Maths on the Median, Camels in the Desert: Mandawa to Bikaner

Yoga

Yoga again to start the day, then another 300 km on the road, this time to Bikaner on the edge of the Thar Desert.

The road itself was a parade. Pilgrim buses blared loud music (it's Navratri, so there are plenty of devotees on the move). Overloaded trucks groaned past, stacked high with crops. A camel plodded along pulling a cart, and more cows wandering across the road like they owned it, which in India they pretty much do. 🐄

We also passed green fields, possibly drought-hardy crops like peanuts, pearl millet, guar and moth beans.

Our driver was even pulled over for speeding, but he produced an exemption card that lets him travel at 80 km/h instead of 60. At 60 it would take a long time to get anywhere!  The seemingly random speed bumps were less welcome, and often sent our bottoms flying off the seats. 😅

As we rolled into Bikaner, the median strip had become an outdoor maths lesson. Every 100 or 200 metres stood a large 3D symbol (a plus, a minus, a circle, a greater-than-or-equal-to) with an English explanation. No photo, sadly, because we were moving. 📐

Lunch was at a very cool Harasar Haveli

where we also stayed the night. built from local brick and carved sandstone.

Then it was on to Junagarh Fort. It covers around 13 acres (5.28 hectares), which makes it huge. It was built between 1589 and 1593 by Raja Rai Singh, a general in the Mughal emperor Akbar's army, and the city grew up around it. Unlike most Rajasthani forts, it sits on flat ground rather than a hill. This a black and white photo of it from the museum so you can get an idea of its size.

We drove in through the gates, and our sightseeing centred on the Prachina Museum, which was founded in 2000 and fills part of a hall built in 1937. It's full of royal costumes, weapons, silverware and instruments from the ruling dynasty. 

This lady's husband wanted a photo with me... so I asked for a photo with her:-)

next stop. 🐪

That was the National Research Centre on Camel, just outside the city. The centre keeps several hundred camels of four breeds, each suited to different work. Bikaneris are strong and good for milk and draught work. Jaisalmeris are built for speed and stamina. Kachchhis are good milkers, and Mewaris are load carriers. We watched the herd come home from grazing in the desert and saw how the males, females and calves are kept separate. The females are milked, but only for a few litres a day.

At the end we tried camel milk ice cream, and I bought a camel milk lassi to keep up my goodbugs while I'm away. It was fascinating and very hot, so we sheltered under a Bodhi (peepal) tree, the type of tree that Buddha was sitting under when he reached enlightenment and from whence his adopted name came.

After arriving back at the hotel,  🌳A five-minute stop at an ATM turned into thirty when we ducked through a doorway and were waylaid by Shiv Swami, a traditional and contemporary miniature artist, and his gallery, much to the inconvenience of our guides, who had lost us. His English was impeccable and he was fascinating to listen to. Shiv comes from a family of traditional Bikaner painters and learned the craft from his father and grandfather. His work has been exhibited in England and France, and he's credited with holding the Guinness World Record for the world's smallest painting in 2002 and 2003. He paints with squirrel-hair brushes and makes his own pigments from minerals and plants, and his work is best viewed through a magnifying glass. 🔍

📍 Bikaner Miniature Arts, on Municipal Road near Kirti Stambh Circle, Bikaner. www.bikanerminiaturearts.com