People
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 being 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 from 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 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 baras, 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 house 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 comos they know. For the women, 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 all the way up to the arms above the elbow. Into the bleak,
baking hamlets of the desert, the people live a live life that is palpable,
carrying 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 ceiling 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 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.
