There could even be future predictions in those books. Who’s to say there isn’t? Who’s to say what wisdom is there, in the rare manuscripts and ancient tomes of the libraries of Jaisalmer, where the dry desert air is favourable to conservation? Yet here, I embark upon a far humbler task: of predicting the past.
As once there came tribesmen into the arid
territories of the Thar, as once there came herdsmen driving cattle and flocks
of goats to forage among the thorny, scrubby bushes and desert grasses of that
marginal country; as once there came wayfarers and traders from east and west,
with textile, gemstone and treasure chest; so it shall come to pass that
western backpackers, two, shall arrive in a white Ambassador that shall have
been hired from Something-or-Other Tours & Travels in Delhi.
Over the centuries, in places where wells
and tanks have been dug and there is water to drink, settlements shall have
emerged and, gradually, a small but dignified desert kingdom shall have been established. There shall be palaces and forts built for
the Bhati Rajput royalty and the capital shall have taken the name of its
founder, Maharawal Jaisal Singh. At a
time long after the camel caravans from Central Asia, Africa and Egypt have
ceased to come; long after the several neighbouring kingdoms have been combined
into Rajasthan, the land of the kings; and many years after the Pakistani
border has been etched across the map, the backpackers shall have reached
Jaisalmer to see all that has gone before them.
And they shall have with them a driver, who
in his previous life was a bear. That
very driver shall have steered the Ambassador in safety across the nearer Rajasthani
plains, dodging camel cart and swerving around cattle herd; and he shall have stopped
to undertake urgent on-road mechanical tinkering as they navigated the ribbons
of tar of the Thar. In Jaisalmer, so
shall it have been that they took rest.
Let it be said that they shall have stayed
in a hotel near the large tank to the city’s south, the tank that’s embellished
with minor temples around its edges.
They shall have heard the rumour that the main gate to the tank was
presented to the Maharawal by a well-to-do lady-of-the-night, and when he
disagreed to its construction due to considerations of propriety, she did it
anyway, while he was away, incorporating a Krishna Temple in its uppermost
storey so that he could not object to passing beneath it.
Let it be written here that they shall have
enjoyed one sunset at the tank and have found the following sunrise while
eating breakfast on the hotel rooftop, with views to the fort and the old city
within its walls. Let it be known how
they visited that city of laneways, with its Jain temples and its haveli mansions
in filigree design, of delicate craftsmanship, that shall have been constructed
long before by the once wealthy families of trade. By the time of the Ambassador’s arrival, the
city in all its history shall be there, perched upon its hilltop in the Thar,
Jaisalmer: the golden city.
So too shall they have visited the shops of
souvenirs and desert jewellery in turquoise gemstone, silver and lapis
lazuli. They shall have known the carpet
stores where dozens of carpets are to be unfurled upon arrival, as potential
customers sip tea. They shall have met
the Singaporean ladies, three, down from
Verily I say that on the third day they
shall have organised a tour, by jeep and by camel, to the sand dunes of
Sam. As His Royal Highness the Maharawal
could tell you, winter nights in the desert are cool and the locality of Sam follows
that pattern. But kindling for the
campfire shall have been brought from afar, due to the lack of trees, and the
locals shall have donned military type jackets and factory knitted shawls. The foreigners, meanwhile, shall have
unrolled their technologically designed sleeping bags that come with guarantees
of withstanding a specified number of minus degrees, the sleeping bags which
their mothers shall have made them bring.
They shall have slept in the open, with Australian pillows, under the Indian
stars.
And those foreigners shall know nothing,
not how to survive in the desert nor even how to speak the Rajasthani tongue;
but they shall have eaten well, the dinner prescribed by the tour agreement. Meanwhile the locals shall have busied themselves
in poaching: cooking and eating a small desert deer. The locals shall have imbibed from desert
wells while the foreigners had bottled water from a distant alpine spring.
On the following day there shall have been
camels, two, for the ride back into town, a ride of several hours, and I tell
you they are tall beasts such that when the camel one is sat upon is elderly,
with arthritic knees causing it to sometimes stumble on rocky ground, when
there is the sound of leg bones creaking as it walks, it’s not an altogether
calming experience. ‘Does he ever
actually fall over?’ shall have been asked in sign language, as best it could
be done. ‘Sometimes,’ the camel driver
shall have made him to understand by way of reply.
And the he-camel shall have passed beside
she-camels and there shall have been bellowing, camel lips inverted with bubbling
froth welling up from a camel mouth.
Camels live for about twenty years, they shall have heard, with a
working life from two to sixteen.
So let it be recorded as it shall have been
done. It is my past prediction. They shall have seen Jaisalmer.
But being a patriot, I suppose 6th century art critic Xie He might have preferred the mountains of his China. Fruit adorers might like instead the mango tree gardens of Malda Town, or after the desert wanderings of Jaisalmer, it might be time to get lost in the rain.
It's up to you. Nobody's telling you what to do. It's your choice.
This article is also published in Star Magazine, here: They Shall Have Seen Jaisalmer
India Will Decide: Article Index for articles about India
No comments:
Post a Comment