www.katymercer.com.au

In 2007 I went to India for the first time and travelled around Rajasthan. I absolutely loved it!  I think you either love it or you hate it. India is not easy travelling and defies our Western need for order and regulation. As P.K. my driver kept saying,’In India Katy everything is possible.’ And that is so true, anything is possible, sweetness, generosity,chaos, craziness, artistic brilliance, ugliness, poverty and incredible beauty. We had several textile workshops along the way, one with the master indigo dyer in one village where they produced the most beautiful and complex handprinted designs and another where we learnt dyeing with a master dyer in another village.

The Elephant Festival in Jaipur , part of Holi Festival, was a highlight of the trip. Picture the scene -every inch of 9 enormous elephants covered in sequins, jewels, glitter, silver and gold. It was incredible. Some elephants had bracelets around their ankles, earrings and roses attached to their tusks. But most fantastically they had giant pink painted toenails! They seemed quite okay with all of this - calmly watching everyone watching them. They are truly gorgeous animals.

At Holi everyone buys small bags of bright colour and throws it over friends and family. Everyone is transformed into colourful laughing monsters. I was washing the purple out of my hair for days. Only in India!

See my video for images I took while in India in Rajasthan at Sanganer, Ranakpur,Pushkar, Jaipur, Bikaner and then of course Agra to see the Taj which lives up to every superlative it has ever been given……check out scenes from the Elephant Festival at Holi in Jaipur. Stalls selling bags of colour, beautiful elephant toenails, green colour being thrown everywhere and not only gorgeous elephants but elegant elephant riders…….