Thought Provoking Journey

You know you are in Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan state in India; when the walls and buildings look pink in the vicinity. The mountains on the roadside appear stalwart in rocks standing together. There is something more than history that makes this city beautiful! The women in flamboyant drapes and white bangles in full arms look shyly towards the camera, as I with my friends take few flicks randomly. The streets are busy with camels strolling on one side and vendors playing Sarangi on the other.

With flashing colours and tinkling sounds amidst the pink city, we board the train for Jaisalmer-575 km west from Jaipur. Standing on a ridge of yellowish sandstone and crowned with a fort, this Golden City lies in the heart of the Thar Desert. It seems like an unending sea of sand hills in all forms. Tufts of long grass while grow in some part, long bushes spread themselves to the other. We are here to attend the Desert Festival which goes on from January to February. It’s mid-day with the sun bright enough to poke our skins with a temperature of 23°C.

Here at the festival, we see a snake charmer portraying his calibre, with a female encircling the snake and dancing to the tunes of the instrument he plays (pungi). This Kalbeliya dance form is one- of- its- kind! After collecting coins from the audience, the snake charmer lets the snake creep into its small home-the basket. We approach them and after a bit of talk, they narrate their snags on earning a living. They urge us to visit their home on the outskirts. We get along with them and by evening we are in a desert village. The mud hut has thatched roof and there lies a cot outside. His wife serves camel milk in four steel glasses and presents us with a plate of thick chapattis greased with salted butter. After having a sumptuous meal, we thank them for their hospitality and ask to take us for a stroll along the village.

The snake charmer readily agrees and steps ahead with us. As we move around the village, we can see women walking in groups with veil over their faces and earthen pots on their heads. The snake charmer tells us that, this is their daily routine of fetching water from miles away and returning back home late in the evening. They wake up at early dawn to start their journey for the water source. My friends and I share a common amazement on our faces and feel ashamed for the water wastage we do in our everyday life. We move ahead, but with a changed notion now.