[jacs]

Vyom, the lone driver. Envy you

What more to make your bachelor hood memorable? Let me first congratulate you on your new career and secondly on your adventure. M&M mean it Thar way!

Good start, do post more and more.

[bandlimitedlife]

Vyom, Awesome Start to your travelogue. Rated it all*. Please keep it updated. Travel is the best teacher, I am sure you will get an awesome exposure with this journey. We will learn a lot and live the journey for now through your updates. Keep it coming and Good luck!

[akabhp]

Awesome T'logue Vyom and beautiful pictures. Rated well deserved 5 stars. Hooked on to it and will look forward to the updates. Well, Mandav seems to be hidden treasure for travellers.

Best - Atul

[jeetaman]

Thanks Vyom for the concise and awesome photographs specially of old monuments / temples etc. I missed an opportunity few years back to explore this part of the world. I must plan one now.

Cheers

[AVR]

Originally Posted by Vyom

I started from Ahmedabad, my hometown.

Hi Vyom,

Would love to catch up once you are back in Ahmedabad. Let's connect once you are done with this awesome trip!

Cheers,
Adi

[himadrimondal]

This is one of its kind journey and a lifetime experience.
And what better chariot can you have, the Thar. The photograph looks fantastic.
Waiting for more, let it pour in.

[Neil Roy]

Ah... to be young,free and single. I envy you.Godspeed on your journey and help us discover this wonderful country through your eyes.

[anandjha]

A wonderful TL. Salute your spirits. Driving and filming are two opposite propositions. Hats off to you that you have managed it. Eagerly waiting. Rating it 5 star.

[pksnathan]

Dear friend,

Your travelogue makes an interesting reading.Your photographs speak for themselves.By seeing the photos we must take pride our country is truly an Incredible India.I wish you all my best for a successful journey.When you happen to visit Tamilnadu during your journey please do not hesitate to call me.I would like to be of help to you in whatever way I could.I have sent a PM

Thanking you,

pksnathan

[venuraja]

A good journey in to history. Photographs are good and you have an eye to see what others do not see or fail to see.
If are all alone in a journey, you become home sick sooner than you imagine.

[specialedition]

Hi, this is some journey you have taken and kept us all glued in. Very interesting places you have visitied in the first post and hardly heard off, waiting to hear more from you as the journey unfolds. Very few take to such journeys and lucky you are to have got this chance. Looking forward for your next post.

[Vyom]

Post from the Past

Chasing Asses

At night I walked around the temple campus, mighty waves hammered on the campus walls and the gust blew across the tall temple. The mild temple bell jingled every once in a while. Amidst all this Somnath stood serene. Lord Shiva had chosen an apt location.

After a day in Somnath I pushed towards Dhrangadhra, a small town of little consequence! It lies on borders of the Little Rann of Kutch and Surendranagar. I was scheduled to meet Mr. Devjibhai Damicha. The two days I spent there were very educational. Devjibhai has quite a story of his own, a childhood in saltpans, a career as a wild life photographer and a lifelong passion towards the Rann. The moment I reached his home, he opened various textbooks and maps and served some delightful tea. For the next two hours he took me on a journey through the Rann of Kutch.



India has three different deserts: Cold Desert, Sandy Desert and Muddy Desert. This Rann is a muddy desert. Two hundred years ago Kutch used to be an island off the Gujarat mainland. 1819 earthquake changed that. Two plates rose fifteen meter above sea level and joined Kutch with Saurashtra and Sindh. These are now called the Little and Greater Rann of Kutch. Every monsoon, as the tides rise, the Arabian Sea engulfs these deserts. The sea water, the rain water and some seasonal rivers transform these deserts into unique wetlands. Around October the sea draws back and the sun heats up. A salt coated, cracked muddy desert remains. Within themselves the two Ranns are distinct as well. The Greater Rann of Kutch has a division of 70% sea water and 30% fresh water. The Little Rann has 30% sea water and 70% fresh water. This makes the two Ranns and the life forms that grow in them diverse from each other.

Next day we went to the Little Rann. It was early monsoon and fresh pools of water were all over. We couldn’t drive deep inside and had to settle at the glimpses from its boundaries. I interviewed Mr. Damecha. He told about his life, the Rann, photography, and the wild asses. I could see the great pride he had in these lands. The Rann and wild asses were as much a part of his life as his two sons were. After a long interview and a simple kathyawadi lunch he proceeded to his afternoon siesta. I grabbed my camera and went about chasing the Asiatic wild ass.

With a tripod on my shoulder I walked into the Rann. I saw a solitary hazy image at a distance. I went closer, and got my first visual of this creature. It stood still grazing in the marshy desert. I was told that the Asiatic wild ass (Equus hemionus khur) was a shy creature and avoided human contact. Soon I found out the extent to which it avoids us. It stood about 40 meters behind a line of bushes concentrating on lunch. Using the bushes as cover I closed in for a shot. As I neared its head popped up and gave me a stare. The moment I crossed the bush, Khur started moving in the opposite direction. For every step I took, it took two. Everytime I stopped, it stopped as well and stared straight at me I aborted the direct approach and decided to change strategy. This time I started moving diagonal to its future location. For a while it worked, I got closer but then the Khur paused for a moment and changed its course again. I had to stop again. Khur now aware of my intentions carried on. In a last ditch attempt I gave the Khur a run. Khur can reach speeds upto 75kmph. After 50 meters I gave up the silly idea. The solitary Khur disappeared in the never ending desert. I never got anything useful.



On my route back to the base camp I stumbled upon a couple grazing peacefully. My earlier endeavors had made me more careful. At a distance of about 30 meters I halted and filmed them. After a brief pause to check my activity they continued unthreatened. I got as close as about 20 meters before the couple started walking away. This time I did not chase them. A Khur cannot be domesticated and now it was clear why.





That evening I went for another stroll through the rann with Mr Damicha. The asses were lot more social with him. I bade farewell to my afternoon companions and headed back to Dhrangadhra. Little Rann is the only place in the world where these fascinating creatures are found. I look forward to meeting them again someday, hopefully at a different location too.

[Vyom]

Originally Posted by AVR

Hi Vyom,

Would love to catch up once you are back in Ahmedabad. Let's connect once you are done with this awesome trip!

Cheers,
Adi

Sure thing, though i will be back only in december. will get in touch with u then.

Originally Posted by pksnathan

Dear friend,

Your travelogue makes an interesting reading.Your photographs speak for themselves.By seeing the photos we must take pride our country is truly an Incredible India.I wish you all my best for a successful journey.When you happen to visit Tamilnadu during your journey please do not hesitate to call me.I would like to be of help to you in whatever way I could.I have sent a PM

Thanking you,

pksnathan

Soon actually. 15th to 22nd of september. will be taking the coastal route up. Kanyakumari-Rameshwaram-tanjore/madurai-pondi-mahabalipuram-chennai. Any place on the way which i should include and any place i can skip?

[archangelvishal]

Hi Vyom,

i was reading the London to Mongolia T-log for the last few days and thought that it was the best travel dream one could have. But then, as usual, TBHP has me stupefied. Up comes your T-Log and i am hooked again.

Very lucid writing and some amazing photographs. You truely are living a dream brother. Keep posting...

This has all teh makings of another 5star log.

thanks.
Vishal

[YanTra Makto]

Hooked on, eagerly waiting for more past posts and future ones, let us know when you are passing around. A 5 star rating in anticipation