I was always more than a little fascinated by Jaisalmer; its rugged surroundings and golden hue. Every Bengali knows it as ‘Shonar Kella’ or the golden fort, and probably loves it more after Satyajit Ray’s eponymous film starring Bengal’s favourite fictional detective.
I wanted to take the majestic steam engine named ‘Fort of Jaisalmer,’ from Ramdevra, a tiny desolate village and reach Jaisalmer early in the morning to be greeted by the desert. But God had some other plans for me and we reached Jaisalmer by car from Jodhpur, a fascinating drive through the barren lands with deer and peacocks running around making the otherwise quiet journey eventful.
Our plan was to visit the famous Sam Sand Dunes at sunset because that was ‘the’ way to enjoy the beauty of a desert. ‘Sam’ village is on the edge of the Desert National Park. We took the road that would lead us to the dunes. A distance of about 45 km from Jaisalmer and we reached the exotic ‘Sam.’
No one could tell us how the name Sam got appended to a scenic but remote Rajasthani nook. Sam, actually, is a rather barren stretch of land with almost no vegetation at all and miles of miles of sand shifting away at regular intervals. We hoped for clear weather and, we got it!
We retired to a tent to rest but more often than not the slumber hours were spent watching the majestic shifting of sands .The sand shimmered under the glow of the hot and comfortable winter sun, highlighting every aspect of a desert.
The long stretches and miles of barren sand dunes kept changing colour and the shadows kept shifting every minute giving a feel that an artist was creating a masterpiece and immediately changing his mind for something else. It was just fantastic. We spent hours playing the guessing game as to which way would the wind blow
and the ripples of the wind-caressed dunes would create an enchanting mirage.Spending some time in just watching the shifting sands, we decided to take in a camel rode too. I was a little uncomfortable with the animal and was dead sure that I would fall off from its back. But nothing so atrocious happened and the camel safely took us out about 1.5 km into the sand dunes.
Suddenly we were in the midst of -- a part of, actually -- the sandy panorama
that we had been merely admiring from afar all this while! It was a great vantage point to see patterns carved out by wind. Sam is on the sand. ‘Sam’ is truly a photographer’s delight, with its rippling dunes stretching into the blue yonder and then merging with the colours of the dusk. Evry silhouette was poetry in sand.
But we still could not ignore the mundane either despite the beauty all round -- hunger pangs beckoned! We came back to the tent, washed up with some very welcome hot water, thoughtfully kept there in a bucket. And then it was time for a pure vegetarian meal comprising sogra, a roti made from millet, simple puris, urad daal, mogri mangori (desert bean curry) and ghewar, a sinful dessert of dried urad paste, crushed, deep fried and dipped in sugar syrup).
After the hearty meal it was another round of admiring nature, the culture, the people, their way of life, and the breathtaking beauty of the surrounding desert landscape. It was late afternoon and everyone seemed to gear up for the sunset. In the meanwhile a group of folk singers had arrived in their usual gorgeous colourful ghagra-cholis, and typical local musical instruments, which were more lookalikes of dholaks and sarangis.
Once more it was proved that the language of music is universal. We all sat around them and enjoyed their songs and dance. Little boys played the music while the girls danced, with their parents and accompanying adults singing in their rustic yet beautifully natural voices. The entire atmosphere was timeless.
Ultimately it was time for the sun to bid farewell. The entire sky was set ablaze with colours. The temperature dropped perceptibly fast and I began to feel a chill. Quietly the blazing sky faded away and the big round red ball dipped below the horizon. It was a magnificent sight as the sand took on the palette of the sky and even the wind quietened down to watch the panoply.
As the sun set, millions of twinkling stars took centrestage. The show was over and everyone clapped. Yes, literally clapped. On our way back our driver suggested to return via Khuri, a small village very near Sam. We found the sandy scenery there even more beautiful than Sam but alas, not that publicised.
But we could not linger long after nightfall and so we reluctantly got back into the jeep to return to Jaisalmer.
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