Jaisalmer – The golden city

In today’s world of technology and connectivity, if one wants to experience real quaintness, I suggest Jaisalmer to be the destination.

First impression was impressive – a direct non stop flight from Mumbai, but one couldn’t remain untouched by quaintness immediately upon landing at Jaisalmer. You deboard the plane and a few steps take you to the arrival section of the airport- no bus or aero bridge required! Airport is as basic as it could be and when you come out, you realise there are no Olas or Ubers and there’s a prepaid taxi booth, probably run by a cooperative union. Enroute hotel, we hardly see either a structure or a soul.

From our hotel, the main city, which could be called city centre, was barely 4 kms away, but a tuktuk, the only mode of local conveyance, charged a royal sum of Rs600 for this less than 8 kilometres of return journey. At almost Rs75 a kilometer, I think one can hire a BMW or a Mercedes cab in Mumbai.

The market is the most basics of markets, with a few sweet shops, kirana shops and clothes and handicrafts shops. My wife checked whether any mall or organised market was there to which the locals expressed surprised at her naiveness. Jaisalmer Fort stands tall over the old/walled city and continues to be the main attraction.

For all the city’s quaintness, simplicity and old world charm, the best part of our Jaisalmer stay was a trip to Tanot temple, situated at the Indo-Pak border. Managed by BSF personnel, the temple’s legacy is rich highlighted by miracles attributed to the presiding deity, Tanot Mata, especially during Indo-Pak wars of 1965 and 1971. How a Pakistani senior military official, leading his troops during 1971 war, came back years later to pay obeisance to Tanot Mata by offering her silver chhatra ( designed foil) gave goosebumps to everyone visiting the temple.

Our forces take great pride in our border vigilance and complete electrical fencing along hundreds of kilometres of the border that are amiss on Pakistani side.

It’s sometimes surprising that how all the modern ways of living life, including luxuries, seems to have somehow left places like Jaisalmer untouched!