Dedicated to my grandsons Ashwin, Rishi and Rohan
RAJASTHAN CALLING - Part 6
Off to Jaisalmer - the Golden City (30-31 Dec 2015)
Breakfast at Mandore Guest House starts at 7.30, but we had to leave at 7. So the previous night, with great apprehension we requested the owner, an Amrish Puri look-alike, if he could make an exception, and serve us earlier. “I see you have children with you and I have to agree.” Moral: Appearnces can be deceptive.
We were happy we had the best driver in Vishnu for the longest part of our trip (from Udaipur to Jodhpur to Jaisalmer). He was polite, knowledgeable, and actively participated in our various time-pass verbal games during the drive. Thanks to his extensive travel experience, he was at his best when we played the ‘name cities or towns’ from the ending letter of the last city cited. When we got tired of games, Vishnu played his MP3 CD featuring duets of Kishore Kumar with others - mostly the evergreen ones of of RD Burman, SD Burman, Kalyanji-Anandji…. Most of us hummed along, as Ashutosh whistled through. Personally, this session had a humbling effect on me. Till then I though I could identify the picture or the music director’s name of any old song. I found to my dismay that I just managed in 30% of the cases.
We stopped at a wayside restaurant for a masala tea. It was a little saltish, probably because of the water. Anyway what attracted me most was that normally one finds in such places the photos of current or past film heroes hung on the wall. But here we saw Prakash Raj’s photo adoring the hall. He is no doubt a multifaceted and spontaneous actor having acted in all the four southern languages and Hindi. But a villain seldom finds a place, I thought. Maybe he too stopped by for tea on his way for shooting.
Time passed quickly. Vishnu announced that we were nearing Jaisalmer. In fact we had just arrived at the War Memorial, just a few miles away from the city.The Memorial depicted the Kargil War. Several of the captured enemy tanks, trucks, aircraft, were on display on mounted platforms. There was an undue rush among visitors to climb up and to get photographed standing, with one hand on the tank and the other raised high with a triumphant look as though they had personally captured it.
We checked into the Lalgarh Fort Hotel in Jaisalmer with just enough time to freshen up. The Safari jeep pick-up time was 2.30. It was a one and a half hours by jeep and another 1-1/2 hours of camel ride to reach the sand dunes (not the customary Sam Sand Dunes, but another one). Each of us, from age 10 to 76, were mounted on a separate camel. We were told that once we mounted, the camel would stand up. At that time we should lean back for better balance. Everyone did well. Mine was the tallest camel. It got up a little before I had fully climbed. So impulsively I just bent forward and hugged the camel tightly lest it could throw me off. The hug proved costly; the camel apparently had not had a bath for days, Anyway, safety first. All the others took the ride for the full 1-1/2 hours but, because of this unceremonious start I gave it up after 30 minutes. The jeep that carried vegetables and other items for the evening dinner, picked me up to the final destination.
Several tourists booked with this agent arrived at the venue in different batches. I welcomed ours, as I was already at the venue - a selected open desert. We were served snacks - chips in unlimited quantity, and pakoras, somewhat rationed. They asked us to walk along the sand dunes to get a better view of the sunset from one of the top ones. We tried to run, and found that even just walking on sand was difficult - at each step the loose sand pulled our feet by at least six inches. We managed, took some snaps, enjoyed the sunset. In that open desert, what if you had shouted on top of your voice,’Yahoo’, like Shammi Kapoor in Junglee, would you have alerted the Pakistani solders at the other end of the border? No not exactly. The border is 80 kilometers away.
With the sun having set and darkness creeping in, we returned to our spot to find ‘dinner’ ready. They had prepared it on the spot: rice, chapati, dal, one vegetable, pickle, and rice pudding. It was as best as it could be under the circumstances. We all got into the jeep. Passing through a dark desert amidst dry plants, bumps, and no route marked was an experience in itself. Sitting by the driver, I watched if there was any beaten track. No, none. I wondered how he could figure out the route. To add to our woe, the driver stopped the vehicle occasionally to check the right front tyre. Unlike in other rides, this time there was absolute silence inside the jeep. No one spoke a word - probably busy praying for a safe return to hotel. Once the jeep touched down the main road everyone heaved a sigh of relief and conversation re-emerged. As the driver dropped us at the hotel, I saw Ashutosh tipping him heavily.
(Next: Final Day at Jaisalmer, and Off to Jaipur)
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