Our drive from Bikaner to Shekhawat was long and hot, and travelling with a driver who believed that both sides of the road belonged to him, meant that by the time we reached our hotel in the village of Churi Ajitghar we were tired and on edge. It was two in the afternoon and there…
Category: Rajasthan
Bikaner: Rajasthan’s hidden treasure
Jodh-pur, Jai-pur, Udai-pur, Rajput rulers usually named the cities they founded after themselves suf-fixed by ‘pur’ which means settlement, our guide Shailendra tells us, yet Bikaner does not follow this formula. Bikaner was named for Rao Bika a young prince of the Rathore clan, rulers of Jodhpur, who set out to found his own kingdom…
Living with the Bishnois, India’s original Eco Warriors
‘Do you want to see a blackbuck?’ asked Thana Ram Bishnoi, with a slight smile. We were sitting on a charpoy in his courtyard, getting acquainted. We readily agreed. The sun had turned softer and the air cooler; soon it would be dusk. We strapped on our shoes as Thana Ram picked up his stick and we…
Why you need to add Pali to your Rajasthan Itinerary
The thing about travelling to Rajasthan is that sometimes there’s a feeling that you’ve seen it all. Jodhpur’s Mehranghar fort, Udaipur’s City Palace, Jaipur’s Hawa Mahal and Jaisalmer’s living fort are awe inspiring and iconic and rightly get thousands of visitors every year, but there’s so much written about them and so many photographs and…
It’s time for Rajasthan!
When we began travelling around the country state by state, we decided to start with some of the lesser known corners of our country. We visited southern states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, the interiors of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh and far flung corners of Bihar, Arunachal and Nagaland. 3+ years and 18 states later…
The Pushkar Mela in Photos
A photo essay on the Pushkar Mela with its camels, street artist, elaborately turbaned villagers, naga sadhus, colourful nomads & everything else in between.