Desert Rose

A GROUP OF BRAHMINS， called paliwal Brahmins， lived in a cluster of villages called Kuldhara near the present-day Jaisalmer. The rulers were tyrannical and would force the villagers to pay huge taxes. On a midsummer day， in 1762， the particularly debauched and ruthless Dewan of the State， Salim Singh （known to have seven wives and a couple of mistresses）， chanced upon a group of village belles at the well and fell in love with the beauteous daughter of Tulsi Singh and asked for her hand in marriage. Terrified， Tulsi did not dare say no， instead he asked for two days to organise the wedding. The villagers grouped together and came to a drastic decision： they would abandon their village to protect their fellow villager and his daughter from falling into the clutches of the evil Salim Singh. Overnight， the 84 villages vanished as if into thin air—how and where they went no one knows. Before saying goodbye to his home， an agitated Tulsi Singh is said to have cursed the place： No one would be able to build homes or settle in the area… This is the legend of the paliwal Brahmins.

As I wander around clicking pictures， I notice a man working at building a house among the abandoned ruins. The lone worker， 75-year-old Buddha Singh， had a fascinating story to tell. Sometime ago， a family from udaipur had carried back some of the ornately crafted windows and stones from one of the houses that was still standing and in fairly good condition. Inexplicably， the family began facing immense problems. Their business slipped and they were on the verge of losing everything. One day it dawned on them that their sudden misfortune may have something to do with the legend of Kuldhara and Tulsi Singh’s curse. They asked Buddha Singh， a local， to come to udaipur and paid him 250，000 to take back all they had carted from the Kuldhara ruins and rebuild the original house！ This is a Jaisalmer I had not imagined.

Back at the boutique hotel where I am staying， I give myself over to Rajasthani hospitality. Suryagarh is a modern fort palace， 14 km from the city of Jaisalmer. The drive to the fort is fascinating. The road， through the bare dessert terrain， is laid out in a bullet straight line. The dessert stretches endless on both sides， with just the occasional clumps of green dotting it. Barring the sound of our car driving， there’s complete stillness， absolute quiet. At the hotel， I’m ushered to my beautifully appointed room with modern luxury and accents of Rajasthan—from the linen to the decorated walls. A refreshing bath later， I head for the artistically designed lobby， a huge lush space.

Lunch on the first day was out in the cool shaded lawns， and the fare is scrumptious accompanied by fine French wine. Chef Bhanwar takes great pride in offering me a vegetarian five-course meal. Dinner， hosted by Karan Singh Vaid， the General Manager， was a completely different affair but equally delightful. It was outdoor once more， on the sand dunes owned by the hotel. Beautifully done up with subtle lighting， the place reflected the mystery of the dessert night beautifully. It was cool and the sky was a star-studded black velvet spread. The food was cooked on the spot. Folk music filled the air as we sipped our drinks and I enjoyed the best Hara Bhara Kabab I have ever tasted！

Next day， I decided to check out some of the less known local sights. At Bada Bagh， we encountered a series of canopies. As per local tradition， after the cremation of the local ruler， a canopy was built in his name. The earliest is dated 1425 AD. More history awaited us at the Lodhruva Jain temple. The showstopper here is a peculiar arched yellow sandstone pillar said to be 1200 years old. The entire pillar is beautifully carved， behind which is the 400-year-old temple. This was where the original Jaisalmer stood. Following numerous invasions from the north and west， the citizens shifted inwards to where Jaisalmer Fort is today.

The hotel makes the most of the local history and quaint places tucked into the countryside. In the Lodhruva area， Suryagarh conducts an interesting ‘haunted trail’ in the dead of the night. Khaba Fort， originally built in 16th century to host traders on the move， is now a breakfast spot （with cigars and single malts！） for guests at the hotel. Then there is the Jajya Talab where we had a delightful evening at the end of the day relaxing by the wonderfully illuminated lake. I spot a herd of sheep and a windmill in the background—a common sight， in Amsterdam maybe， unexpected in this desert land. Of course one could not leave Jaisalmer without spending time at the dunes—a spread of undulating sand， stretching on for miles. The wind was like an artist， shaping and reshaping the sands. One minute the dunes were shaped like a woman in repose， another， they were camels in a caravan out on a journey， much like me.

At a Glance

Getting there

The closest airport is Jodhpur， about 4.5 hours away. Suryagarh arranges for air transfers from here.

When to Go

October to April

Cost

Starting 216，000 and goes up to 275，000

Contact

Suryagarh： Kahal Phata， Sam Road， Jaisalmer； tel： （02992） 269 269；