So we had to make the trip to Rajasthan a quick one, due to time and money constraints. Shivani will be returning for the shooting portion of the project in January or February. Overall, the trip was extremely successful! In fact, we had to ask our friend to stop taking us to new places because we had more stories than we could keep up with.
Unfortunately, I fell sick again (or my sickness flared up, as it were) and was unable to move around much for a few days. For the first two or so days, we pushed on and went from village to village, and when it got too bad or the heat was too much, some very kind people let me take naps on their beautiful woven beds.
We went to visit some weavers and I got to examine this beautiful loom, where the father and son of the household were working on a bolt of shawl fabric made from wool, working it in a zigzag pattern. They also had a gorgeous spinning wheel made out of a bicycle wheel!
The day before I started to become really ill, we took a camel cart out to a village in the desert- a few hours ride each way, and our friend and guide Ashok told us stories that he learned from his mother while we rode. He was full of great stories, and I have quite a few recordings of him telling us with the sounds of the camel cart in the background.
The day after we took the camel cart ride, we headed out for a few days to some more remote villages in the Bikaner and Jodhpur regions. The first day we visited the two main Bishnoi temples, which is the community that Ashok belongs to. I was pretty ill this day, but was still able to appreciate the sights! We met some of his relatives out in their field, where they were staying in a small building nearer to the crops, and then stayed the night at his father's house in the village where he grew up.
The next day we met with loads more people, ate the most beautiful watermelons, and found at least ten more stories. The day finished with meeting an amazing Bishnoi storyteller, poet, and record-keeper, where he showed us the few-hundred-year old record and storybook for the community, written in Pingal. We heard stories, history, and poetry for a few hours in the evening with him. I was really unwell at this point, however, so afterwards we decided to make the 5 hour haul back to Bikaner town so that I wouldn't have to be in the car at all the next day.
After the 5th or so day that we were in Rajasthan, I became too sick to move around at all, and spent a day and a half recovering in the most beautiful little hotel. I'm so glad we decided to make that miserable drive back late at night, and I didn't have to move at all the next day! Thanks to our amazing friend Rituraj, we got hooked up with a deal at the most beautiful little hotel (which used to be the prime minister's house, or somesuch).
Unfortunately, I fell sick again (or my sickness flared up, as it were) and was unable to move around much for a few days. For the first two or so days, we pushed on and went from village to village, and when it got too bad or the heat was too much, some very kind people let me take naps on their beautiful woven beds.
We went to visit some weavers and I got to examine this beautiful loom, where the father and son of the household were working on a bolt of shawl fabric made from wool, working it in a zigzag pattern. They also had a gorgeous spinning wheel made out of a bicycle wheel!
The day before I started to become really ill, we took a camel cart out to a village in the desert- a few hours ride each way, and our friend and guide Ashok told us stories that he learned from his mother while we rode. He was full of great stories, and I have quite a few recordings of him telling us with the sounds of the camel cart in the background.
The day after we took the camel cart ride, we headed out for a few days to some more remote villages in the Bikaner and Jodhpur regions. The first day we visited the two main Bishnoi temples, which is the community that Ashok belongs to. I was pretty ill this day, but was still able to appreciate the sights! We met some of his relatives out in their field, where they were staying in a small building nearer to the crops, and then stayed the night at his father's house in the village where he grew up.
The next day we met with loads more people, ate the most beautiful watermelons, and found at least ten more stories. The day finished with meeting an amazing Bishnoi storyteller, poet, and record-keeper, where he showed us the few-hundred-year old record and storybook for the community, written in Pingal. We heard stories, history, and poetry for a few hours in the evening with him. I was really unwell at this point, however, so afterwards we decided to make the 5 hour haul back to Bikaner town so that I wouldn't have to be in the car at all the next day.
After the 5th or so day that we were in Rajasthan, I became too sick to move around at all, and spent a day and a half recovering in the most beautiful little hotel. I'm so glad we decided to make that miserable drive back late at night, and I didn't have to move at all the next day! Thanks to our amazing friend Rituraj, we got hooked up with a deal at the most beautiful little hotel (which used to be the prime minister's house, or somesuch).
