JAISALMER AND THE THAR DESERT

Once again it was time for us to move to our new posting. An Army serviceman can't be at a particular location for more than three years. Until now for over nine years, our posting had mostly been in hilly regions with cool weather. Our next posting was in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. We were picked from an ice mountain and thrown into hell fire in the month of May. 

Hell fire is the only word in my vocabulary I feel fitting to describe the climatic conditions of Jaisalmer. For those who were brought up in cold hilly regions, this place really doesn't fit right with their health. That's exactly how we were. The travel was long and tedious, we had to travel via two trains to reach Jaisalmer. 

                                     

Jaisalmer Fort 

We hadn't been allotted our quarters yet therefore, we began living on rent in civil area in Indira Colony. For the first time we were seen houses which were not made up of bricks or plaster. Due to intense heat of the region, the houses in Jaisalmer were made up of orange sandstone. These stones were well known to protect against the heat outside, still one definitely needed a cooler to survive the temperature soaring as much 50 degree Celsius in the month of May. 

In our surroundings, as far as we could see were houses made of orange sandstone, just like ours, and the only vegetation we could see were crown flower and babool shrubs, not a single sign of even wild grass was around.

                                                

Me and my little brother at home, notice the shattered wall in the background to divert flood water

In this dry, hot destination where only a little rain had been observed for several years, the weather decided to greet us with a flash flood. Within a single night there was so much downpour that the whole of Jaisalmer was under waist deep water. Our house was on an elevated platform, therefore the flood water only reached up to our knees. 

When in the morning of the flood we woke up, the house was nearly knee deep in water. To keep anymore water from entering through our two doors in the entrance, our father told me and my brother to find something to stop the water from entering through the door. I saw that the footboard slat of my bed was big enough to stop the water and loose enough for me to break it. So I broke it and brought it for our father.

                                           

The room where the broken bed was, it's broken now of course

I had broken the footboard slat because it was smaller in comparison to the headboard slat, therefore it didn't affect the bed appearance as much. But I forgot to explain this to my brother. He, copying me, uprooted the whole headboard slat and brought it as well. Our father happy with the find, praised us and enquired where did we find these wooden boards, upon which we told him the entire story. The expression on our father's face turned into one of confusion, he was probably confused whether he should laugh or scold us. Laughing he said sarcastically "Maine pichhle janam me kaunse mahan kaam kiye the jo itne hoshiyaar bachche mile?"😅

In the evening Army personnel came and destroyed a compound wall of a garden, it was actually supposed to be a garden but there were only crown flowers and babool in it, and the water which was contained in our area because of that wall flowed away and soon the water level came completely under control. You can notice the shattered wall in the background in the second photograph of this post. 

Several months after this ordeal, our grandfather wished to pay us a visit. He had left his home district Solapur in Maharashtra only on a few occasions throughout his life.

                                            

Our Grandfather in the desert

An 82 years old man with all his 32 teeth and hair still intact, not a single one had ever fallen from either of those. He can still finish a full sugarcane by himself using his teeth. He still runs and works like a 16 years old boy in the fields. Many a times the kids in the family think of sending him to audition for toothpaste and chyawanprash ads. But we keep silent so that we won't get scolded because of this idea. He is still the same, but a little old at 94 years of age. He had troubles adjusting to his new environment and people. He was used to roam around his whole village and talking with others and providing useful guidance to youngsters. The next few months of his visit were full of surprises for him and or us as well along with several hilarious occasions. Keep reading for more grandpa adventures.

 

TO BE CONTINUED............................................................................