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Published: October 30th 2013
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I always wanted to visit a hot desert. I grabbed a fantastic Air India deal to enjoy Durga pooja, Jodhpur Music festival and visiting family.
I landed in New Delhi in broad daylight but did not have the courage to take a taxi given the poor safety standards for women. I decided to take the Delhi metro. Though I lost a lot of time in transit , I arrived to have an excellent lunch at my friend’s house. That evening, we were caught in traffic of over 3 hours to reach the Durga pooja pandals where my friends and cousin already waited. We did manage to have an assortment of street food, see some cultural programmes and thoroughly enjoyed the festive air. With friends, any time is fun time!
The next day, I landed in Jodhpur and decided to explore the place by foot. I walked with my leather slippers and my feet hurt. I bought some comfortable floaters and threw all my fancy leather slippers into the dustbin. The roads were dusty and dirty. I hated the rude waiters who took ages to take orders. I searched half the town for a good book to read. All excited,
I went to the market place near Clock Tower called Sardarpur only to realise it is a vegetable market.
I took the overnight train to Jaisalmer and then to Sam. The connectivity from Jaisalmer to Sam was pathetic with no local buses or taxis. Time stood still. I spent the morning watching the sun deciding to rise, rise and then finally rise high in the sky from a roadside tea shop. I reached hot and hostile Sam in late morning to be welcomed by even more hostile hotel manager who was simply interested in fleecing money. He said that there was no 25% ladies only travel discount as it included meals despite the fact that it was so mentioned in the government website. I asked him to prepare the bill. He was at a loss and did all sorts of wrong calculations which I caught red handed. Seeing that I was determined, he finally prepared the right bill. Most annoying!I set off for a fantastic camel ride followed by a lovely cultural programme of Rajasthani folk dance and music. The camel ride was comfortable. It is a graceful animal and swayed lightly though I was too scared to
take pictures and gently held on to the reins. I 'saw' the Pakistan border which is about 60kms from Sam. That night, I slept in the tent and wondered whether a man or a beast would enter through the open window which refused to close! I could hear a group of young tourists playing halloween like pranks on each other at night. Next morning, I took my suitcase right to the highway and sat on it while I waited for a shared taxi to return me to civilisation.
My next place of stay in Jaisalmer was the homely “Rose villa'. The owner told me all the nice places to visit and I set off with my bottle of cold water and my black umbrella. The Jaisalmer fort is a beautiful fort made of yellow limestone. Inside, there was a Jain temple. They checked my bag for a camera and when they found one, they refused to let me enter! I said my battery had died but it fell to deaf ears. Also, it said ‘Non- Indians’ could enter only after 1pm which was a ridiculous preposition. After seeing all the rest of the fort, I left to enjoy the market place and shopped some nice kurtas and skirts. I saw sunset by Gadisar lake and a beautiful puppet programme at Desert Cultural museum. It was fascinating puppet dances of the magician, the horseman and the various others accompanied by rich folk songs. Later, I got upgraded to an air conditioned room and slept peacefully.
The following day, I travelled in a local bus and later in overcrowded ‘tuk tuk’ to Ramdevra which is a pilgrimage center of a local saint and to Pokhran were India carried out her nuclear testing. These places were so isolated that the bus took me through the stretches of sand with shrubs- ever so bare and barren. The oneness contrasted with the beautiful jewellery of Rajasthani women. The veils were the colours of pale pink, red, yellow and parrot green which were said to be ‘happy’ colours. Despite the heat, they were comfortable in the bus while I mentally noted that this would be my last visit to a desert!
Later, I visited Natwar ki haveli where the rich trader and his family once lived. I laughed when one of the visitors remarked that this man got rich selling tie and dye clothes in Surat and according to her, it was such an ordinary activity. Well, there is nothing extraordinary in business except a good sense of profit and loss.
The next morning, I got up early to climb up the local hill and watch the sunrise over the fort. It was a nice experience but nothing spectacular. I learnt that Jaisalmer was a city of dacoits who used to loot the cargo enroute to China as it fell on the famous silk route. The fort was built to protect this wealth. The next day, I left for Jodhpur and headed to the Mehrangarh fort. Since I took an audio tour, it answered all my questions! Funnily enough, I saw many war booties (for example, a golden palanquin from Gujarat) displayed with great pomp and show. I was wondering if these regions had anything to call their own ? It was like seeing the Kohinoor in Tower of London knowing it belonged to the Nawab of Hyderabad.
The evenings was spent mostly trying all sorts of delicious street foods for which Rajasthan is famous. The malai lassi was refreshing drink and what a relief from the heat of Rajasthan.
At my sister’s place in Mumbai, we skyped dad and exchanged pleasantries. My 3 year old nephew was a delight. We went shopping with one of my old friend and had a fantastic dinner at Yoko Sizzlers with expenses paid courtesy my dad’s credit card.
The next day, I went to visit a friend who could not visit me that day as her son was sick. It was a long drive but worth it as we don’t know when we will meet again. She looked happy and well.
My sister kindly arranged my shoppings despite the short time we had together. She was very efficient and calm. While I panicked, she was quietly making sure all my shopping checklist was getting ticked one by one! She dropped me off to the airport.
The Air India flight to Chennai served one of the loveliest Chilli Chicken I have tasted. I asked for a second helping. In Chennai, I met with an old friend and another one who had come down to see me from Bangalore. It was such a lovely reunion! She remembered that I loved Jasmine flowers and had bought me some and some fried fish too. We laughed over old days and new. Time just flew.
I was sad at Chennai airport; thinking that though I had no intention of returning to India; how could I live without my family and friends? Perhaps, they are like the beautiful jewellery- some as earrings, some as a necklace, some as nose ring etc of a beautiful Rajasthan women repertoire which add colour, sparkle and richness to an otherwise sandy, barren landscape of Life.
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