…Maybe that’s something the desert does to you…out there… time just slips by and a lulling calm of unreality settles on everything …The fine sand shifts and spreads and the hot afternoons turn into cool evenings…stars burn in the night sky and the Golden city glows in the night…the cold nights turn light and the scorching sun rises again. The days just pass…without effort, seamlessly…
Seduced by the shifting sands and the lure of the dusty old havelis and many a regaling story by old time travel buddies, we decided that this Diwali… the coordinates would fix on the Great Barren plains. A worthy decision, in retrospect, but when you’re baking in an iron cauldron, creeping along in Sleeper class across the smoldering landscape …disembarking into the arms of a veritable army of touts… doubts begin to plague the mind. But believe me, sitting here …now I know that the battle of mind over matter had just begun :)
Dunk yourself into shelter…post being watered, fed and sufficiently beer-ed up… light one of the thin long ones and you’re ready for what the hell-ever the Desert has in store for you.
Ajmer-Pushkar
Give Ajmer a miss. Seriously. People will try to tell you not to, but like some smart cookie once pointed out: “Heed not the ignorant traveler’ s ramblings”. In this case, heed not like the Dickens…cos one neat little half hour bus ride later (don’t miss the super-tech tickets issued on the ride)…you hit Pushkar.
I love the way Lonely Planet describes the place: “…a dusty little town at the edge of the desert… tourists experimenting variously with bhang, spirituality and facial hair’. Peppered with Gurudwaras that emanate some haunting singing late into the night and early in the morning… this touristy little place has its modest share of hippy lanes running alongside the ghats - Perfect to stop here for a day or two…smoke some beedis in some scenic spots and get going.
- Catch the sunrise atop the Savitri temple hill (Alert: the climb is tough on them ole smoker gills)…
- Wander down the ghats… they’re cuter than the regular Varanasi experience… and cleaner (in case things like hygiene bother you).
- There’s a Swinging Baba outside the Brahma Temple…on some obscure hatha yoga mission, he lives his life swinging off a wooden platform suspended from a tree. The junta claims he’s been there forever. Interesting chap.
- Among the other oddities… from when you disembark from the bus, the touts offer you a special open cart ride to the town (which is a few hundred yards away)…. novel fleecing technique. I was impressed.
Jodhpur
Mehranghar fort and the famous view of the blue houses. Well. That’s all I’m admitting to. But must say the tourism blokes have pulled up their socks a bit on this one. Full marks this time.
…Flit past these places and get some practice learning to beat the sun…for the real trip hasn’t begun till you find yourself standing outside the formidable fort walls of…
Jaisalmer.
The exact moment you step into the Fort city, the feeling of having left another world behind envelopes you till you leave…and you live the rest of your life with its haunting images tucked away somewhere. They surface suddenly …in the middle of a meeting at work…or a traffic jam on the street…. like some goddamn hallucination, the walls of that city rise again…
The Bhang Shop.
And yes…its ‘Government approved’. And manned by a self-confessed healer…Dr.Bhang. The man is made of stuff the world has never seen before – spouting eternal truths, as politically incorrect as they come…he is half the trip, really.
A menu is handed to you and great advice to ‘take it easy policy…’ The menu outlines the ‘good effects of Bhang’ that includes anti ageing, euphoria and fights fatigue, amongst its varied miraculous properties. The stuff is available in you name it…tea, apple juice, lassi…and in different measures …Baby shots, medium, large and the ‘Full power 24 hour No toilet No shower’ which is reserved for ‘Camels and Israelis’ (By the Doctor’s admission, not mine)
As you wait for the stuff to take its effect…he signs a Bang passport for you with a flourish…talks about his ‘Dream project’ … advices you on bhang consumption vis-à-vis life in general.
Unbeatable stuff. Double thumbs up.
One man show A.K.Sharma’ s Puppet Show:
Mr. One man Show Sharma – many a weary year this man has spent bringing the dying art of puppetry to a nation that doesn’t really give a...um…rat’s ass…(to cut a long story short). So hence we trooped into his house cum show space, parted with some crisp notes at the counter and squeezed into the packed hall to watch the Desert Puppet Show.
Mr. One man Show Sharma is quite a mastermind. All his lead-up stories to the ‘extravagant display by talented desert artists’ start with a splendiferous tale of love, loss and quest for happiness…and somehow the show that ensues, magically manages to convey it all using one SINGLE freakin puppet that does nothing even close to entertaining…except a few lewd gestures that left some kids who attended the show going back with some seriously damaging ideas on sexuality and camels.
But…the outdated old man means well, I’m sure and I should not be so hard on him, so here’s the verdict: ‘Mostly harmless’ (with all due credit to Mr. Douglas).
Disclaimer: If you were to go in there with the entire line up of hard facts straight, it can turn hugely amusing. Especially after a stop at the Bhang shop.
Aunty’ s Restaurant - 8th of July:
The restaurant at first glance makes a killing – occupies the best vantage on the view of Jaisalmer – the central square where the cows, tourists, tight rope walkers, tea shops, carpet sellers and similar troopers collate in befuddled mass.
Aunty will swoop down and tell you a lot of things you really don’t want to know, but you can forgive her cos she makes it all up with her cooking – she whips up a veritable storm! Wow. But to get to the goodies you will need to endure long lists of different lassies available – blackcurrant, would you believe…is from Nigeria! Uncle is an Australia returnee and can’t quite get over that fact of life.
Heck! I should really curb this mean streak… before I get any worse, I’ll wrap by saying I recommend everything about the restaurant. Sit there and watch time ebb away in its curious desert fashion.
Hotels, street shops, lodges, teashops, and cafes…everything is in the fort – everything IS a part of the fort. It’s unreal and totally magic, all at once!Kitschy little rooms with haveli feel about it, long winding low ceiling rooms nestled close to the roof top, looking down into the streets out of tiny windows covered in bright silk! Its feels like living in another century…another time.
Don’t miss the musicians sitting around playing some haunting music on their little stringed thingies accompanied with some full-throated singing! One old guy sitting by the entrance to the fort was quite a great guy – the only one who didn’t ask for money and played as long you sat down to listen to him. That kinda thing really does it for me :)
And one last thing…don’ t leave if you don’t have to. Stay on. For however long it takes.
Aunty at the Restaurant says she’s been looking over the square for ten years now and she’s not tired of it… So ... give it a shot.
