On language, literature and learning: A short trip to Rajasthan

We started for Jaisalmer by train at midnight; reached again facing a delay of two hours due to fog. At 7 am in the morning, we found a cold dark night outside the station. Anyway, we escaped any kind of trouble as the cab sent from hotel was waiting.

Cottage in Jaisalmer hotel

Tourist lodges\hotels under Government tourism departments in India have an ambiance we call middle-class environment. In the lobby, you may find tourists who work with different departments under different state- or central governments, chatting with each other. Rooms look like Govt. quarters, food is healthy\less spicy. You may also find a cottage industries showroom in the premises. These do not include gym, swimming pool, sauna or parlor, but provide homely comfort for Govt. employees families. I do not know how a similar kind of environment is maintained in all Govt. lodges everywhere in the country – as I have seen – be in West Bengal or Orissa, Karnataka or Tamilnadu, Maharastra or Rajasthan.

Towards desert

First desert visit has to be exiting, so was ours. Jaisalmer city is in the desert, but one needs to drive almost half an hour to find a deserted desert. Well, roads are good even in those areas. There was more surprise for me on the way – windmills! I haven’t seen those from so close distance before.

Ruins of Kuldhara

Kuldhara is a famous haunted village in the desert being maintained by Archaeological Survey of India. There is a debate whether a nasty Rajput local leader really threatened a group of Paliwal Brahmins so harsh that they preferred leaving their Kuldhara home and losing in the desert rather than gifting one of the Brahmin daughters to the Rajput. But stories do tell about people of a place and time – this place must be a witness of some incident. Some friends told Paliwals were into gold trading, so it is very possible that a local ruler of some unknown era wanted to acquire their gold, not really their daughters and he made Paliwals leave the place to fulfill his objective. Who knows the truth?

One old home renovated in Kuldhara

There was a temple once

Desert through mobile cam

Camel ride was fun for me and my brother. The camel was growling as we stepped towards it. Obviously this made me little scared (remember Lalmohan Ganguly?). What a wonder, it stopped crying as me and bro sat on it. What a personality trait - it seemed happy not only to carry heavy stuffs clinging on its back but also wanted to run with those! Its owner told, camel is energetic animal, especially when young. They don’t want to sit idle and express dissatisfaction till there is no chance to move. Does every camel have same character or this is also a generalization?

The big fat heroin and brother

Keeping balance may seem little troublesome in the beginning but you will enjoy the ride. I would be happier only if “tourists” did not take the role of garbage producing community here – how come people scatter all kinds of plastic bags, wrappers and bottles around themselves? Also beware of the proposal of camel-owners to show the Indo-Pakistan border, which is, in fact 130 km away from this part of Jaisalmer. Well – no harm in taking a longer camel ride if you enjoy.

In the desert

Dusk in the desert

The fire

Musical programs presented by folk artists arranged in the evening are another attraction in the deserts. People may also live in the tents here or go back to hotel after attending the program. You are lucky if you are attending a program of one of your favorite singers. There is a difference between listening to a Manganiyar artist in a city auditorium and out in the open. Seats for audience are arranged like a gallery in the open – the program starts after sunset in the evening - in January the temperature goes low as 4/5 oC – they light a fire in the middle. Probably this is called heavenly experience!