The odyssey of sun’s rays in land of palaces

Unfamiliarity, happiness or satisfaction – I don’t know which emotion dominated but I was sure that my camera was going to love me to the moon and back. It was time to dream, discover and explore. 

Starting off our journey from Bikaner as an 11-member group, the road trip from Bikaner to Jaisalmer was a sheer treat for two reasons – one, the excitement levels are at the peak during the beginning of the journey and two, it is not very often that one gets to visit such exquisitely exotic places that are vibrantly ethnic. BadaBagh, a favourite place for Indian filmmakers where films like Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Rangeela and Rhythm (Tamil) were shot, contains the cenotaphs of Maharajas. Lodhruva has an ancient Jain temple that is an exemplary sight of wondrous architecture.

The drive from Lodhruva to the sand dunes gave a high. As Henry Miller says, ‘one’s destination is never a place but a new way of seeing things’, the travel made everything seem smaller. The sudden rush of excitement, an unexplained peace, a moment of contentment and a tension to capture a picture-perfect frame – everything seemed beautiful. The jeep rides into the desert were an opportunity for the driver to show off his skills. The jeep flew deep inside the desert. As I disembarked, I was welcomed by vast, infinite sand dunes that seemed to have come from nowhere. As the day was coming to a close, the sight of the beautiful golden sun caressing the desert – this was the moment I wished I had the power to stop time. I listened to the soft yet noticeable rhythm of the wind slowly falling in love with the kingdom of sand. Infinity above my head and nothing but sand to talk to; this was a convincing reason why solitude is beautiful. 

The travel to the rest of the Rajasthan — Jodhpur, Pushkar and Bikaner was typical with palace and temple visits, and we also visited the National Research Centre on Camel, Bikaner. Enroute, lush yellow and green mustard fields accompanied us on an empty, traffic-free highway. Upon visiting the National Research Centre on Camel, I learnt that a typical new-born camel weighs around 200 kilograms. The camels demonstrated an extreme sense of discipline, right from coming back from the grazing site to drinking water in their allotted water pits before finally going back to their home sheds. 

I brought back with me hundreds of photographs and priceless moments of serendipity that took my breath away, but most importantly, I realised as you see the world around you, you also travel an equal distance into the world within you.