[laluks]

Day 04
26th December 2011
Jaisalmer - Tanot - Longewala - Barabagh - Jaisalmer - Khuri - Jaisalmer

This gives a perspective of how barren and wide the desert was


Wifey poses for a picture




Starvegabond and the Famous Five had some other plans!


They wanted to climbup a sand dune


They did it huffing and puffing


Finally


Jr. PPG is all tired


Victory


Sr. PPG on her way


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[laluks]

Day 04
26th December 2011
Jaisalmer - Tanot - Longewala - Barabagh - Jaisalmer - Khuri - Jaisalmer

Sr. PPG on her way up the sand dunes


It was difficult


Finally


A Happy team who scaled a Sand Dune


Back after the adventure


The panoramic view of the place


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[laluks]

Day 04
26th December 2011
Jaisalmer - Tanot - Longewala - Barabagh - Jaisalmer - Khuri - Jaisalmer

We reached Longewala by 11:30AM



Some information from the Web

The Battle of Longewala (D4 - 5 December 1971) was one of the first major engagements in the Western Sector during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, fought between assaulting Pakistani forces and Indian defenders at the Indian border post of Longewala, in the Thar Desert of the Rajasthan state in India.

Infantry commanded by Brig E.N. Ramadoss (AVSM,SM, Mentioned-In-Despatches) company (reinforced) was left with the choices of either attempting to hold out until reinforced, or fleeing on foot from a mechanised infantry Pakistani force, choosing the former. The company officer commanding ensured that all his assets were correctly employed, and made the most use of his strong defensive position, and weaknesses created by errors in enemy tactics. He was also fortunate in that an Indian Air Force forward air controller was able to secure and direct aircraft in support of the post's defence until reinforcements arrived six hours later.

The Pakistani commanders made several bad decisions, including failure of strategic intelligence to foresee availability of Indian strike aircraft in the Longewala area, exercising operational mobility with little or no route reconnaissance, and conducting a tactical frontal assault with no engineer reconnaissance. This led to the Pakistani brigade group being left extremely vulnerable to air attack, vehicles becoming bogged in ground surface not suitable for movement of armoured vehicles as they tried to deploy off a single track, these being more susceptible to enemy fire by using external fuel storage in tactical combat, attempting to execute a night attack over unfamiliar terrain, and infantry being surprised by obstacles to troop movement causing confusion and stalling the attack during the crucial hours of darkness when the assaulting infantry still had a measure of concealment from Indian small arms and infantry support weapons fire.

Battle of Longewala - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Saga of Longewala

The battle of Longewala saw heavy Pakistani losses and low Indian losses. Since the Indians were able to use the defenders advantage, they managed to inflict heavy losses on the Pakistanis. Indian casualties in the battle were 2 soldiers. In addition, one Indian jeep mounted Recoilless rifle was knocked out. Pakistani losses were 200 soldiers killed. The Pakistanis also suffered the loss of 22 tanks destroyed or abandoned, and lost 100 additional vehicles, including APC's.

Two of these were still at Longewala, exactly at the place where they were destroyed/captured.











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[laluks]

Day 04
26th December 2011
Jaisalmer - Tanot - Longewala - Barabagh - Jaisalmer - Khuri - Jaisalmer

Information about the battle




About the tank


Examining the tank

















The captured ones at Longewala




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[laluks]

Day 04
26th December 2011
Jaisalmer - Tanot - Longewala - Barabagh - Jaisalmer - Khuri - Jaisalmer

Some words of wisdom from BRO








The roads


Orientation


Memorials




Jaisalmer ia 108Kms from Longewala


At Ramgarg we join the road that took us to Tanot.



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[laluks]

Day 04
26th December 2011
Jaisalmer - Tanot - Longewala - Barabagh - Jaisalmer - Khuri - Jaisalmer

Another war memorial at Longewala


















Longewala


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[laluks]

Day 04
26th December 2011
Jaisalmer - Tanot - Longewala - Barabagh - Jaisalmer - Khuri - Jaisalmer

The Checkpost soldier comes to us


He showed us the well that was poisoned by our neighbour during war


Checking the well




We remember LongeWala


My friend is overwhelmed and decides to take a break


We have come a long way in history from Longewala


We also have a long way to go


While we still remember ....


Let us look forward


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[laluks]

Day 04
26th December 2011
Jaisalmer - Tanot - Longewala - Barabagh - Jaisalmer - Khuri - Jaisalmer

BY 12:30PM we decided to drive to Jaislamer.

Jaisalmer is another 108KM away!


Fianlly we said bye to the Checkpost Personnel and got ready to leave






Bye Bye Longewala, You will be now in our memories


We saw deers along the road


They ran way into the bushes


We saw donkeys too




Ah! we reached Ramgarg, but no place to eat!! This has become a very bad plan now


We drove on towards Jaisalmer, munching on whatever we had in hand


Some 30Km before Jaisalmer we saw a direction to Barabagh


But the kiddies were tired...


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[laluks]

Day 04
26th December 2011
Jaisalmer - Tanot - Longewala - Barabagh - Jaisalmer - Khuri - Jaisalmer

It was decided to take look at Barabagh before proceeding to Jaisalmer. Anyways Lunch is a distant possibility eiother we continue straight or after visiting Barabagh. Kids were tired that was the only worry.

But on seeing the distant view of Brabagh, Kids too were excited to take a look.

Some information about Barabagh from the web

Atop a hill just minutes away from the desert city of Jaisalmer, travelers will find the eerily calm setting of Bada Bagh or Big Garden. Wind whips through crumbling cenotaphs, made of the famous golden stone of Jaisalmer, built in memory of the city’s rulers. Giant wind turbines hum in unison interspersed around the domed roofs shading the sandstone and marble markers. Few tourists reach this visual oasis for various reasons. The sand dunes at Sam are a well publicized destination, especially for sunset views, and the cenotaphs at Sunset Point (closer to the city) are pushed by drivers too lazy to drive a few miles further.

Maharawal Jait Singh commissioned the construction of Bada Bagh in the early 16th century, completed by his son Lunakaran after his death. The site itself consists of a tank, a dam and a garden. The imperial chhatris or cenotaphs of the rulers were a tribute to the Bhatti dynasty. The oldest among them are the cenotaphs of Maharawal Jait Singh and his predecessor Devidas who reigned from 1470-1506. The newest cenotaph is that of Jawahar Singh who was Maharawal at the time of Indian independence. Jawahar Singh’s chhatri was left incomplete as his son died within a year of his accession to the throne which was considered a bad omen by the family. From then on the practice of building a valedictory memorial to the ruling clan has been discontinued.

Quiet isolation is how to best describe the experience at Bada Bagh. A few local kids badger arriving tourists out of the car, eager to sell small rocks for Rs 10, quickly fading off as you make your way toward the monuments. The modest entry fee of Rs 70 is put toward the buildings’ preservation, evidenced in the near spotless presentation. Virtually no graffiti exists and crumbling pillars, markers and rooftops have been replaced with new construction. Various structures still need extensive repair yet the overall site is spectacular. With a lack of annoying tourists to disrupt the experience, the cenotaphs are easily discovered in peace. Mango trees dot the water parched landscape offering shade to the few pilgrims as well as locals who come to offer puja. The whir of wind turbines combined with breezes whistling through nearby trees and pigeons who call this place home allow imaginative minds to relish the idea of Jaisalmer before tourism depleted it’s serenity.

Visitors will enjoy the beautifully carved structures at sunrise or sunset when picture perfect light abounds. Plan on an hour to see the sights. Tuk tuks as well as local taxis can bring you here but you’ll need to have them wait for you as the absence of a steady stream of tourists means there are no waiting return rides to Jaisalmer.

Royal Cenotaphs, Bada Bagh, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan






















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[laluks]

Day 04
26th December 2011
Jaisalmer - Tanot - Longewala - Barabagh - Jaisalmer - Khuri - Jaisalmer

More Barabagh Pictures




















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[laluks]

Day 04
26th December 2011
Jaisalmer - Tanot - Longewala - Barabagh - Jaisalmer - Khuri - Jaisalmer

More Barabagh Pictures




















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[laluks]

Day 04
26th December 2011
Jaisalmer - Tanot - Longewala - Barabagh - Jaisalmer - Khuri - Jaisalmer

Some more Barabagh Pictures














We reached the hotel at Jaisalmer by 15:15 hours. We checked with the restaurant, and they were happy to serve us lunch whatever we order. So some quick ordering happened and we hogged the hot lunch like nobody's business.

The view of Jaisalmer Fort from the hotel roof top


Some pictures from the restaurant




By now The Sprited one has struck a deal with the Bus Driver and some people in Khuri for a camel ride + dinner + entertainment programme. So we moved out by 16:15 hours towards Khuri.

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[laluks]

Day 04
26th December 2011
Jaisalmer - Tanot - Longewala - Barabagh - Jaisalmer - Khuri - Jaisalmer

We reached Khuri by 17:00 hours. As expected it is a pure touristy hub with lots of guest houses mushrooming everywhere. The entire economy here is run by money from the visitors, and the attitude shows explicitly. My first feeling - Can be avoided

We need to pay an entry fee here to enter Khuri village


An advertisement of a guest house


The road is dotted with guest houses on both sides


We reached our guest house

Advice - Please don't even think of visiting these guys. Period.

Kiddies near a hut


Kiddies checking out the hut


Jr. PPG decided to take our snap


Some tents




Camels waiting to take us to the sand dunes


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[laluks]

Day 04
26th December 2011
Jaisalmer - Tanot - Longewala - Barabagh - Jaisalmer - Khuri - Jaisalmer

A portrait of the camel assigned for my family


Wifey claiming her ride


From above all we could see was this - Camel's eye view


My Friend's family getting on their ride


Here they go!


They were a happy lot




The Sprited one




This guy was showing off...


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[laluks]

Day 04
26th December 2011
Jaisalmer - Tanot - Longewala - Barabagh - Jaisalmer - Khuri - Jaisalmer

Are they both smiling?


This fellow was a well behaved one


She kind of liked this one




We too liked this guy


But he definitely needs to see a dentist


The Sprited One capturing some memories for life




The ladies settled down


Kiddies were in full josh on sand dunes








Wifey enjoying a cup of chai

Advice - never buy one from here - the feeling is not that of enjoyment

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