Bright yellow colored ornate buildings engilding like gold with every ray of sun; beautiful veiled women wearing bright red ghagras, noticeably large nose rings and white bangles and humming ghoomarwhile passing by; men with handlebar mustache and kesariya pagdi dillydallying under the shade of a tree; and a sea, a sea of unconfined serene sand, located in close proximity. That’s Jaisalmer for you. It looks as if someone has fueled life into “Incredible India” picture I have been seeing since childhood.

I reached Jaisalmer from jodhpur via train at around 6.30 in the morning. I had already contacted Titanic Hotel owner, Mr. Polu, beforehand and he had sent a vehicle to pick me up at station. He offered me room at 200/- per day with the pick up being complementary. I was pleasantly surprised with the rates as the hotel room was pretty decent and definitely much better than what I got in Jaipur (600/- a day). For any backpacker who is having a trip on a shoestring budget, Titanic hotel is a great option.

I took the bath and went to see Jaisalmer fort, or Golden fort, or Sonar Quila, which was at the walking distance from my hotel. This fort, unlike other forts in Rajasthan (except Chittaurgarh) is a living fort. People stay inside the fort as they used to during earlier days. Jaisalmer is named after Maharawal Jaisal Singh, a Bhati Rajput king who founded the city on 1156 AD. This fort, built on Trikoota hill by Maharawal Jaisal, is constructed completely from yellow sandstone and shines with resplendent golden color when sun light falls on it. Because of lack of water in this area, the stones are not joined by mortar, rather an interlocking system was used which saved lots of water. Grove was formed on one stone and other stone was fitted firmly inside it. There are 4 “prols” or gates inside this fort.

Palace for royal women within the fort

Sonar Quila – a living fort

Left: Interlocking of stones used in construction ; Right: Wooden ceilings in fort for keeping the fort cool

 

There are 7 Jain temples inside the fort which was built by rich Jain merchants between 12^th to 15^th century. This jain temple houses 6666 statues of Jain tirthankars. The significance of 6666 is that 6+6+6+6 is equal to 24 which is also the total number of Jain tirthankars. At the entrance of the temple itself one can see fossil stone, which according to an age old tradition is believed to keep away negative spirits. This is the reason why one can find fossil stones in various Indian monuments. There are 3 prominent types of stones found in Jaisalmer – yellow sandstone, limestone and fossil stone. The abundance of fossil stones in Jaisalmer gives strength to a popular belief that once Jaisalmer was completely inside sea and then sea dried exposing the arid land.

Jain temple

 

Exquisite carvings in Jain temple

After visiting the fort, I took my lunch and came back to the hotel. Camel safari is something which anyone has to do when in Jaisalmer. Returning from Jaisalmer without enjoying their camel safari is a crime J. I called a few tour operators but either they were denying saying that they don’t have any group going or were asking for exorbitant prices. Finally after an hour of frantic phone calls I ended up with Sahara Travels which had a group of 4 French people going on camel safari and he agreed to accommodate me at 1500/- . The price was definitely high considering the off season but I didn’t care much as I so much wanted to do this. The owner of Sahara Travels was generous enough to send a person with bike to receive me from my hotel and take me to their office to make the payment and do the formalities. I paid some advance amount, gathered some details and came back to the hotel. I was asked to be back there at sharp 3 PM.

It was a bit hot that day and I was feeling very sticky with sweat after fort visit. So I took bath, carried necessary items for the overnight stay in desert and reached the office of Sahara travels sharp at 3. The jeep to take us was stationed there and within minutes of my arrival, the group of French folks arrived. They were a group of 3 guys and a girl. We greeted each other, shared pleasantries and kicked off our tour on a jeep.

Our first stop was a haunted village known as Kukdhara village. The folklore says that some 300 years ago Paliwal brahmins used to dwell here. The prime minister of king, Salim Singh, fell in love with daughter of the village head. He asked them to either give her hand or leave the place. Brahmins being too rigid when it comes to inter-caste marriage refused to be subjugated. It is said that some 84 villages got vacated in one night. But before they left their villages, they put a curse here that no will be able to inhabit this place once again. To this day, Kuldhara village has remained as it is, the way it was left. People trying to stay here have been chased away by paranormal activities and have reported hearing wails of children and women leaving their houses.

The abandoned, ghostly Kuldhara

Top: Ruins of Kuldhara; Bottom: Govt. renovated portion of Kuldhara for tourists

 

 

By this time we had started to get hint of desert. The long trees had given way to small thorny shrubs, the houses on other side of the roads had dwindled, the air now had the coarseness, a seldom gush of sand would come and fill the eyes prompting you to wear your sunglasses. And amidst all these, our jeep was speeding on a tortuous road leaving civilization in its wake.

It was 4.30 when we reached a small village called Barna, where our next mode of transportation was awaiting our arrival. Yeah 6 camels were waiting for us (1 extra camel as a contingency plan).

There were 2 porters accompanying us – Kalu and Shambhu. Our jeep driver, Manu, along with another guy, Sawai, took the jeep with him to meet us at the camping location. We hopped on the camel back with our backpacks hooked to the saddle, a bottle of water in hand and sunglasses to protect the eyes from the sand and sun. We were all set to venture into one of the most beautiful voyage of our life.

My Safari buddies

 

Riding camel is fun. Camels, unlike horses, are chill. They don’t spook and cannot care any less about what is riding on their back. They know their route and follow the one in front of them.

Initially when we started, there were plain fields dotted with green shrubs, thanks to the rain that had happened a few days ago. This gave way to fresh tilled lands where farmers would grow millets, staple food of Rajasthan. There were also glimpses of sheep and cows grazing the land. One could see some brown mud huts with thatched roofs pockmarking the yellow surrounding with some green grasses and grey thorny shrubs adding some extra hue to the canvas. And then there were sand dunes, the never ending sea of sand. My ride was a potpourri of landscapes this beautiful planet has to offer.

 

 

When we were about to reach our camping location, Kalu and Shambhu started collecting some dried wood for fire. I squinted my eyes and looked at infinity. I saw amidst huge mighty sand dunes, there was a jeep parked and a thatched hut nearby. There were few green shrubs nearby for the camels to make merry. It was our jeep. Manu and Sawai had arrived and were making arrangements for us.

Getting down from the camel was such a relief. My legs had gone sore with its wide hump. It was an amazing view from the top of the sand dunes. There were just 9 of us (5 tourists and 4 porters). Sawai and Manu prepared masala tea for us using the wood that the other two porters had collected. The tea was accompanied with finger chips. It was a welcome surprise. I had a “chai pe charcha” with my fellow safari buddies and came to know a bit about them. They were from France and were in Jaipur for 3 months working for an NGO.

Sun was about to set and I went on a walk. Thar had an apollonian ambiance disturbed only occasionally by cud chews of camels. It was an experience in itself lying on sand under clear reddish sky and watching the sun drowning in the yellow sea in front of me.

Strolling through the unconfined, silent, yet majestic sand dunes

 

By the time, I came back, the guys had started to prepare dinner for us. All of us sat together near the fire and had some discussions. I came to know a bit about Shambhu, Kalu and Manu. Despite being poor, they lived happily and what really impressed me was the importance they gave to educate their children. The travel agency had arranged for some beer for us. At around 9, we were served our dinner along with beer. Yeah, the French guys preferred beer with their dinner; I nodded. The food was delicious; there was rice, dal, sabzi and roti along with beer.

Once everybody was done with dinner, all the 4 helper guys settled in front of us with their “musical instruments” – water canister and steel plates. They sung a few folk songs for us. I also sang a few songs. This carried on for almost an hour and then our beds were made with home made mattresses and duvets.

Kalu, Shambhu, Manu and Sawai in action

 

I must say, sleeping under the sky in a desert is a life altering experience. I have never been so close to mother nature before. Gazing night sky trying hard to locate some constellations, feeling the chill of sand from below, a cold nocturnal breeze ruffling your hair and filling your ears and eyes with sand. The moon was playing hide and seek with clouds and finally left leaving me with my thoughts, cleaning my grime knotted emotions.

I woke up early in the morning to see sunrise but the sky was cloudy and there was no sun to be seen. I pulled back my duvet and slept once again. When I woke up again, I saw Sawai preparing tea for us. Every sip of that hot tea was a mysterious panacea for my cold interior that spruced me up. We then came to know that our camels had also gone for a walk; we were not the only one who enjoyed strolling through the desert. I accompanied Shambhu and Kalu who went on a search for the camels. It was really amazing to see how they trace the footsteps of the camel and locate them. Finally we came back after an hour with camels. By that time Sawai had prepared porridge and roasted bread for us. We ate bread, jam and porridge and got prepared for the return journey.

We once again packed our bags, put it on camels and returned to Barna at around 10 AM where Manu was waiting with his jeep.

 

The last one together

I came back to hotel at around 11.30 AM, took my bath and checked out at 1.30 PM. Mr. Polu was kind enough not to charge me for an extra day as their check out time was 10. I went to Gopa chowk near Jaisalmer fort, ate my lunch and walked my way to Patwon ki haveli. There are 5 havelis built by Guman Chand Patwa, an insanely rich Jain merchant, for his 5 sons. These havelis are beautifully sculpted. Each and every piece of stone has been meticulously worked on. The lavishness of these havelis are evident from the fact that Patwas used to loan money to kings and kingdoms, not just normal people.

Patwon ki haveli

 

There were a few places left to visit in Jaisalmer but I neither had the interest nor energy to do that. So, I headed to railway station to travel back to New Delhi.

Jaisalmer is a proud sentinel in the history of Rajasthan, rather it shines brightest among all with its well preserved heritage. The “Golden city” not only has colossal Jaisalmer fort but also has Patwon ki haveli which is a poetry on stones. It not only has limitless monochrome sand dunes but is also punctuated by bright flashes of colors- be it clothes, paintings or interiors of havelis. Jaisalmer, you are one hell of a beauty !!