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time, it is
actually difficult to find a village in the vast stretches of
barren land. It is only when a herd of cattle is seen around
that the tourist gets an inkling of a village in close by
area. Many a times, interestingly, even these signs are not
seen and the tourists acknowledges the existence of a village
only upon entering it. Once in the village, tourists realize
that they have reached a place that is most simple and has
perhaps remained static over last many years. The state of
Rajasthan is populated with deserts. In spite of the
challenges that these deserts offers, people have settled all
over the Thar Desert and have innovated in their own small
ways to make the arid sands habitable. The landscape of
Rajasthan is scattered with villages and hamlets, telltale
signs of tree groves and populations of cattle being the only
indication that there is such a settlement in close proximity.
The most colorful villages are found in the Shekhawati region
of Rajasthan. The typical village has always been difficult to
spot till one is actually upon it.
Water played an important role in deciding
the location of villages in Rajasthan. Water is literally like
nectar or amrut (ambrosia) in Rajasthan. People and animals in
Rajasthan can manage without water for a considerable period.
The women also manage their chores with a minimum of water.
For cleaning vessels, they use a piece of cloth and fine sand,
which is available in plenty. Brass and copper vessels, plates
and tumblers acquire a shiny look after they are cleaned with
sand. Then, they are washed with very little water and are
ready for use. Bikaner, a western district in Rajasthan was
named so as water (ner) was sold (Bika) there. In Jodhpur
water was delivered through the railway. In Jobnair also,
water was sold like any other commodity. Small tanks and wells
were guarded by watchmen. A village well is the hub of
activity in the morning. People who cannot afford to purchase
water draw water from the well in earthen pitchers by
themselves. In villages, the villager can offer a glass of
buttermilk to his guests but he cannot offer as much water,
which the women-folk carry from a great distance, which is
about one to two miles. The water in earthen pots becomes
ice-cold in the summers. A baby is also bathed in a thali or
dinner plate with a piece of cloth for a sponge and very
little water. Camels are integral part of the many households
in Rajasthan, and are used for transportation, travel and
amusement. Camel load-lifting competitions and camel races
take place on festive occasions. Each house has a huge gate
for camel and only a very small door for people.
The hamlets, the most basic form of civilization, that has
probably remained unchanged since centuries, consist of a
collection of huts that are circular and have thatched roofs.
The walls are covered with a plaster of clay, cow dung, and
hay, making a termite free (antiseptic) facade that blends
with the sand of the countryside around it. The boundaries for
houses and land holdings, also known as Baraas are made of the
dry branches of a nettle-like shrub. These boundaries are made
outside the house to protect the house from the stray cattle
and enemies. The resources which are used for building these
homes, are the most eco-friendly living unit and easily
available in the western desert regions of Rajasthan. A
village is even a little larger than a hamlet. The villages
have pucca houses, or larger living units, belonging to the
village Zamindar family, with painted walls and decorated with
wall paintings. The walls and houses are just decorated by
creating a texture in the plaster, or by using simple lime
colours to create vibrant patterns at the entrance, and
outside the kitchen. The houses consists of the courtyard and
a large cattle enclosure, attached to one side or at the
entrance. These are made of a mixture of sun baked clay bricks
covered with a plaster of lime. The floors are made with a
mixture of pounded lime, limestone pebbles, and water. The
villages have agricultural and pastoral settlements, temples
and sanctuaries. There are also temples dedicated to Krishna,
Ram or Shiva, located a little outside the village and
surrounded by trees that are nurtured by the villagers. The
central place is occupied by either a village well or a
temple. The wells are often elaborately decorated, and have
tall pillars that would indicate their presence for travelers
on long journeys through the desert.
Each home in Rajasthan will also have a small room or an
alcove where they would fold their hands and say the prayers
before calendar images of their gods. To seek benevolence from
their gods, they pray to the goddess Kali, the wrathful form
of Shiva’s consort, to protect them from the demons of the
elements, and the illness of mankind. Some of the images of
the local deities like the Bhairuji and Sagasji are also
located outside their homes, and in the villages, daubed with
vermillion, and kept in the gnarled roots of a peepal tree, or
set into the steps leading to the village pond. When one lives
so close to the elements, it is natural to want to bow before
them: a little obeisance can mean so much in the struggle for
existence. The Mina tribes in Chittorgarh practice an
alternative form of medicine known as extra sensory perception
(ESP). In this treatment, a Bhopa or priest enter into a
trance and use a form of trapped energy to heal the ailments
that ranges from aches, pains and disorders. Ash is used as an
anaesthesia and antiseptic in the case of wounds.
The kitchen in a village house is at its centre since this is
where storage and cooking go hand in hand. Families rise
early, with women beginning the day's tasks with the milking
of cattle. Many families maintain dairies, and carry the milk
to urban areas for selling. Peasants who work on their farms
leave for work after a glass of piping hot tea, carrying their
spartan lunch with them. It is in the evenings that families
tend to get together to dine. Generally, the male members eat
first, the women next. In winter, people dine in the kitchen
itself, sitting in front of the hearth. At home, the women
would confine themselves to the kitchen where rows of shining
brass and copper vessels and platters are lined up on shelves
against the wall. The cow-dung and wood are used as the fuel
in the cooking stove, set on the floor. Over this stove, the
earthen pots are placed for cooking. Most of the meals are
vegetarian. The principal meal of the family consists of
dinner, where freshly baked bread and porridge is served with
a yoghurt curry called karhi, dried beans and fresh
vegetables. For most of the families, the breakfast consist of
a full glass of hot tea and bread, and lunch consists of an
unleavened bread eaten with a spicy chutney of chillies and
garlic. Non vegetarian dishes are restricted to only special
occasions and festivals.
Each village is a multi-community settlement and here the
various castes create a structure of dependence based on the
nature of their work. The Rajputs resides at the head of the
village settlement. The village life revolved around the
Rajputs. The Rajputs served their kings, joined their armies,
and raised their cavalries. Often, they employed labour to
work on their extensive fields, and kept cattle for dairy
produce. In fact, the cattle density in Rajasthan is very high
and milk from desert settlements is supplied to the large
cities close to the state, including Delhi. The Rajputs also
employed bards and ministers who sang their praises in verse
and song; the tradesmen who supplied them, and the others in
the community, with the goods required for their daily lives
and there were potters, carpenters, ornament makers, cloth
dyers and printers as well. The priests of the Brahmin
families cast horoscopes, performed the elaborate rituals of
their festive ceremonies, and served at the temples. The
Pathwari looked after those setting out on journeys and
pilgrimages. And there were various folk heroes and gods who
provide immunity from everything from snake bites to cattle
diseases.
The births, betrothals, marriages, and deaths were the certain
occasions where the entire village would come together, and
participate in each other’s good and bad times. There are also
several places in the villages, where people gather in a very
large scale. These are temples, shops, wells, and a village
square which is usually an old, leafy peepal tree with a large
platform built around it for people to sit on. The cooking for
wedding feasts was done in a large scale and the cooks dig
pits under the ground where the fires will be lit for the huge
cauldrons in which the food will be prepared. The entire
village dresses up festively to welcome the wedding
procession, and the Dholis and other of the singing caste lead
the party to the house where the wedding is being celebrated.
Such celebrations last for a few days, and became the social
event of the season. The women came out of the villages only
during the pilgrimages, combined with the fairs. These women
are always dressed in beautiful skirts or ghagras, with a veil
on their face and lots of jewellery on the forehead and face.
Just as the women adorn themselves, and decorate their houses,
the men also wear rings in their ears and slip their feet into
gaily embroidered shoes, they also create special jewellery
for their camels, or cut their coats in intricate motifs. The
camel is the beast of burden ideally suited for the desert.
Its ability to store enough water in its stomach to last it
for a few days makes it ideal for long distance travel along
routes where even wells may be a rarity. No wonder there is
such close amity between the long-legged beast and its owner.
From transport to ploughing in the fields to pulling carts,
the camel even provides milk though its sweet, thick
consistency is not pleasing for everybody. In death, its hide
finds use for converting into leather for saddles, bags and
shoes.
Now, some changes have been made in the structure, and
ceilings are made on land holdings. The young people are
moving towards the distant town in search of the employment
opportunities. Some self-sufficient rural villages persist
even today and a compact settlement with a tank or well and a
struggling bunch of acacias and tamarind in the mid of
yellowish sand is the dominant feature of the landscape. Most
of the rural villages in Rajasthan now boast of electricity,
telephones, televisions and a network of roads from where they
can travel more easily between villages, and to the
neighbouring towns. Today, there are various fields, and
various small habitations that have put a check on the winds
that once raced through the sand dunes. Life in the desert is
in a stage of transition, but the traditions still remain,
which were not just essential in the earlier times, but also
gave life its unique blend of flavours.
For a tourist, the ideal way to visit a village is on the back
of a camel. The most interesting sights that grabs the
attention of tourists are the women around the community well
or a group of people discussing important issues related to
their village or general topics like politics or children
either studying in an open air school or running around with
complete freedom. The tourists can get a better insight into
the life of rural Rajasthan by interacting with these people. |
