Desert Tripling, Ghost Village encounter!

So as I said before my obsession with Rajasthan's desert is not yet over. Here is what we did next after our Tanot Devi and Longewala Border trip.
As promised I have come up with my next article on the desert circuit of Rajasthan (Jodhpur-Jaisalmer-Bikaner. But as it turns out I was not able to cover Bikaner, since we decided to spend our night at desert camp and we had limited time).
Hopefully, you have read my previous blog if not follow this link Tanot Devi and Longewala Border 

Rojani Desert Camp:

After our first encounter with deserts of Jaisalmer at Longewala Border, here we were going to spend a night at a desert camp. I was too excited. Spending a chilling night at a desert was an adventure in itself. We reached our camp at 5 in the evening. We had booked Rojani Desert camp. Be very careful when you book camps, thankfully we had booked it with Rajasthan Tourism. Book it opposite the main desert expanse, some of these camps are very far from desert and you might need to go the main desert by vehicle.
The desert camp stay includes the night stay, camel ride, a cultural performance, snacks, dinner and next morning breakfast. It ranges from INR 4000-7000 for the package. So choose it well :)

Our camp started with a camel ride. We had planned to witness sunset at the desert :)

While clicking pictures something very hilarious turned out. Here it is :P

Yes, I am hiding behind mom, and dad. Giving the two couples some privacy :P

After some really breathtaking views of the sunset,

we headed back to our camp for an evening spend around bonfire and cultural dance events. Our camp had invited Local dance troupe who are famous for Rajasthani Sapera (Snake Dance). 

I was mesmerized by their performance which was so graceful and fluid. I was also taken aback by their bravery and courage to perform stunts which required precision and balance. My night stay at Sand Dunes was comfortable, cozy and I had good night's sleep after a long time when I knew I was surrounded by sleeping camels, cactus and desert reptiles till faraway vast expanse of dunes away from hustling and bustling city life at Mumbai. 

Kuldhara Village:

Followed by a sumptuous breakfast of Dal-Bati Churma, Ghewar and other Mewari delicacies we headed for one of the most haunted and infamous places of Rajasthan : Kuldhara Village in the district of Jaisalmer. 

Discovery Plus Documentary gave the billions of viewers across the globe the chance to witness the occult and metaphysical activities to the world outside.

Those are a few glimpses of Kuldhara Village and that's me putting up a brave face and smiling for picture but on the inside I am frightened and panic-stricken to say the very least. 

Legend says it that the villagers of Kuldhara was occupied by upper caste Paliwal Brahmin abandoned the village in early 13th century because of atrocities of local official (Diwan) Salim Singh. The Diwan lusted after a beautiful girl in return for peace and tax cuts in village. The villagers were adamant in their morals and refused to give in to the demand. They left the village overnight with the curse that nobody can occupy it ever. It remains unoccupied till date as anybody including team of scientists and researchers who tried to stay there overnight have experienced paranormal activities.

So my dear readers, this sums up my thrilling experiences at Jaisalmer-Kuldhara desert camp. Full of colors, dancing, beautiful sunsets and a haunting story to accompany the excitement. 

I would love to visit this place again on my trip to Rajasthan 

It stands true to its campaign, 

                                                        "Jaane Kya Dikh Jaye"

 (You never know what you might stumble across every-time you visit it).

 

We believe in God…. But just the Gods

In a country with firm believers of a dark-skinned god, a pot-bellied god and a female god, we surprising have the highest fairness product market, highest obsession with a skinny body and a high female infanticide.

This racist, anorexic and male chauvinist mindsets are taking us towards our own doom, but are we really going to act upon them? It is widely known that  India is a land of Gods. If such is the case let me present to you the Great Indian Gods and what they represent.

 

     “Oh! Did you try applying haldi?” 

“Mera Natkhat Shyam!” 

That is what we exclaim when we see a cute looking dark-skinned Krishna. We pray to him, worship him, recite Bhagvat-Gita. But would most of the people do the same when they see a dark-skinned child? Would they pull his cheeks in admiration or frown at his appearance?

An acquaintance  of mine was wheatish in complexion. But suddenly she developed hyper-pigmentation which usually happens to people with hormonal imbalance. It follows with patches on your skin, but it definitely means dark patches in your entire life according to some people.

Wherever she goes the first question asked, “Oh my God! What happened to your skin?” “Did you consult a doctor? I will give you a doctor’s number he can cure everything” “Did you get a facial done from parlor? Try haldi, curd and lemon mixture! Go to this Baba. His Babhuti cures everything. Oh poor you! I am sure your husband must not be loving you anymore!”

Going out of the house becomes a pain for her at times. My advice to my friend is, if someone asks her “Oh what happened your skin?” reply, “Oh what happened to your eyes? When did you turn blind?”  It is clearly visible, stop torturing!

Seriously guys, a person suffering from an ailment is already traumatized. Why do we increase the trauma by asking and cause more pain? When did humanity disappear? Why do we rejoice in someone else suffering?

“Take this 30-day plan and turn slim!”

I am sure you or someone you know has definitely fallen for this trap. Why do we fall for this trap? Why aren’t we happy with our bodies?  It is because rather than being ridiculed by others, we ourselves are ingrained with a thought process that a thin body brings in more confidence and will increase the likes you get on your Facebook Profile picture!

If only a thin body is what defines you, let me illustrate you the example of my favorite God, Lord Ganpati.

I am sure many of you might have heard this story but let me rewrite for others who are not aware. Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati had two sons: Lord Ganesha and Lord Karthikeya.

Ganesha we all know the pot-bellied one and Karthikeya had an athletic body. Now their parents decided to set a contest between the two children to circle the entire globe thrice and whoever reaches home first will be declared the Lord of the Lords. Lord Karthikeya was so overconfident over his abilities he immediately left on his peacock vehicle to circle the

globe, but Ganesha knew very well he couldn’t complete this competition with a heavy body and a small vehicle like mouse, so he used his intelligence in this situation.

He told his parents, “Mata, Pita, to me you are my entire universe.I don’t need to circumnavigate the globe thrice, if I just took three rounds of you two.”

And he did that. His parents were so impressed, they declared him the ultimate God even before Lord Karthikeya had returned and that is why all Hindus worship Lord Ganesha on any auspicious occasions.

Now every time someone asks you to lose weight, You should dictate this entire story and share some of this"gyaan" with them.

“So sad you don’t have a boy!”

Parents of daughters are always asked this question, "Oh don't you have a son? Who will take care of in your old age? Unfortunate you!"

And at the same time, these are the same people who do a 9-day fast for Navratri! They pray to Maa Durga to bless them with a baby boy! :/

Wow, such paradoxes!
When daughters have reached the skies, let them breathe the air of earth.

If you really are worshippers of Maa Durga, let her know that by allowing a daughter to be born and prove her potential.
If you have noticed this, in India when a women is pregnant everyone blesses her as
"Putra-Devo Bhava!" meaning may you be blessed with a son..
I ask why?
I am not asking that people bless with "Putri- Devo Bhava!"
I am asking for equality, why not say "Svastha-Balak Devo Bhava!" meaning may you be blessed with a healthy baby. That was what we seek right?
Healthy kids be it a boy or a girl who can tackle life challenges firsthand and contribute to the economy.

We are middle of a cultural crisis friends, only Gods can save us..like literally!!!

Now to end this article let me share another story of Lord Ganesh, because he is my ideal!Once Lord Ganesh was on traveling way back home and he stumbled. Moon saw this and he started laughing loudly.

“You have such a heavy body and such an ugly appearance, look at me I am so beautiful.”Lord Ganesh got angry at him and cursed him saying, ”You are so proud of your appearance?  I curse you , you will disappear forever from the sky“

Moon got worried and said, “I am so sorry Ganesh. I realized my mistake, Please take your curse back”

Ganesh the all forgiving one replied, “I can’t take my curse back but I can lessen its intensity.  For 15 days your size will keep on decreasing and you will disappear on 15^th day which will be new moon night and again for next 15 days your size will keep on increasing and on 15^th day you will be visible completely which will be the full moon night.”

Well I shared this story to let you know that if somebody hurts us, we don’t have the ability the curse anyone,but well KARMA, it bites back! 😊