It was memorable 11 days travel to Rajasthan from Bangalore in search of the lost Saraswathi river.

DIYAVA PRITHIVI PILLARS - ANCIENT OBSERVATORY

The journey started on 21^st of April night by Jodhpur express. It was a 42 long hr journey by Janta class. The journey itself was a travelogue .With the train cruising along the western India Landscape, moving from Karnataka to Maharashtra and on to Gujarat and the arid regions of Rajasthan covering a wide variety of landscape. Sitting in the window seat catching the fresh air and the sceneries and catching the glimpse of the local people was an experience by itself.

AT MARWAR JUNCTION

ARAVALLI RANGE ENROUTE

JODHPUR STATION

We reached Jodhpur on 23^rd evening.

 Checked into well-appointed  ONGC guest house. The food was excellent and the atmosphere relaxed. The long travel fatigue did not hit us and we were fresh the next day to look around Jodhpur.

ONGC GUEST HOUSE

STROLLING OUT

 But it was a lull day. Being a Holi festival day, we stayed stay put in the hotel room, stirring out late evening to do a stroll in the neighborhood. We found each individual house looking like a mahal made of solid red sand stone, but inside the huge houses were cattle mooing and dung littered out, showing the pastoral life style still intact. In fact the people seem to e really healthy, tall and well built and looking well fed . The ladies were a picture of grace, with their head covered but slim and fair and  feminine.

JODHPUR PALACE - INTERIOR

On 25^th was our day out. We had by then gathered information about the sight seeing. There were three important places to see. The Jodhpur fort, Jodhpur palace and Mandore gardens.

JODHPUR FORT & CITY FROM TOP

MANDORE GARDENS AT JODHPUR

MADORE GARDENS

All the places are full of history, displaying their rich and glorious past of Rajput kingdoms and their fine architecture as well artifacts.TheMandore Gardens are supposed to be the place of Mandodara – Ravana’s  wife , which later was the seat of a king and now an artistic garden.

25^th night found us again in Jodhpur station , on an overnight trip to Jaiselmer by train. The drive was right through the desert. We tightly put the shutters on to avoid the chill wind blowing with sand particles.

JAISELMER STATION

  26^th saw us in the broad platform of Jaiselmer. The day had just dawned and the desert had put a cool face to welcome us. We again drove to the prefixed ONGC housing. This time through it was a fleet of independent houses but most of them un occupied. It was once a flourishing colony but as ONGC had stopped his major activity there, the people had shifted out with only stray persons occupying the premises.  we found the care taker one Mr. Gopal a really good host, cook and care taker, being not crowded he took good care of us the four days we stayed there.

Jaiselmer is comparatively smaller town than Jodhpur. Our first look out was to trace the paths of River Saraswathi which was flowing in full glory there nearly 10 to 15teen thousand years back. Later it had shifted due to tectonic activity and the west flowing one had joined Sindhu as R.Satlej and eastern flowing one had joined river Ganga as R.Yamuna and there is still one underground branch supplying `meethpani , to various quarters in Jaiselmer which is otherwise parched. We located two ancient pillars Dyava and Prithivi which is identified as 25 thousand yrs old , one of the oldest human observatory. It was thrilling to find the clues and imagine a thriving human population along the banks of well fed saraswathi river flowing in all its glory. It was the seat of ancient Vedic population as per Rig veda which again is 20,000 yrs old.

JAISELMER SAND DUNES - SETTING SUN

RIDING THE CAMEL

We also enrolled ourselves to see the desert by night and enjoy the festivity there by camel ride in the sand dunes, enjoying the folk song and dance in the desert and also the famous Rajasthani food.

OLD  HAVELI

The old Havelis and fort gives the glimpse of Rajasthani  life in the bygone era.

Our trip close to border to Tanot village and see the powerful Devi temple who single handedly seemed to have protected a huge population who took asylum in her premises during 1971 war with Pakistan when none of the Bombs and arsenal which fell there got activated, keeping it a safe heaven. Now the temple is taken care by Border security forces  in a very clean way.

Inspite of the lurking heat the trip was exciting and got us rolling better in health front and mental front.

THE PALACE COURT YARD

THE CRADLE FOR THE PRINCE

PALACE INTERIORS

INDRA GANDHI CANAL

DESERT AS BACKDROP - TRAVELLING TO THE BORDERS

On 30^th night we started off from Jaiselmer this time it was a  day travel getting to see the desert clearly. Reached Jodhpur. Then from Jodhpur traveled to Baroda , reaching Baroda on 31st early morning.  Halted in the Railway retiring room at Baroda and Venkat met the professors in the university and starting from Baroda the same day reached Bangalore back on 2^nd early morning.

A trip worth recalling and looking back. So here I am with all of you