Jaisalmer Night Stroll

The best way to really see and feel a city is to enter its heart, the very foundation around and on top of which it grows to become what it is today. Jaisalmer is surely one of those places to be seen from inside out. When we entered one of the popular market near the fort, we took a de-tour purely on instincts.


The narrow streets that were barely 3 to 4 feet wide seemed to be calling upon us.




We were warned by the locals about a bull fighting in progress around the corner and a bunch of bulls came charging and even knocked an old man.
The poor chap couldn't hear our warning, but thankfully he wasn't hurt, just shocked.
And me the camera-woman, jumped and climbed a high slab in one attempt.

Since it was past nine, most of the people were done with dinner and just preparing to call it a day - watching tv, closing the shutters, rinsing mouths post dinner, sitting outside on the stone slabs outside the house, after a tough hot day.

There were children playing badminton and seemed to get more enthusiastic about their otherwise mundane routine on seeing us. They started playing with more energy.

Even the elderly folks looked curious about a strange couple roaming around in the streets carrying a camera and at the same time no one actually felt intruded upon.

I shook hands and clicked a pic of 2 kids who looked intrigued by the camera. They were shy and very happy when I showed them their picture in the camera screen. It was a very precious moment for me, though the pic came out a bit blurred. Bad light + no tripod :(


The smell of cow dung, food that was cooked and eaten and variety of other smells filled the place. The houses were a continuous stream such that it could have passed as one single home - ancient, artistic and rustic.

Great carving on almost every house, old small doors, thin 'naalis' to drain the waste water on each side of the street, the stone pavements... it was one the great walks to be remembered for a long long time.