28th October 2009, 15:02
| #31 | |
| BHPian  Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Mumbai
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@Sen(sei) Thanks for the compliment. Unfortunately I am not in sales, with a boss I have convinced of high stress who needs to decompress.  Life slows down in the Rann. You dont want to race too fast and overheat do you?   2 servings a day and maybe dessert at night is what the kitchen can produce! | |
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28th October 2009, 15:17
| #32 | |
| BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Mumbai
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28th October 2009, 15:18
| #33 | |
| BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Kottayam
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28th October 2009, 15:46
| #34 |
| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Mostly Mumbai
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28th October 2009, 18:43
| #35 |
| BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Mumbai
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| Authors note: Given the public demand for more productivity, decided to leave work early and try to appease the demanding forum members. Evening saw some other guests in the camp and a Ladakh connection. One of them was wearing a Stok Kangri t-shirt and turns out that he was Ladakhi named Tantar accompanying a oldish british guy by the name of John Hunt who sets up schools in remote parts of India. They had set up a school for children of salt workers in the area just like they had set up one in a remote village near Pangong Tso. To put my portly frame to shame, the guide also disclosed that the 68 year old John had also summited Stok Kangri. We were joined in by Dhanraj Malik who runs the camp and is the son of the erstwhile Nawab. Turns out that most of the profits from the camp were used by Dhanraj for running the school and an orphanage in that area. After some spirited discussion about Ladakh and the Kutch, and some playing around with Dhanraj's saluki dogs, I took a walk to the village to meet the village guardians and their protectorate the village kids. Was cornered and interrogated about Mumbai, whether I knew Salman and Sharukh, got a demo of their playing card sets decorated with film heroes and had they showed me how to play solitaire on my windows mobile phone Tantar and John  Dhanraj Malik  Saluki  Saluki Pup  Village Guardians  Protectorate  Returned back to camp, navigating through the darkness and making a mental note to get up early next morning to investigate the incessant bleating and mooing sounds which seemed to be emanating from the dense undergrowth... |
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28th October 2009, 19:33
| #36 |
| BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Mumbai
Posts: 773
Thanked: 339 Times
| Woke up in the wee hours, grabbed the camera and headed out to investigate the source of the sounds. The colors of sky were unique as was the sunrise. Sunrise  Turns out that the sounds were those of sheep and cattle from a 'Rabari' nomad herder camp. They are penned it at night, milked early morning and then taken out to pastures during the day. My smiles and camera got me into the camp where I could do a photo session with some models. Some willing, some unwilling, some haughty. Canned and Organic Milk  Rabari Camp  Friendly Model  Haughty Model  Herdsman  Headed back to camp for breakfast but not before stalking some birds at the local pond. Birds On A Wire  Green Day  Mirror Image  Had to beat a hasty retreat when the ladies at the pond thought I was stalking them.(to be continued...) |
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29th October 2009, 06:27
| #37 |
| BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Mumbai
Posts: 773
Thanked: 339 Times
| It had not taken much to convince me that an Innova was the wrong vehicle to take into the Rann. The soil was still soft in parts since the rains had receded, the suspension would take a beating in the ruts, but what I realized later was that sharp thorns of the bushes sticking out on both sides of the track would have left deep love scratches on the paint finish in no time. We piled into a 4x4 belonging to the camp, and drove down some 10km to the Park Rangers office. Windshield knocked down, wind in my hair (atleast what is left of it), the whine of the old engine, the stares of villagers wondering why these people were heading out in the blazing sun... I could now see what jeepers keep talking about. Carrier  Villagers  First stop was the Ranger office at Bhajana to obtain permits  The road surface changed as we moved closer to the Rann from the camp First avatar  Second avatar  Third avatar  Fourth avatar  Fifth avatar  As we lurched through the scrub, we saw some beautiful cranes take flight  And then next to some distant bushes saw a faint outline  Circled around to come into a clearing and see a family of wild asses at play  And a sight which would have warmed the crustiest of all hearts  We were now experiencing the true magic of the Rann... Last edited by genesis : 29th October 2009 at 06:31. |
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29th October 2009, 07:41
| #38 |
| Distinguished - BHPian   Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Gurgaon
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29th October 2009, 08:36
| #39 |
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29th October 2009, 10:00
| #40 |
| BHPian  | Go Guru... "Gurudev" .. a worthy title for you. I'm knocking your door soon for lessons. Awesome photos.  |
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29th October 2009, 10:07
| #41 |
| BHPian  Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore
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29th October 2009, 12:25
| #42 | |
| BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Mumbai
Posts: 773
Thanked: 339 Times
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The other BIG realization was that it would be quite nuts to go into the Rann without a local guide/person, there are places with many tracks all going off some somewhere and then some with no tracks. Occasional white stones mark some trails, but what they signify requires local expertise. Last edited by genesis : 29th October 2009 at 12:37. | |
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29th October 2009, 19:46
| #43 | |
| BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Mumbai
Posts: 773
Thanked: 339 Times
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Suddenly he stopped and pointed in the horizon, a line of wild asses, lined up and posturing for us. As we got closer, they took off and thus began a cat and mouse session with me shooting the SLR (camera not rifle !) from the front well of the jeep being thrown around as we gave chase like a big white bwana (only the big part is probably appropriate) in the African plains. Conscious not to do this for too long, we soon slowed down and the khurs too lined up to look at us in disdain. I was too engrossed in patting myself on the back for remembering to put the camera in sports mode and my investment in a zoom lens to pay any attention to their looks. As far as the eye can see  Spotting The Herd  Herd Mentality  Taking off  Usain Bolt  Playing To The Gallery  A few swigs of water for ourselves and the jeep  We called it a draw  and headed off to newer adventures deeper in the Rann... | |
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29th October 2009, 20:56
| #44 |
| Senior - BHPian  | WOW ! What superb pictures ! Stunning is not the word. Great going Genesis bhai - and now that I am hooked here, please post faster.  Am 5 *ing this one ! |
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29th October 2009, 21:27
| #45 |
| BHPian Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Madison, WI
Posts: 75
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