home of the first
but more of that
itness the arducting
desert salt,
ou across the
all, you can visit
re thousands of
and after their
Siberia to India,
as. Here a man,
his life to observe
e for cranes to
ain, welcomes you
.
s cared for the
e counts them
grain from
safe haven for
e were there
the day before
f cranes …
ng about this area
.
le (belonging to
d in the 16th-ceniety
when in 1730
a Maharajah requested the felling of
trees around the Khejari village to
construct his palace. Amrita Devi
was the first to protest by hugging a
tree and impeding (she thought) its
felling. As many as 363 people who
followed suit were slaughtered; axed
while continuing their embrace.
Amrita Devi and her fellow villagers
died while defending the trees
till the Maharajah was informed of
the massacre and finally intervened
to stop it. The Bishnoi faith includes
a ban on killing animals and felling
green trees, providing protection to
all life forms.
A camel ride … or a cart pulled by
a camel, if you are averse to riding
camels … goes through Bishnoi areas
where those very precious Khejri and
Jaal trees are plenty, so important
to the survival of the local gazelles
(chinkaras) that feed on the berries
the trees produce.
Riding in the area’s well-maintained
roads and secondary country
20