1: Pushkar - the Teerthraj

A pilgrimage for pious hindu devotees, Pushkar has turned into a haven for firangs who flock the place. And hence its not surprising to find 'brushchetta' figure out as the delicacy of local cafes, akin to 'dabhas', and 'Today's Special' is an exotic variety of 'falafel' or 'fajita'!

We began our journey to Pushkar at 8 in the morning, hopping onto a state bus from Ajmer, through 'Nag Ghat' or Snake Mountain, known such due to the meandering shape of the roads crisscrossing it. During the 14 kms journey, the bus rode past Ana Sagar, the famous lake created by damming river Luni by Anaji Chauhan (the grand-father of Prithvi Raj Chauhan) in 1135 to 1150 AD, and dropped us at a walking distance from the ghats in less than half an hour.

We walked through the bustling streets, filled with cafes, garment shops and foreign tourists. The cafes, an evolved version or a second generation of 'dabhas', had taken to catchy western first names such as Hard Rock, Pink Floyd, etc, with a common, inevitable suffix 'Roof Top Restaurant', to signify that the cafe was on first floor. The garment shops buzzed with the constant sound of sewing machines as the tailor, in some cases also the owner, frantically pedalled the wheels of the machine to stitch together colorful rags into an attractive halter or a bag ('jhola').

In the meantime, we were waded to a small ghat by a localite who seemed suspiciously helpful to Raghav. He seemed to be practicing a formal introduction to Pushkar, information we were aware of, courtesy Lonely Planet, the Bible. We thanked him for his help by tipping him with a tenner but that wasn't to be sufficient. We soon found ourselves buying some puja material and sitting on the bank of the ghat for supposedly having engaged the boy for 5 minutes when I thought the boy had engaged us to practise his narration on Pushkar. On the hindsight, I can't but compare this 'tourist phishing' to an efficient assembly line process!

We were aghast when pandit demanded a dakshina of 250 bucks at the start of the puja, so we avenged him by aghasting him with our intention of paying 11 bucks. Result, the pandit deserted us on the ghat and we had no clue what to do with the coconut, kumkum, incense and flowers on our plate. It was then that our friendly boy reappeared with his suspicious big smile, and taking the plate back from us, resold it to someone else. Relieved, we took to photography instead of puja!

Pushkar was not on our agenda initially, and when on the agenda, it was never a priority. However, there was an unspoken silence and a divine feeling of serenity about the place. We found ourselves gazing around at nothing, and not talking much to each-other, a very rare phenomenon. Hesitantly, I moved about some adjacent ghats, out of the total 52 ghats, while Raghav continued to gaze around like a dreamy school boy who didn't care about anything but that moment.

The Brahma temple, one of the five in India, was our next destination. So we set-out, passing again through the local market, so very targeted at the firangs, and interesting noticed the considerably huge company shops set-up by Biotique and Himalaya, amongst the other local naturopathy clinics which proclaimed to sell authentic herbal medicines, cosmetics and scents besides services such as herbal massages. The temple was the first Brahma temple we had been to, and no less in importance than any other in the world, and probably that's why they didn't allow us to click inside.

It was already 11 by then, and I desired to head back to Ajmer, but Raghav's unswerving faith in our Bible saw us undertaking a trek to the temple of Savitri Devi - a 750 feet climb, after an estimated 600 steps that don't really exist, recommended by the Lonely Planet to get a breathtaking panoramic view of the town. The folk lore goes that a darshan to Pushkar is incomplete without a visit to Brahmaji and Savitri Devi, so besides the light footed firangs, we were inspired by the undaunted spirit of the pious fogies despite the afternoon sun. It took us around 40 minutes to reach the hill-top, the side of which was neatly decorated with cane chairs facing the aerial view of the town and would have made for an ideal drinking place in the evening. Having made it to the temple minutes before it was to shut for the day, we offered our prayers to the goddess and thus completed our Pushkar darshan too before heading back to Ajmer.

The one and only thing that we missed at Pushkar was being a part of Pushkar's nightlife, smoking sheesha till dawn at a part Iranian and a part Western Cafe, overlooking the morning aarti on the ghats lit with floating 'diyas'. The best of both worlds, I say!

About Pushkar's importance, and why it is renowned as Teerthraj: (also Raghav's first contribution to this blog =))

In the pantheon of Hindu deities, the Trinity has a great significance. According to the Hindu belief, of the three Gods of this Trinity, Lord Brahma is the creator, Vishnu and Shiva are the preserver and the destroyer of the universe respectively. One day Brahma realized that not only Shiva and Vishnu but also all the other major deities had earthly abodes while he did not. Mounted on the majestic wings of his heavenly mount – the white swan, Brahma flew over the earth holding the divine lotus in one hand.

It is said that while Lord Brahma was passing this spot he dropped a lotus flower. Petals fell in three spots, thus forming the three lakes. The three places are located within a radius of six miles. Senior Pushkar, where the hotels are located, is considered the most holy, because the lotus fell here first. Middle Pushkar is 3km down the road and has a small Hanuman temple and a 200-year-old banyan tree. New (Junior) Pushkar, 3km further north, has a small Krishna temple. As Brahma threw the pushpa (flower) with his kar (hand), so the place received the name Pushkar.

Brahma chose Pushkar as his abode, and it came to be renowned as 'Teerthraj' meaning the king of all the sacred places. Thus Brahma decided to perform the yajna at Pushkar. The yajna, however, could not be performed without his wife, Savitri, by his side, and she was late. Brahma therefore had to request Indra to arrange a marriage for him so that he could fulfill the religious obligations. The priest manifested a daughter called Gayatri. Because she was an untouchable, she was put into the mouth of a cow and removed from the other end, which totally purified her. Gaya means “cow” and tri means “passed through.” When Savitri arrived, she saw that Brahma had married without her permission, so she cursed him that he would be worshiped only at Pushkar.

Enraged, Savitri went and established a temple on top of Rathkagir, the hill a little south of Pushkar. It is said to be due to Savitri’s curse that Brahma is worshiped almost exclusively at Pushkar.

(@Raghav, thank you honey!)

- Namrta R (from my backpacking trip to Rajasthan)

Companions: Raghav and Lonely Planet

Also read about Ajmer, Ranthambore, Chittorgarh, Udaipur, Mount Abu, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Thar
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6: Abu - the Mount

Mount Abu for us was Delwara, the five legendary marble temples built between the 11th and the 13th centuries and considered the most beautiful Jain pilgrimage site in the world.

The five temples – Vimal Vasahi, Luna Vasahi, Peethalhar, Khartar Vasahi Temple and Shri Mahaveer Swami temple, are in the midst of a range of forested hills and have an opulent entranceway, the simplicity in architecture reflecting Jain values like honesty and frugality.

The main temple, Vimal Vasahi temple (or also Adinath temple), was built in 1021 by Vimal Shah, a minister of Bhimidev I, the Chalukya King of Gujarat. It is dedicated to the first Jain Tirthankara (teacher or guide), Adinath. This temple is carved entirely out of white marble and has numerous cells which contain tiny images of Jain Tirthankaras artistically carved on marble stone minutely. The artisans who carved this temple were paid in gold worth the weight of the marble dust that they collected while sculpting. We spent hours admiring the richly carved corridors, pillars, arches, and 'mandaps' or porticoes of this temple!

Luna Vasahi temple (or Shri Nemi Nathji temple), was built in 1230 and is dedicated to Shri Nemi Nathji (also famous as Arishth Nemi) who was the 22nd Jain Tirthankar of present age. According to Jain beliefs he lived some 5000 years ago. He lived during the legendary Mahabharat war and was cousin of Lord Krishna. This temple was built by two Porwad brothers - Vastupal and Tejpal, both ministers of a Virdhaval, the Vaghela ruler of Gujarat. Appatently, they had found a hidden treasure during their pilgrimage to Delwara and decided to use that money to construct the temple, in the vicinity of Vimal Vasahi. Since their wives oversaw the construction of the temple, it is also referred to as the ‘Devarani-Jithani’ temple. It has one hall named Rag Mandapa which has 360 tiny, minutely crafted idols of Jain Tirthankar and among all these white marble idols the idol of Shri Neminath Ji is made up of black marble. The pillars of this temple were built by Maharana Kumbha of Mewar.

Peethalhar temple (Shri Rishabdaoji temple) was built by Bhima Shah, a minister from Gujarat dynasty. The main idol in this temple is composed of 5 equal portions or 90 kg each of gold, silver, copper, brass and aluminum.

Khartar Vasahi Temple (or Shri ParshavNath temple) was built by Mandika clan between 1458 and 59. This temple has the tallest shrine and the carving on the pillars of this temple is yet another example of architectural superiority.

Shri Mahaveer Swami temple was constructed in 1582 and is devoted to Lord Mahaveer, the 24th Tirthankara. This temple is relatively small but equally exquisite, and the temple's upper walls have pictures of the porch painted by craftsmen of Sirohi in year 1764.

Delwara was the most beautiful thing we had ever seen, and I can’t find enough adjectives to describe it! The detailing in sculptures was intriguing, and made me wonder if they are more perfectly chiseled than the human figure itself. The artisans haven’t ignored even the minutest of details such as the eyelashes, bangles, sari border, etc, and the carvings just seem to be coming alive any moment. The only disappointment at Delwara was ‘photography not allowed’.

Gleeful after this visit, we sped across the town on the rented bike to the other places of interest in Mount Abu, aka Nakki Lake, Toad Rock and the Sunset Point – and didn’t really find anything interesting about them! We savored the local dish ‘dal bati’ on the bank of Nakki lake. Lonely Planet recommended the romantic ‘shikara ride’, which would have been truly romantic and worth trying if the lake was a little less dirty and the sun a little less bright.

We also rode to the Toad Rock, a peculiar rock formation overlooking the lake, which seems like a toad ready to jump-off in the lake, and then headed to the Sunset Point where we experimented with the ‘Sunset’ mode of our cam. A popular attraction at the Sunset Point seemed to be a to and fro horse-ride from the foothill, availed by most tourists while we decided to walk up (hand-in-hand :)

The sun set after a long wait and thereupon, we set out for Abu Road (the nearest railway station) from where we had to board our next train for Jodhpur!

More about Mount Abu:
Mount Abu was the home of many saints and sages in the old days. Legend has it that all the 330 million gods and goddesses of the Hindu pantheon used to visit this holy mountain. It is also the place where the great saint Vashishth lived and performed a yagna (sacrificial worship on a fire pit) to create four Agnikula (four clans of fire) to protect the earth from demons. The yagna was supposed to have been performed near a natural spring, which emerged from a rock shaped like a cow’s head.

According to another legend, once sage Vashishth’s cow Nandini was trapped in a deep gorge and could not free herself. The sage appealed to Lord Shiva for assistance. The Lord sent Saraswati, the divine stream, to help flood the gorge so that the cow could float up. Vashishth then decided to ensure that such mishaps did not occur in future. He asked the youngest son of Himalaya, the king of mountains to fill the chasm permanently. This he did with the assistance of Arbud, the mighty snake. This spot came to be known as Mount Arbud and was later changed to its present form – Mount Abu.

This place is held in reverence by Jains as well since Jain scriptures record that Lord Mahavira, the 24th Jain Tirthankar (spiritual leader), also visited Mount Abu and blessed the city.

- Namrta R (from my backpacking trip to Rajasthan)
Companions: Raghav and Lonely Planet

Also read about Pushkar, Ajmer, Ranthambore, Chittorgarh, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Thar
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7: Jodhpur - the Subservient

We began our journey to the immortal state of Marwar with Jodhpur. It was was founded in 1459 by Rao Jodha, a Rajput chief of the Rathore clan. Later, Jodha succeeded in conquering the surrounding territory and founded a state which came to be known as Marwar.

Early in history, Jodhpur became a fief under Mogul empire, and later British empire, enjoying internal autonomy while owing fealty to these foreign invaders. It was ruled by Moguls for almost two centuries until Aurangzeb’s demise and the subsequent decline of Mogul kingdom. Jodhpur entered in a subsidiary alliance with British as early as 1818, thus prospering under peace and stability while the rest of the country was struggling for freedom.

Interestingly, Maharaja Umaid Singh laid the foundation stone of Umaid Bhawan Palace, biggest private residence in the world with 347 rooms, in 1929 - the same year in which Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt dropped a bomb at the Central Legislative Assembly, the All Parties Muslim Conference formulated the Fourteen points under Jinnah's leadership, and the Lahore session of INC adopted the goal of complete independence or 'Poorna Swaraj' for India.

The construction of this palace took place over a period of 15 years when the freedom movement was at its zenith. Oblivious of the freedom struggle between 1929 and 1944, the unaffected Maharaja Umaid Singh, also the president of the British Royal Institute of Architects, built not only one of India's most imposing palaces but also among its most recent! The palace was apparently built as a public relief and employment project during a long period of drought and employed around 3000 artisans. Over one million square feet of the finest marble was used in the construction of the palace. A special type of sandstone, called Chittar sandstone, has been used in its construction, which gives the palace a special effect. (It is also referred to as Chittar Palace by the locals). Its style of construction, with beautiful balconies, charming courtyards and stately rooms, makes it a fine example of Indo-Saracenic architecture.

In 1977, the royal family segmented the palace into the Royal residence, the Heritage hotel and a museum. The hotel is operated by Taj, which possesses 98 air-conditioned rooms elegantly decorated with antique furniture. We were flabbergasted by the pictures of lavish art deco of the Royal residence, and wondered if some of the millions spent on this palace could be routed to the Indian freedom movement!

Contrary to the modern Umaid Bhavan is the majestic Mehrangarh Fort, top a 125 m high hill, started by Rao Jodha in 1459 and sings the glory of ancient Marwar. Some of the extant fort dates back to the period of Jaswant Singh between 1638 and 1678, and houses an exquisite collection of palanquins, howdahs, royal cradles, miniatures, musical instruments, costumes and furniture and cannons (in the ramparts of the fort).

The massive main gate (or pol) exhibits well-preserved cannon shots and hand prints of the royal widows offered to their husband's pyre as 'sati'.We opted for an Audio tour of the fort as recommended by our loyal companion and guardian, Lonely Planet, and dived back into time. We listened patiently to our Audio guide that drew our attention to the only room with special Belgian tiles. These tiles had patterns of pretty English ladies amongst the other floral designs, thus signifying that the room was used for the 'entertainment' of the British. Entertainment of-course has been a very vague term since the means of entertainment vary diversely! The fort also makes for a breath-taking panoramic view of the city. Jodhpur is also referred to as the Blue City due to the blue-painted houses around this iconic Fort.

Jaswant Thada, at an approachable distance from Mehrangarh, is an architectural landmark found in Jodhpur. It is a white marble memorial built in 1899 in memory of Maharaja Jaswant Singh II. (Within this cenotaph, there are also two more tombs). The marble used is extremely thin and polished so that they emit a warm glow when the sun's rays dance across their surface. However, i0f you visit this memorial after Delwara, the visual experience may not be as aesthetic.

This was all Jodhpur had to offer to our appetite for art, history and culture. So we decided to get a flavor of the local spice market! A walk and a snuff in the bazar tickled our senses, a feeling which lingered on through the rest of our trip.

- Namrta R (from my backpacking trip to Rajasthan)

Companions: Raghav and Lonely Planet

Also read about Pushkar, Ajmer, Ranthambore, Chittorgarh, Udaipur, Mount Abu, Jaisalmer andThar
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8: Jaisalmer - the Golden mirage

The very thought of Jaisalmer has my mouth salivating! It reminds me of the out of the world apple pie, with homemade vanilla ice-cream, that we savored at the ‘8th July Café’, one of the many homely cafes run by a resident of Jaisalmer fort. The cafe also served us with a sumptuous fresh and unadulterated (alphonso) mango juice. For hundred bucks a glass, the juice was like a glass of bliss.

Jaisalmer fort, like Chittorgarh, is a living fort; the entire population of Jaisalmer used to live within the fort at one point of time, and about a quarter of city's population still lives in the fort. So it’s not unusual to find such home runs cafes, handicraft and souvenir shops, and even beauty parlors, inside the fort premises for tourists.

This massive yellow sandstone fort is also called the ‘Golden Fort’ because it has tawny lion color walls that turn to a magical honey-gold as the sun sets, sometimes even looking like a part of the picturesque yellow desert. (Satyajit Ray’s film Sonar Kela or the Golden Fortress was based on this fort.)

The fort dates back to 1156 when it was built by Rawal Jaisal (and hence the name), on Trikuta hill, where it stands sprawled out along the golden stretches of Thar. The fort has three layers of walls. The guide explained that the outer or the lower layer is made out of solid stone blocks and reinforces the loose rubble of Trikuta Hill; the second or the middle wall snakes around the fort; and the third or the inner most wall was used by the Rajput warriors to hurl boiling oil and water, and massive round blocks of rock as missiles on the enemies when they got trapped between the second and the third walls. The defensive mechanism of the fort had been further enhanced by the 99 bastions, out of which 92 were built between 1633 and 1647.

We climbed the steep slope to reach the main pol (or gate) and the center of the fort, known as Dussehra Chowk, where the seven-storied Rajmahal is located. Rajmahal is distinctly divided in two prominent parts - Raja ka Mahal and Rani ka Mahal, and the difference between both is stark! Raja ka Mahal features open balconies and a huge open courtyard, from where the king addresses the public even today on every Dussehra festival (built on the lines of dewan-e-aam), whereas Rani Ka Mahal has covered balconies with intricately carved meshes to adequately cover the queen (Rajputs followed the ‘purdah’ system) while letting her take a peek at the outside world.

The interiors of these palaces, also museums now, house an exquisite collection of royal sculptures, weapons, Gangore dresses of queens, cooking vessels, coins, stamps, and other antique articles. A large part of the decor has been done in wood, to keep them cool in the heat of the Rajasthan.

At a stone throw's distance from Rajmahal, there are seven beautiful Jain temples of the 15th and 16th centuries, dedicated to 16th Tirthankar Lord Shantinath and 23rd Tirthankar Lord Parshvanath. (Jaisalmer also boasts some of the oldest libraries of India which contain rarest of the manuscripts and artefacts of Jain tradition, and there are many Jain pilgrimage centres around Jaisalmer like Lodarva, Amarsagar, Brahmsar and Pokharan.)

The fort has been unperturbed by many battles including the attack of Ala-ud-din Khilji in 13th century. When Khilji succeeded in capturing the fort, the Rajput women committed the only Jauhar held here in order to save themselves from dishonor. (Khilji held the fort for 9 long years). The second battle that the fort witnessed was in 1541, when Humayun attacked the fort city.

Jaisalmer, once a part of the SilkRoute, played a major role in the trade with Persia, Arabia,Egypt and Africa during the medieval times, so the city was home to many wealthy merchants such as Guman Chand Patwa. Patwa hailed from Oswal Jain community and dealt in brocade, gold and silver embroidery, and was also a banker with over three hundred trading centers from Afghanistan to China.

His ancient haveli (or residence), popularly, Patwaon ki haveli, is a popular landmark even today. The ornate five-storey palace that took fifty years to complete (from 1800 to 1850) and costed more than ten lacs, is divided into five blocks meant for each of his five sons initially. These havelis were constructed by Hindu and Muslim craftsmen hailing from Gujrat, Malwa and Sindh.

After the decline of the sea trade and growth of the port of Bombay, during the British rule, the city went through a major economic recession. So the Patwa family later sold the haveli to Bafna family for mere Rs 80,000 and migrated to Madras, Maharashtra and Bengal.

It was only during the first Nuclear test in Pokhran, when Indira Gandhi was heading to Pokhran, via Jaisalmer, that she recognized the cultural significance of this site as a heritage monument. Since then two parts of the haveli have been converted to a museum owned by ASI (Archaeological Survey of India). On the other hand, the largest and the most splendid part of the haveli, bought over by Bafna family from the Patwas, has also been converted to a private museum and is probably the best amongst all. The remaining two parts house a shopping arcade and a private residence.

Nathmalji-ki-Haveli is yet another example of art in Jaisalmer. Constructed by another merchant named Nathmal in the 19th century, it continues to be a private residence for his descendants even today - and flaunts an ornamental facade with splendid carvings of flowers, birds, elephants, soldiers, a bicycle and even a steam engine. Salim Singh-ki-Haveli, another residence built in 1815 by the infamous Dewan (or prime minister) Salim Singh, now in ruins has beautifully carved brackets in the form of peacocks and murals on its walls inside!

‘Tummyful’, with these architectural delights and the delicacies served by the '8th July Cafe', we headed out of Jaisalmer, with a sweet taste in mouth and even sweeter memories!

- Namrta R (from my backpacking trip to Rajasthan)
Companions: Raghav and Lonely Planet

Also read about Pushkar, Ajmer, Ranthambore, Chittorgarh, Udaipur, Mount Abu, Jodhpur and Thar
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9: Thar - the Sea of Sand

Our insatiable desire to explore the Great Indian Desert led us to the interiors where we spent a night by sand dunes. We camped on virgin sand dunes, beneath the clear, royal blue sky that was studded with diamond-like stars.

We rode on our respective camels, Raghav on Simon, and I on the gluttonous Dandar, who stopped by every bush to graze, for hours. Not minding the sun, we enjoyed riding on our camels and even learnt how to navigate them using the strings. A seldom painful, we did keep re-adjusting our positions but didn't halt for the want of exploring more of Thar. The scrubby terrain of the desert so reminded me of Clint Eastwood's 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'! We rode much farther than the touristy (and dirty) Sam sand dunes that flaunts a neat line of luxury Swiss tent, to reach these virgin dunes that were to be our base by the evening.

Leaving our bags and chappals, we goofed around the high and low landscape, eager to leave our footprints all across the sand, and watched the sun set behind the dunes! By then our spirits had also dulled along with the sunlight, and we decided to get some rest by sprawling out on the dunes.

Soon it was time for dinner, so we headed towards the hearth where our cook, who was accompanying us, had spread out a lavish dinner buffet and a local dessert. We were joined by Kate, Catherine and Ann, along with Mr Desert who had brought us a special Rajasthani dessert from Jaisalmer. As we ate to our heart’s content, by the bonfire, literally in the middle of no-where, Mr Desert collected the intruding beetles in a pot, feeding them some rice too, and entertained us with his stories about the desert.

A few minutes before midnight, we decided to hit our beds to wake-up in time for sunrise. So, we walked to the isolated sand dune where our beds were neatly laid, and were surprised to find one of the most fancy and clean linens! Huddled together in the quilt, we slept an unusually sound sleep in the serene sea of desert lit with moonlight – truly memorable experience!

The morning was very windy, and pleasant. We had toast and egg for breakfast, again cooked on the same hearth, on a neatly spread mattress aka dining table, while our camels drank plentiful of water. We sat there for a long time, by the calm, quiet sand dunes, in this sea of desert, admiring the no-man’s land, with no trace of anyone or anything!

By noon, the sun was shone bright and our camels longed to head back to their village, so we set out towards the city. After a long ride, we reached the rendezvous, and were greeted by our jeep driver. Hopping off our camels, we turned over our backs to cast a last glance at the splendid distant dunes, our abode for a handful of hours but memories of a lifetime.

About Mr Desert:

LN Bissa, aka Mr Desert, then a truck driver, won the title ‘Mr Desert’ for four consecutive times in 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1991, and received a paltry sum of Rs 500 as the prize money each time. The only criterion for selection was to look good in traditional Marwari costume. In 1991, he was entitled as ‘Mr Desert Emeritus’ and barred from participating in the pageant henceforth. (This was also followed by a rule that any winner wouldn’t be allowed to participate in the contest more than once.) Since then he has been on the selection panel of the pageant as a judge.

In 1991, Mr Desert’s friends recommended that being famous as he was, he should quit driving trucks and take to a more respectable occupation such as organizing safaris to Thar, a potential source of income in the touristy town of Jaisalmer.

For want of a name, since Thar Travels already existed, Mr Desert asked around for suggestions when he was told that there was another desert by the name of Sahara, which was bigger than his Thar. So, he rented a place near Jaisalmer fort to convert to a travel agency and named it ‘Sahara Travels’, as it exists even today.

As luck would have it, Mr Desert had no tourist or customer drop by for the initial two months, and he just sat at Sahara Travels fretting about how to feed his family. Like others, he tried visiting the railway station to catch the tourists as they get off the train, but couldn't be persistent enough as the other agents.

While he was contemplating to go back to driving trucks, suddenly around 10-12 guys from Mumbai dropped in and enquired if they could photograph him. He readily agreed, seeing no harm, and as luck would befall, the same group of guys came back after around two weeks with a contract to crown him as the ‘Marlboro Man’ of India. They even selected him as the face for their new cigarette ‘Jaisalmer’.

Soon he became a popular face in the country, with his pictures on hoardings and in magazines (or print ads), which also fetched him customers. In the meantime, he was covered by Lonely Plant, which also recommended his ‘off-the-beat’ safari, as opposed to the others offering a luxury Swiss tent around the crowded and filthy Sam sand dune. (That’s how we landed there!)

Today, Mr Desert has become a popular Jaisalmer icon in the Bollywood industry. He has gone on to do advertisement with Coke India Hritik Roshan and Tinu Anand, with Coke US which was featured during the World Cup 1996, with Asian Paints and one more with an international brand.

A simple, down-to-earth person, he continues to live a meager life even today, and operate from the same shop as back in 1991. I became the first Indian to join his fan-page on Facebook.

Thank you Mr Desert for the best night of my life!

- Namrta R (from my backpacking trip to Rajasthan)
Companions: Raghav and Lonely Planet

Also read about Pushkar, Ajmer, Ranthambore, Chittorgarh, Udaipur, Mount Abu, Jodhpur, and Jaisalmer.
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