per month with a expected return of 15 per cent.

Does this sound easy? But what typically gets missed out by everyone is the consistency and the habit of saving which needs to be brought in. It is easier said than done. In your case, you need to save regularly for 19 years, or 228 months.

Now coming to your question, on how you need to invest this money. Since the savings will be done with a long-term view, you need to consider equity as an asset class, where the best way to invest is through mutual funds.

You can invest in four funds and the asset classes can be multi-cap, mid-cap and balanced funds. The fourth category should be gold, which can be 10 per cent of the total amount invested. For investment in gold, consider gold exchange-traded funds (ETF). You may also consider gold funds, including Reliance Gold Savings Fund and Kotak Gold Fund.

At the same time, make sure you are adequately protected for both your life and health and have insurance for the same. For life insurance, go for a term plan.

**Please note that readers discretion may be exercised in purchase of any of the above mentioned products and the same may not be deemed to be, in any manner, the writer’s recommendation

The writer is the Principal Financial Planner at EconPenny. Readers may send their queries to dipankar.jakharia@gmail.com Ph: 09854089580

Now this friend of mine whom I shall call Thappar only for this column, whose real name is something that I shall not divulge and who is in no way related to the high profile tycoons, the Thapars, is yet in his own way a contented owner of a car repair workshop in Guwahati’s Ulubari area, right on the GS Road.

So then, last Monday, Thappar celebrated Vishwakarma Puja with much ardour, offering to the God, grams which his assistants soaked all night, sliced apples which went rust-coloured around the edges by late morning and the inevitable khichri, wrapping up with the inevitable kheer. They parroted chants after the priest and then all evening, danced like crazy to aa ante amlapuram from Gangs of Wasseypur. And finally, assured of divine protection of the tools and machines in the workshop, Thappar slept a happy man that night...

...only to be woken up by a resounding slap, a thappar, in the middle of the night. He sat up with a startle, all groggy and in a half-asleep mode and saw an image...no, a person, all crowned and costumed for some period drama, riding an elephant. The person gave him another resounding slap on the other cheek. ‘Now what was that for?’ Thappar meekly asked,  “That,” said the costume man, “is for offering me drab grams which started stinking by the time I ate them because of being in water all night in this heat and for the tainted apples and that mess of a dal-chawal!” The person was visibly offended. “Hey, you’re him? Vishwa Sarma?” sleep made Thappar’s tongue slip. Another slap landed splat on Thappar’s cheek. “Not Vishwa Sarma, fool! Vishwa karma. And coming back to my initial point, when multinational food joints are closing in on you all along G.S.Road, couldn’t you have offered me anything from KFC or Yo! China, Domino’s or Pizza Hut? Idiot human!’ and Thappar asked shivering with fright, “But they are, well, you don’t eat them, do you? And they are foreign stuff...” “Oh yeah?” said the costume man and brought another thappar swooping down on Thappar, “When the whole nation is teeming with breathing and living foreign walky-talkies, you deceive me with such innuendoes on foreign food? As regards whether I eat them or not, has anyone even tried offering them to me? And when there is this new place called Opera Patisserie, why, naive human, why do you make the folly of feeding me the same old rice kheer year after year?” Another thunderous slap. “But..but...desserts from Patisserie have eggs in them...” Thappar stammered. “So?” the costume man roared. “So...they become non-vegetarian...” “Oh yeah?” another slap. “Milk in the kheer is from an animal and that is vegetarian. Eggs in the dessert is from a bird and that isn’t vegetarian? You double standard human! Only because of you, because of those grams, I have a flatulent stomach now which will end up in a loose motion tomorrow. And I know that you know it. That’s why, just so I don’t soil your premises, you will carry me away tomorrow and leave me upon some divider in the middle of the road or under some oblivious tree for the crows  to shit on. Sly human! Experiment! Innovate with the prasad! Be the Change! Just you make sure that I get the KFC bucket for prasad next year!” Another resounding slap. “Oh yes, and replace this clown suit with...er...Nike...Armani. Experiment! Be the Change!” And the last slap... and poof!  Now this last slap got beyond Thappar’s capacity to withstand further shock. He lost his senses and his confused head dropped back upon his pillow. And Thappar was back in blissful slumber.

The next morning, Thappar calls me and says, “Rashmi! I had this a-w-e-s-o-m-e dream...” rashminarzary@sify.com

Is the cap on the number of subsidized  LPG cylinders by the government justified?

1. Sudarshan Mahato (government employee): The government’s decision has only added to the woes of the common people. First, the price hike and now this irrational decision by the government has trapped the common public in a difficult situation. There is absolutely no respite.

2. Kourabi Majhi (Housewife): How can a big family survive with only 6 LPGs a year? A cylinder lasts hardly for one and a half months for an eleven member family like ours. This move has only shown how insensitive the government is to our well being.

3. Bijoy Sharma (Government employee): Shortage of LPG cylinders has always been a problem. Now, with the subsidization in the number of LPG cylinders, I wonder how a middle class family would sustain itself. The Government should have been more sympathetic to the middle class and poor people.

4. Bhaiti Kalita (Shopkeeper): The government has always been raising the price of petroleum products  under one pretext or the other. Now, with the restriction on LPG cylinders, does the government want to make us sleep empty stomach?

5. Sarad Basumatary (Engineer): Although the recent hike in the price of diesel has become unavoidable due to consistent rise in international oil prices and mounting under-recoveries of the oil companies but the same cannot be said in case of LPG. The estimated reserve of crude oil and natural gas in India as on 31.03.2011 stood at 757 million tones (MT) and 1241 billion cubic meters (BCM). Assam (22 per cent), has the second largest reserve of Natural Gas but most of them has to be burnt due to the non-availability of proper bottling and storage facilities. Therefore, the government should take up measures to find a way where the natural gas could be used up for the benefit of the people instead of being burnt. Then there would be no necessity for limiting the number of LPG cylinders per family.

 6. Himanshu Sen (Advocate): This is only a government strategy to divert people’s attention from the coal gate scam.

7. Dhiraj Das (Student): We are used to buying LPG from the black market. Buying an LPG gas cylinder has never been easy. Sometimes, we even had to pay as high as Rs 1,200 for a cylinder in advance. Now, with restrictions on the number of LPG cylinders per family, God knows how high the prices will soar in the black market. The move is definitely not justified.

8. Bhoben Deuri (Student): What can the common people do when the government hikes prices at its whims? The day is not far when we would have to cook food using firewood like the olden days.

9. M Das (Businessman): The cap on the number of LPG cylinders would only increase its demand in the market, which would eventually pave a way for businessman like us to pocket extra money.