By Parth Yadav
...continued from Part 2
But first things first, one thing was left in Jaisalmer
before we could ‘hit the road’ and that was the very famous JAIN TEMPLES. Not for religion, not for
praying for marks or asking for a girlfriend, but just for travel’s sake do pay
a visit to these Temples! It will be worth it. Within
the Jaisalmer Fort walls is a maze-like, interconnecting treasure trove of
seven beautiful yellow sandstone Jain temples, dating from the 15th and 16th
centuries. These temples are built in the Dilwara style that is famous all over
the world for its architecture. The style got its name from the famous 'Dilwara
Temples' situated on Mount Abu, a famous Hill station in Rajasthan. The Jain
temples are dedicated to Rikhabdevji and Shambhavdev Ji, the famous Jain
hermits known as ‘Tirthankars’. Like other structures in Jaisalmer, these
temples are craved of yellow sandstones. The beautifully carved decorations on
the wall will give you divine peace. One couldn’t ask for a better start to the
day! Authors
Advice: Opening and
closing timings of these Temples have a habit of changing, so do check with the
caretakers. Shoes and all leather
items must be removed before entering the temples.
Post this we had our breakfast at one of the numerous
restaurants within the Jaisalmer Fort Complex. And then went straight to one of
the ‘Rent A Bike’ Shops! Yes!! It was finally time for some adventure. Authors
Advice: There are plenty of
‘Rent A Bike’ shops in Jaisalmer, which provides you Activas, Bajaj Discovers,
Avengers and Royal Enfield on rent. The rent varies from vehicle to vehicle.
And all they need for security is a minimum token amount and yes, a valid photo
Identity Card. All this is returned once you handover the keys of the bike back
to the owner. The petrol is on you! And hence, it is highly advisable to get
your tank full before you start. There are ‘NO’ petrol pumps on the way. Only
some ‘Kirana Shops’ which sell petrol at almost twice the actual rate! Also,
booze in the Desert is again, pretty expensive, so it’s advisable to buy from
Jaisalmer itself, before you leave.
So, yes! Handing over my voter ID card to the shop owner and
taking the keys of an Avenger, we kickstarted our way to the real desert!
Basically, one should reach Sam around sunset i.e. around 4:00- 5:00 PM. So, even
if you start from Jaisalmer by 2:30-3:00 PM, it would suffice. But we had other
plans! We wanted to cover the nearby areas as well before reaching Sam,
specifically ‘Kuldhara’. What is Kuldhara? Wait! Patience yields the sweetest
fruits! :P
Hence, we started off from Jaisalmer at around 11:30-12:00
PM. Our first halt was the BADA BAGH
or the ROYAL CENOTAPHS. Bada Bagh is
a garden complex about 6 kms north of Jaisalmer on way to Ramgarh,
and halfway between Jaisalmer and Lodhruva. Authors Advice:
Although the authorities have placed
adequate milestones/ boards at a number of places and in fact at every turn
keeping in mind all the tourist hotspots en-route to Sam yet, do carry a small
map of Jaisalmer or activate the GPS on your phone before hitting the road.
The Bada Bagh has basically three different things to watch, a garden, a tank
and a dam. Other interesting monuments in the vicinity are the Cenotaphs. These
cenotaphs also known as ‘Chattris’
and were constructed by the various Bhatti rulers. One cenotaph has been
erected for each ruler. The oldest among them is the cenotaphs of Maharawal
Jait Singh who reigned from 1470-1506. This tradition was discontinued when in
1947, one of the prince died of a mysterious disease! The place is basically isolated yet
the garden offers a stunning view. If you visit the place during sunrise and
sun set, you are guaranteed of beautiful moments, which you cannot avoid
clicking.
Moving on, was the destination I was most eagerly waiting for! The KULDHARA VILLAGE!! So, basically, I am
one person who, from a very early age has been hell interested in ‘apparently’
supernatural stuff. The word ‘haunted’, where on one hand gives people
goosebumps, on the other, in my case, it gives me an adrenaline rush to go and
the check the place out. And that’s what we exactly did. Kuldhara is almost 18
kms from Jaisalmer. While going towards Sam, you have to take a right turn from
the main road and a few kilometers on that right turn, you’ll find the entrance
to Kuldhara. Once you pass through the entrance gate, you automatically get a
very eerie feeling. A perfect place to be inhabited lies all vacant. No sign of
any human anywhere! A small patchy road leads you inside the village. And
suddenly, you find yourself standing right in centre of the village in front of
a temple! Yes, a temple! With a lit ‘diya’ kept inside the temple! If this
wasn’t enough, out of nowhere an old man came from behind and said ‘Khamma
Ghani’ or “Hello’! We actually and literally froze for a couple of seconds.
Until one of us regained our senses, and replied with a ‘Ghani Khamma’. That’s
how you revert to a ‘Hello’ in Rajasthan. Our guide in Jaisalmer taught us
this. Anyways, it turns out, he was indeed a human, a live human, with blood
and flesh and was the caretaker of the temple. He welcomed us and then on being
asked told us the story behind Kuldhara, a happy and prosperous village turning
into a deserted and supposedly haunted hamlet! So, it turns out that once there
was a Prime Minister of a kingdom who was not just powerful but an evil man as
well. He forced all the villagers to coerce the village head to allow him to
marry the village head’s daughter. Though, the villagers were against it and
tried to protect the Lady, yet all their attempts went in vain in front of the
powerful minister. Hence, they decided to leave the village under the cover of
the night, thus safeguarding not only the village head’s daughter but for that
matter even their own daughters from the evil eyes of the Minister. But the
story doesn’t end here! Before leaving the village, the villagers cursed their
own village and said that no man shall ever be able to inhabit this place ever
again. And so it happened! As mentioned before, a perfectly prosperous village
with perfectly good houses now lies barren and crumpling with time. Apparently,
some people who didn’t believe in this story and tried to stay in the village
were chased away by some or the other paranormal activity. Frankly speaking,
there is something in the air of Kuldhara, which somehow forces you to believe
this story.
Anyways, it was almost 3:30 PM and we were yet another 25-30 kms away
from Sam, we bid farewell to the old man, and were back on the road. Another,
45 minutes on the main road and we reached our final destination… the mighty SAM SAND DUNES!! In short and I
couldn’t be more precise in saying this, we were basically in the centre of the
“Great Indian Thar Desert”! These
dunes are 42-45 kms away from Jaisalmer and a nice sealed road maintained by
Indian Armed Forces leads you to the place. Authors Advice: Driving a bike on this road is in itself a
roller coaster ride. There are periodical crests and troughs which makes it
almost impossible to see what’s coming from the opposite side of the road. So beware! And if this wasn’t
enough, like in UP or Delhi you find dogs and cows loitering on the road, in
Rajasthan, you get to find camels!
Anyhow, there is no point coming to the Thar Desert if you
don't go for the Desert Safari. That is why Sam Sand Dunes are becoming the
major attraction in Jaisalmer. This is the closest place from where you can
lose yourself in the Great Thar Desert.
A rare desert area which lies just on the edge of Jaisalmer Desert
National Park and is also rated as top 10 must see tourist destinations in
Rajasthan by Lonely Planet & Tripadvisor, Sam Sand Dunes are simply
amazing.
About Parth:
Currently pursuing his bachelors from National Law University, Lucknow is a bibliophile and an avid fiction lover. Travelling is not just his hobby but his passion. He likes to explore the unexplored and does things which aren't mainstream. Mountains, "supposedly" haunted destinations and bike trips are what attracts him the most. A certified trekker by the Youth Hostel Association of India, he dreams to cover the Himalayas on his bike someday!
