Desert City

On our way to the western part of Rajasthan, we enter the Thar desert, a huge region of rocks and sand – a harsh landscape that continues hundreds of kilometres west and north to the Pakistan border. There is little water and not a lot of agriculture. There are quarries for marble and sandstone, with camels doing the heavy lifting as it were, attached to short carts able to convey a dozen people or a load of rocks, or be dressed up for a bridal procession, whatever is required.

The locals live more simply, in small villages of rudimentary accommodation. The word hovel springs mind.

In the mid-15^th century, the third son of the Rathore king (called the Rajputs), who knew he would never be king, suggested he leave home to build a new city. His father, who knew his son’s talents, agreed and Rao Jodha started to build a fortress on a rocky peak a good few kilometres away. A town and then a city grew around this place, which over time became one of the largest and mightiest forts in India. The region became known as Marwar, which means the Land of Death, presumably because the harsh terrain was a deterrent to invasion.

The city of Jodhpur became rich and powerful, as it was on the trading route from Delhi to Gujarat. Its trade in sandalwood and opium and dates has now become trade in textiles and silverware. Jodhpur is the second largest city in the state (after Jaipur) and its market is a fascinating labyrinth of streets and shops filled with people who live in the desert and come to the city a few times each year.

Rising most impressively above the city looms the magnificent Mehrangarh (which means Fort of the Sun: garh means fort), still run by the royal family. It houses a fantastic museum, and towers over the royal mausoleum set in a lovely rock garden that is being developed to grow native plants and attract birds.

this looks like wood, but is carved stone!