Nomads of Jaisalmer

dk;Zdkjh v/;;u dk uke

mrjh if'peh tSlyesj ds jkex< {ks= esa v)Z /kqeDdM Ik'kqikydksa ds lkFk leqnk; ds izfrfuf/kRo okys fudk;ksa ds fuekZ.k }kjk viuh vkthfodk dks lqjf{kr j[kus dh j.kuhfr;ksa dh [kkst

vof/k %& 11 eghus (May 2001 to March 2002)

v/;;u drkZ dk uke %& prjflag 'tke' ] jkex<] tSlyesj

1- lUnHkZ %&

tSlyesaj ftys dk mrj if'pe {ks= esa i'kq o Ik'kqikydks dk thou LoHkko ls ljy ijUrq dfBukbZ;ksa ds chp ls xqtjrk FkkA bldk eryc ;g ugha fd os dfBukbZ;ksa dk lek/kku ugha fudky ikrs FksA Ik'kqikydks dk thou fuokZg Ik'kq/ku ls izkIr vk; ij cMh lknxh ls pyrk FkkA ÅWV] HksM] cdjh o xks ikyu dk eq[; O;olk; thou dk ,d vax FkkA vktknh ls iwoZ Ik'kq Ik'kqikydk dk lEcU/k jktLo ds vk/kkj ij lRrk ls FkkA jkt 'kkgh lRrk dks Ik'kq/ku ls [kkl eq[; jktLo vk; izkIr gksrh FkhA vktknh ds ckn Ik'kqikydksa ls jktLo tCr djuk :d x;k ijUrq jkT; dk vf/kdkj Ik'kqikydksa dh Hkqfe ij cuk jgk jkT; ;g vf/kdkj tehu cspdj ;k vkoafVr djds1 iw.kZ djrk FkkA blds dkj.k Ik'kqikyd vius xkspj vkSj ?kkl okyh tehu ik'pjyS.M fjUt yS.M lEifr ds rkSj ij [kksrs jgs Øe'k% xkspj vkSj ik'pjyS.M Hkwfe pkjkxkg dh ek=k de gksrh xbZA D;ksafd mu tehuksa ij futh LokfeRo LFkkfir gksrk jgkA gkWa ;g ckr lR; gS fd Ik'kq/ku dh chekjh dks ysdj Ik'kqikyd foHkkx o HksM o mu foHkkx ftyk Lrj ij gS o xzkeh.k cMs dLcks rd Hkh d

k;kZy; gSA ijUrq ewy :Ik ls ;g viuh iSaB Ik'kqikydks ds fcp ugha cuk ik,A tgkWa gky ds o"kksZ esa Ik'kq/ku dh chekjh dks ysdj fpfdRlk lEcU/kh lq>ko o nokbZ IkgqWaph gS ijUrq chekjh u gksdj Ik'kq/ku dk ewy vk/kkj pkjkxkg gSA bl lEcU/k esa Li"V o lgh uhfr ds vHkko esa Ik'kqikyd oxZ vletL; o Hkfo"; dks ysdj fpfUrr gS gekjk Ikz;kl bl Ik{k dks ysdj ;g gS fd Ik'kqikyd Lo;a bl lEcU/k esa fopkj djs o viuk ,adkdh o fujk'kk dk :Ik NksMdj lgHkkxhrk ls fopkj djds pkjkxkg Ik'kq/ku Ik'kqikyd thou iz'kklu oxZ o ljdkj rd ,d lkFkZd tqMko o uhfr cus ftlls Ik'kq/ku pkjkxkg o izd`fr vuqdwy thou Ik'kqikyd dks laj{k.k feysA

2- tSlyesj ds mRrjh if'peh {ks= dk Ik'kqikyd %&

2-1 mRrjh if'peh {ks= ds pkj Hkkx

¼v½- izFke Hkkx %& ge bl {ks= dk v/;;u pkj Hkkxksa esa foHkkftr dj jgs gSa igyk {ks= lqyrkuk xzke iapk;r ¼fMXxkikyh {ks=½ ls 'kq: gqvk tgkWa vc Ik'kq/ku lekIr gksus dks tk jgk gSA ÅWV ikyu ,d rjg ls e`r izk; gks x;k gSA D;ksafd 10 o"kksZ ls ugjh d`f"k ls Ik'kq/ku dks vk?kkr yxk o bl {ks= esa tgkW gtkjksa dh la[;k esa ÅWV ik;s tkrs Fks ogkWa vkt dksbZ Hkh ÅWV ugha fn[krkA ugjh forfjdkvksa ekbZujksa pdksa o e.Mh;ksa dk tky lk fcN x;k gSA ftls geus izFke LVst ekuk gSA

¼c½ f}fr; Hkkx % geus rstikyk jk;eyk o jk?kok rhu iapk;rks dks ekuk gS ftldk iwjk {ks= yxHkx dek.M gS o ewy fuoklh;ksa dk O;olk; Ik'kqikyu gS vHkh bl {ks= esa djhc&djhc ugj ekbZuj o pdksa dk tky rks fcN x;k gS ijUrq d`f"k iui ugha ikbZ gSA D;ksafd nks o"kksZ ls MSe o ugj esa ikuh dh deh ds dkj.k o tehu dh mitkm iu ij {kerk dks ysdj d`"kd ds eu esa ,d 'kadk gSA bl ,ao vU; dkj.kksa ls ;g {ks= iw.kZr;k flafpr ugha gks ik;k gSA Ik'kq/ku ;gkWa fo|eku gSA

¼l½ r`fr; Hkkx % jkex< xzke iapk;r o blds lkFk xSj vkckn 13 xkWao dks feyk;k x;k gS blesa 25 izfr'kr {ks= dek.M gS ckdh vu dek.M gS o dqN lhek ds xkWao ugjh {ks= ls ckgj gSA ogkWa Ik'kq/ku eq[; :Ik ls Ik'kqikydks ds thou dk vk/kkj gSA bl {ks= esa jsfxLrku eSnkuh o ugjh flafpr {ks= Hkh gSA blesa Ik'kqikyd oxZ es ajktiwr eqlyeku o es?koky oxZ Hkh gSA ;krk;kr o ty L=ksr pkjkxkg lcdh mi;ksfxrk gks ldrh gSA

¼n½ prwFkZ Hkkx % 'kkgx< o ?kksVkMw {ks= bldk foLr`r {ks=Qy gS blesa 45 xkWao vkckn gS bl lcdh tul[;k 2000 ds djhc gSA blesa ugjh {ks= ugha gS o Ik'kq/ku eq[; :Ik ls Ik'kqikydks dk thou vk/kkj gSA bl {ks= esa eqlyeku oxZ ds Ik'kqikyd fuokl djrsa gSA Hkk"kk ;krk;kr dks ysdj dBhukbZ gSA iw.kZr;k gesa ;g ns[kus dks feyrk gS fd pkjksa gh LVst esa Ik'kq/ku izkIr gS exj Ik'kqikyd vletL; ds ?ksjs esa gSA ftldh eq[; otg gS ljdkj ls muds izfr vogsyukA

2-2 v)Z /kqeDdM Ik'kqikyu dh ifjHkk"kk %&

lfn;ksa ls Ik'kqikyd vius Ik'kqvksa ds pkjs o ikuh dh lgqfy;r ls Ik'kqvksa ds lkFk fopj.k djrs vk,] tgkWa cjlkr ds dkj.k ?kkl o ikuh gksrk Fkk] ogkWa vius ifjokj lfgr o dHkh pjokgk ifjokj NksMdj pyrk curk FkkA tSlyesaj {ks= esa o fla?k ikfdLrku esa tkrs o vkrs jgrs FksA vktknh ls iwoZ leqnk;ksa ds e/; vkilh >xMs o eu eqVko pkjs o ikuh dks ysdj gksrk FkkA vktknh ls iwoZ ls ysdj Ik'kqikyd vkt rd ckjg efguk dHkh ,d txg xzke ;k ksiMh cukdj jgrs FksA Ik'kq lfnZ;ksa o xfeZ;ksa esa jkr ds le; taxy esa jgrs FksA fnu esa Ik'kq vius vki taxy ls pkjk pjdj xksoy esa vk tkrs FksA xkWa;ks dk nw/k fudkydj] ikuh fiykdj 'kke dks taxy esa pkjkxkg dh vkSj jokuk dj nsrs FksA HksM o cdjh ikyd lnhZ ds eghus esa Hkh xksoy ls nwj 5 ls 6 fdyksfeVj vkdk'k ds rys xokMh esa jgrs FksA o pkjokgk muds lkFk jgrk FkkA ikuh jk=h es aihus gsrq peMsa dh Nkxyksa esa lkFk ys tkrk FkkA

ÅVWa ikyd lnhZ esa pkj efgus rd cky cPpks ls nwj ÅV.kh;ksa ds lkFk jgrk FkkA ÅV.kh;sa lnhZ esa 5 ls 7 fnu ckn ikuh ihrh gS o ÅVWa ikyd muds lkFk iwjh lnhZ yxHkx nw/k ihdj gh fudkyrk gSA ÅV.kh;ksa ds >w.M dh la[;k 250 ls ysdj 300 rd gksrh FkhA ftlesa pkj ls ysdj ikap ÅVWa ikyd lkFk jgrs FksA xehZ esa ÅV.kh;s taxy es [kwyh pjrh gSA ÅVWa ikyd dks lkFk ugha jguk iMrk FkkA xksoy o XokMh rhu pkj eghus ls T;knk ,d LFkku ij ugha j[krs FksA ,d txg ls nwljh txg pkjs dh deh ds dkj.k pkjkxkgksa ds vUnj iyk;u djrs FksA vkt Hkh jsfxLrku esa Ik'kqikydksa }kjk [kksns x;s dq, ¼rys½ jktdh; fjdkWMZ esa ntZ gSA tcfd vkcknh pd dkVs gq, ugha gS dgha dgh 'ke'kku Hkwfe Hkh ntZ gSA ijUrq ikl esa dgh vkcknh Hkwfe ntZ ugha gSA tc Hkh pS= oS'kk[k tsB eghuksa esa dgha Hkh nwj njkt cjlkr gksrh Fkh rc Ik'kqikyd 100 fdyksehVj ls ysdj 200 fdyksehVj rd vius Ik'kq o ifjokjksa ds lkFk pkjs dh [kkst esa iyk;u djrs FksA tgkWa LFkkuh; pjokgksa o bu Ik'kqikydksa ds chp >xMs o eueqVko o gR;k;sa rd gksrh FkhA Ik'kqikydksa dks vHkh vktknh ds 15 ls 20 o"kZ ds ckn ;g eglwl gksus yxk fd gekjs pkjkxkg ugha cfYd ;s jktdh; tehu gSA rc pkjkxkgksa dk fldqMuk o fcxMrh n'kk ns[kdj vius Hkfo"; dks ysdj vletL; dh fLFkfr esa gSA jktkvksa ds le; pjokgksa ds vkilh >xMs dk iSekuk pkjkxkg ds vUnj ?kqliSB dks ekuk tkrk Fkk o QSlys pjokgs jktk dk O;fDr ;k pjokgksa ds lewg ds iapks }kjk gksrk FkkA vc Hk;adj vdky ds le; vkcw ioZr] lfjLdk] gfj;k.kk o iatkc dh rjQ iyk;u djrs gSA vkt Hkh muds jgus ds LFkku ,d txg ugha gS xkWao esa chekjh o jk'ku gsrq vkrs gSA 'kknh o lkekftd j'esa pkjkxkgksa ds vUnj xksoyksa esa lknxh ls djrs gSA vc ;s yksx pkjkxkgks dks fldqMus ¼de gksus ls½ ls dqN {ks= esa tks fd 100 fdyksehVj x 60 fdyksehVj dh ifjf/k esa jgrs gS bl dkj.k vc ugj vkus ls xkWao

A Study conducted by Chatar Singh for AZERC, URMUL Trust, Bikaner

Know more about Chatar Singh's work in Jaisalmer

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Salt of the Earth, Thar Desert

Ukhrul and Tanghkul Nagas

Sandstorm Tango

The absence of monsoon has been one of the quintessential experiences in the popular psyche of arid Thar in Rajasthan. The region is endowed with extremely scarce rainfall - less than 100-150mm - and every three years out of five are drought years. Much of the history of everyday life here has revolved around this overwhelming marker of seasons and the monsoon makes its presence felt by the eerie silence that scars the pristine Thar each time it does not come.

Plunged in prolonged scarcity, stoic locals harden themselves to cope with the annual misery and drudgeries associated with droughts that have been the reverse of monsoons and the rains they bring. When the monsoon does not come, time gets elongated into one long tale of hardship and tragedy, and coping to survive becomes the dominant rhythm of everyday life. The wait for monsoons is a never-ending saga of the resilient spirit of the people in the Thar to survive amidst hardships. This chronicle - the leitmotif of much of the common popular folklore in Thar - is undoubtedly more heroic, subaltern and radical than the chivalric corpus of feudal panegyrics, still recounted by bards of the oral tradition and folklore in the deep, dusty sandy interiors of the desert.

The non-existence and irregularity of the monsoon in most years of the previous decade has contributed to the persistence of drought in most parts of Thar. It is as if the failure of the monsoon has cast its evil wrath on a region that has been rashly colonised by the onslaught of private capital, reeling under the greed of a chosen few legitimised by the top-heavy development paradigm of the establishment.

The peculiar, dry and sharp heat, beefed up by vigorous dusty sand storms, make the summers look like a never ending infinity. The daily life of most people is one continual struggle for securing the basic necessities of food, fodder for the cattle, and water. Amra Ram from Dedusar village in Barmer district runs a government-supported famine relief cattle camp. "We have got just enough, the bare minimum to pass this annual ordeal. If it does not rain, then the real problem begins. How long can you stretch this camp? People would have no choice but to migrate or leave their cattle stray," he says. Cattle left stray also means that they will be left to die.

"The chief minister has listened to us, so at least the Public Distribution System (PDS) shop in the village is open for some days in a month and we can get our rations," Laxmi from Navatala village points out with a sigh of relief. At Hathma village, women can be seen huddled up in long queues in front of a hand-pump that runs only for some hours in the day. During these months, 'Thar women' spend an average of two to three hours daily organising a few pots of water.

Fazal looks intently at the barren fields and rain-parched land all around him. If monsoons do not come, he may have no option but to keep going to MNREGS public works, the new guise of the old famine/drought relief works. Each day he goes to dig earth for a pond desilting work at a site 6km from his house. He leaves at 4am in the morning to join work that begins at 6am. There are many like him, men and women in different villages, who spend consecutive summers like this, year after year after year.

Mohan Ram talks nihilistically about the tragic fate of common people, expressing his anguish and despair, heightened by the extreme heat around. The dusty, audacious violent winds that swallow the village in the day, when you can barely see beyond two feet, clogs hope, chokes sensibilities and dries up precious life-giving fluids. The heat it generates is only to be matched by the deep red colour of the flowers of the eternal kair shrub, the par excellence xerophyte plant of Thar. The blazing oven of Thar only begins to get slightly toned down by the evening, which then slowly slips into the cool solace promised by the thousand-starred sky and the blue moonlight that illumines the Thar late in the night.

The uninterrupted tango of the vigorous winds and sand storms slowly, persistently, try to pull the rains down. As if they are whispering, in a dry, breathless sound symphony: come rain, come. Hence, cloud-gazing becomes the dominant fixation of most villagers during these hard, thirsty days when tufts of shallow, soulless clouds can be seen in the sky, their colour changing from pale blue to a deeper, richer blue. Oh, meaningless clouds, without water!Indeed, the pessimism and sense of fatalism that engulfs the eternal wait for the monsoon fades away with the coming of the rains. It's a sudden metamorphosis from the dead-end of despair to quick happiness, and yet, there is a philosophical acceptance. Something as rare as the rain is celebrated by the Thar in a grand way.

Khwaja Ghulam Farid, the wandering desert mystic, expresses this beautifully in his qalam (rendition), Kaldi jungle vich, a perfect pastoral romance that passionately describes how the desert comes to life after the rains - the grasslands shine with hues of green, the ponds are full to their brims with water and the vegetation, flocks of sheep and cattle are out in the grasslands, the parched lithosphere becomes animated with insects like the dung beetle, and a variety of colourful snakes wriggle out on the dark brown water-soaked sand.

The carnivalesque laughter of the rains, the grand festive celebration of colours, heralds the experience of abundance and its magic touch enlivens and rejuvenates everything. In these times, when the State and private capital combine is moving relentlessly and unabashedly with its nefarious design of appropriating the resources of Thar, when the 'idea of development' is less a quest for collective well-being and more an enterprise for the profit-obsessed rich and powerful, the monsoon is the only hope for the vulnerable. Oh rain, bless the Thar this time.

From HARDNEWS, July 2010, see