For what is referred to as a desert, Rajasthan is fairly populated; its landscape scattered with a number of villages and hamlets, telltale signs of tree groves and populations of cattle beings the indication that there is a settlement is close proximity.

The typical village has always been difficult to spot till one is actually upon it. The simplest hamlets, the most basic form of residence with a way of life that has probably remained unchanged since centuries, consists 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) façade that blends in with the sand of the countryside around it. Boundaries for houses and land holdings, called barras, are made of the dry branches of a nettle-like shrub, the long, sharp thorns a deterrent for straying cattle.

If a hamlet looks bleak, it is hardly surprising: the resources for building these homes, which are the most eco-friendly living unit, are made with what is available at hand. In Rajasthan, particularly in its western desert regions, every twig has a value.

A village that is a little larger may have pucca houses, or larger living units, usually belonging to the village zamindar (landowner) family. Consisting of courtyards and a large nora or cattle enclosure attached to one side or at the entrance, these houses are made of a mixture of sun baked clay bricks covered with a plaster of lime. Floors are made with a mixture of pounded lime, limestone pebbles, and water.

Decorative facades in such units are notable for their textures in plaster and the use of simple lime colors to create vibrant patterns. These homes capture for many of its residents, the only cosmos they know. For the woman, but for visits within the village community, the only social occasions were the pilgrimages, usually combined with fairs.

It is when the village dwellers step out of their homes that the stark desert breaks into a feast of color, turbans bob past in saffron and red; skirts billow beneath the veil.

The jewellery that glints on their foreheads and arms adds to the kaleidoscope of their magentas and oranges, their blues and greens. Trims of gold ribbon add to this feast of color, and bangles jangle, not just on wrist, but also all the way up to the arms above the elbow. Into the bleak, baking hamlets of the desert, the people live a life that is palpable, carting in their jaunty strides, the spirit that is their destiny.

Each village houses several communities, the various castes creating a structure of interdependence based on the nature of their work. While changes are being wrought in this structure, with ceilings on land holdings, and with the young seeking employment opportunities in towns distant from their villages, the social fabric has still not been fractured. At the head of the village settlement are usually the Rajputs, the warrior race whose kings ruled, till recently, over these lands. The Rajputs served their kings, joining their armies, and raising their cavalries, but an attendant pursuit was agriculture. Often, they employed labor 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 Rajput homes, therefore, came to be the fulcrum around which village life revolved. In their employ were the bards and minstrels who sing their praises in verse and song. Tradesmen supplied them, and the others in the community, with goods required for their daily lives, not much was required though, since they grew their grains own lands. The potters and carpenters had their separate enclaves in the village. If the village were large enough, there were also ornament makers and cloth dyers and printers. The priests of the Brahmin families cast horoscopes, performed the elaborate rituals of their festive ceremonies and marriages, and served at the temples.