With Golden Hearts to Golden Land



What makes each breath worth living is the kind of air you breathe in. I had the opportunity to breathe in the vastness, the emptiness, the silence, the clarity and the royalty of Thar.

Another seasoning which adds tickle and fragrance to each breathe is the people [read friends (read family)] in your vicinity. So I was humbled with chaos in the silence of Thar with my insane, fun,loud and happy Swad (read Bakra Union).

Not everyone is fortunate enough to experience a journey with people who are so full of life , emotions, flamboyance and do not hesitate to show it off. I am lucky to have this journey which has taught me so much, brought to me so much and made me cherish people I am surrounded with.

Much of Philosophy lets go straight to the point…

The journey started with loading everything in the universe I could think of the desert might demand of me. But I was not packed enough so I took this little Pixie (read Roopnaz) to fulfil all my random tantrums. Food is what centres my life to fulfil my this need a Genie (read Prabhjot Paaji) accompanied me. With bags stuffed and tummy puffed, we hopped on the first Royal Ride (read auto-rickshaw). Joined in the middle with Peter Pan (read Harry Veerji) who has super power to make crying laugh we reached the miniature Golden Temple (read Railway Station).

The fairy dust sparkled around us as we were joined by Alladin (read Aman Veerji) possessor of the Velvet Voice, Sane Fairy (read Isha) and Moustached Wooer (Dilpreet Paaji). With Squad complete, we boarded the Railed Snake(read train) which took us to the land of Jalandhar.

Jalandhar made us wait, Snake 2(read Jammu-Ahd express) din’t seem to arrive, patience was tested. To kill the boredom flies we began to eat. Packed with more than 50 Paranthas , the eating conquest began fuelled with Chah. Our tummy was filled and boredom killed. The snake came to take us to the land of Royals.

The day journey went well with laughter doses from Peter Pan and fun of Poker. But the night brought it’s horrors. Sleep refused to enter my eyes and my stomach roared. The Food Genie (Prabhjot Paaji) awakened his senses and brought to us the most delicious cream-rolls( Bikaner) and satisfied our mid-night hunger. Now tummy was full but the eyes still longed for sleep. Alladin with the velvet voice came to the rescue and lulled us fairies to sleep.

Day-1

The first ray of sunshine was witnessed by us in Jodhpur. Magic Carpet (read bus) took us to the Golden City of Jaisalmer at Snail’s pace. The Carpet ride was filled with mischief, sleep, lassitude and loud dhinchak songs.
The Golden Fort (read hotel Jaisalgarh Fort) awaited us . Freshened up and Bindified(wore a bindi) we marched to the Jaisalmer Fort to say hello to all the songs the Castle had to whisper. The legends of seven feet king, the king who married each day, the queens who slew their lives for the sake of the pride, the stories of the courtesies and violence ,of Bravery and Treachery echoed the entire palace. The Narrator (our palace guide) then took us the “Golden Group” to the top of the palace. What awaited us was breath taking. With large Windmills on one side, creating a circular white Halo in the emptiness of the desert, tiny golden bricked houses brimming with activity on the other side. Large domed Chateaux in the panorama and golden sand in the vicinity, I was mesmerised. The air caressed the skin and made me feel the warmth of the desert. I felt divine. 

With the hangover of dignity we went back to our fort and danced our way (DJ party)to the mid-night. The sleep again refused to enter my eyes and now the Sane Fairy (Isha) came to my rescue. With the moon shining bright and the cold air filled in lungs, Me and Fairy (Isha) soaked in the desert night with the background music of the radio. We sat until the mosquitoes marched us back to our beds.
Day-2

Brimmed with activity and filled with hopes. We then boarded the magic carpet to take us to the Land of Wars (War Museum Jaisalmer). We puffed up with pride as we heard of the Bravery, Vigour, Thrill and Patriotism of Soldiers who laid down their lives for the sake of their mother land.
With the spirit to do something for our land, the magic carpet took us to Gadhisar Lake. An oasis in the desert. A lake which brought the desert to life. The Blue water surrounded by Golden edifices brought colour to the lifeless desert. With the perfect set of boat in mid water tied to the tree and beautiful panorama, Aladdin’s (Aman) heart sang melodies, melodies of beauty and of betrayal, of love and of loss, of sorrow and of sweetness. With ears still ringing with the melodies of known we browsed the coloured market. 

It was here we stumbled upon Something Ram(I forgot his name but I remember it ended with Ram). He talked of empires building and shattering as if he had been there forever being a silent witness of the entire chaos waiting for it to settle down and then start of again. We listened rapt adding our bits of our own Kings and asking about his own, discovering in the end the sameness and difference of the two.

Carpet the took us to the village of Sum. The village had nothing but the sand. But soon I was proven wrong as I discovered what the desert offered. It was time for Desert Safari.

Open Jeeps awaited us. As we hopped on, We were actually “BLOWN AWAY”. The jeep Meandered up and down the dunes as it claimed its territory. We stood, breathed and again kept our selves up with the activity around. Fast wind pierced my skin, making me realise the strength of the desert. The nothingness of the desert suddenly disappeared and I felt the stir of the dunes. We reached the sun set point. It was here that bollywood crawled into all of us . From Sunil Shetty’s “ye mitt meri  Maa hai Sir” to the mimicking the scenes from Border, we made use of the sand to the fullest. The ride back filled us Rang De Basanti feeling. 

Welcomed to the camping area midst the sound of dhol, we were received by traditional Kalbeliya women of the area ,who put vermilion on our foreheads and sweetened the mouth with jaggary. The bonfire waited for us with Rajasthani Music putting life into the infertile sand. From Nimbuda, Nimbuda to Engine ki seeti we heard it all live from the masters. The ladies circled around the fire as it commanded them to move their bodies to the rhythm. I was in the trance. The sound of punjabi music in the deserts of Thar broke my trance and we all went into a Bhangra Frenzy. Tired ,we marched back to our tents. Again, Sleep refused to come.

Clear black sky, star studded-night, cold grains touching our feet and the silent lullaby of the sand. All of us circled around and talked. Talked of times, people, love and hate, Laughter, Remorse, Grim and Taste. In short, we  Philosophised.
Bored now of even the talk we took refuge from again the kings , queens and princes. But this time in cards. Poker was played. We bluffed as if our Kingdoms were at stake. Tired now of all the bluffing, we Slept.

Day-3


The fresh desert morning brought with us a mild sunshine and a Camel ride across the dunes. Riding on the Royal Ride, I felt like a Sultaan of the Sand. The majesticity of the animal could even make the Royalests of the Royals blush. The bouncy ride and the basking sun tickled my senses. I went into a life contemplating zone, and tried to understand serious stuff ( more on that in my next post). Now again we boarded the snail paced carpet to head towards Jodhpur. But the destiny had something else in store for us.

We arrived Jodhpur at 7:15 and had the train back at 8. So the mission was to collect souvenirs for the loved one’s in 20 minutes. The task was hard, but you know that Ladies can beat any record when it comes to shopping. Spending 2000 in 20 minutes,our souls were at peace.

It was now time to bid farewell, but that also happened with a bang. We were all determined to make the Moustached Wooer (Dilpreet Paaji) Happy, Happy on his coming Happy Birthday. It might have been for the first time that Jammu- Adi Express had seen a cake and echoed Happy Birthday midst the traveller’s hustle bustle. Our mission was successful and the moustached Wooer indeed was taken by surprise.

Like all good things, this also came to an end but with so many new strings to start afresh.

PS: I know this was long, but I hope it was not boring.

Tata !




Comments

  1. Unforgettable journey.....i felt like i was again in jaisalmer during the reading of this blog......☺☺☺

    ReplyDelete
  2. fantastic .....beautifully explainee.... while reading this magical blog.... i truely done our jaislmer journey again.

    ReplyDelete

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