Marriage proposal at 4200 MSL

'Make no mistake' leader of the group seems to be convincing our driver

We were on our way after a volley ball game with young lamas of the monastery in the picturesque village of Komic, when we came across some women who came and blocked our way. Women in Spiti Valley are quite social and confident. Since we have heard several stories about their empowerment we were more than curious to know why they would block our way.


These women refused to let our driver go. They even sat on the bonnet for a while!

We were driving from Kaza to Komic and back en-route to Langza. The Komic at an altitude above 4000 MSL is amongst one of the high altitude villages in the Himalayas.

Initially we couldn't figure out what was happening. All we could notice was that the women, especially the older ones were quite happy about blocking the road and talking to our young driver. There was also a young girl who was shying away when we looked at her, but 'making strong' statements to the driver.


volley ball with lamas in one of the highest villages in the world.

Even after ten minutes, when we realised that they had no intention to let us pass by, we got curious and asked our driver if every thing was okay! He blushed! Once again we weren't sure if we read the expression on his face correctly. By this time two women were already sitting on the bonnet while other engaged in conversation with the boy. It looked more like a cajoling towards the end, but we were totally lost on what exactly was going around.

After half an hour, our driver tried to move the vehicle slightly which was vehemently opposed by the group. They refused to let us go! Later in the afternoon when we managed to pass them, our driver told us that the women were trying to convince him to get married to a girl in their village! No wonder he was blushing. Apparently a proposal had come to him couple of months ago and he was not ready to get married at 23, and the women refuse to accept that. So every time his vehicle passes through the village with travellers, he is under siege! Poor thing.

Freezing in Makrana

Dayalji kept on piling one blanket after the other on me. 4,5,6 and then I was getting worried if his family had enough for them. 'You have no idea how cold it could get here these days". Even the walls were giving away cold and I could hear hissing sound of the wind from the desert slipping through the small holes in the windows. If not for seeing Dayalji worshipping next to the Aluminium trunk I was sleeping on, I would have just slept until noon. It was so difficult to wake up in the morning!

It’s been two days in Makrana (famous for its Marble that were used to build most of Taj Mahal) and once again I have been humbled to see the resilience of people living in remote parts of India. Winter here is so cold that it comes closer to one or two degree Celsius. Heating is not affordable for many and unheard of. All they have are some blankets. Most of them looked older than they really are. As for summer temperature, when I asked what could be the maximum temperature one villager smiled and responded. "There is nothing like minimum or maximum temperature for us during summer. Its just "full temperature' :) Irrespective of the harsh climate and the environment they live in, I couldn't escape observing that almost all of them were genuinely happy.

I came to this part of Rajasthan couple of days back to meet our activity partners, spend some time with them, understand their background and explore the synergy that our work could bring in. I was so tired by the time I reached Makrana as I had been standing for 3 hours in the train from Jaipur. Straight away I was taken to one of our partner’s network office and met a bunch of locals who were curious to figure out what I was doing there. It was amazing to see they could connect to the dying rivers of Kerala and its impacts on lifestyles, especially the culture and heritage that the river influenced for eons. Even my halting Hindi was of no barrier to them as they went on to narrate their stories on how artisans were finding it difficult to make a living out of what they knew.

We arrived at Dayalji's house (after a mini tour of the streets sipping "sugary dooth" ) and checking out local eateries that served mouth watering dishes. I was a bit scared to see the way Ghee was used in every meal we had. People over here literally are drowned in ghee. Whoever said that consumption of Ghee has something to do with obesity; they should come and see thin /lanky figures of Rajasthan. By the time we arrived at Dayalji's house, all I wanted was to crash in ASAP. But Dayalji went on with his stories and entertained me with local legends and folklores. Amongst them was a story of a fight between Amar Singh Rathore from the present Nagore district and a local Badshah. It seems the Badshah made a rule that any girl who marries a local should sleep with him first! On resisting this, Amar Singh was killed in a fight with the Badhsah. These stories until recently used to be part of the oral traditions of the folk musicians. Apparently there is hardly anyone who makes a living out of similar tradition in this region.

That makes sense to the understanding of the people over here when I showed them presentations on the dying river valley culture that we are dying to preserve. Language isn’t a barrier, culture isn't a barrier and it’s the same story all over the world. While Dayalji was passionately narrating the stories of Amar Singh, I was thinking about similar stories I had heard from Scottish friends, where the English brought in a rule in medieval time that any local girl who gets married should first sleep with the English magistrate! Wasn't that also a story sequence in the movie Brave Heart?
Makrana GP © 2008

Missing beats - TBY on Guardian Travel

The Blue Yonder is featured under 'The Best Cultural Breaks in The Guardian Travel'.

Click on the above pictures to listen to the music. Unfortunately the last slide has our website spelt wrong!! its http://www.theblueyonder.com/ and not blueyonder.com :(

Bangalore © GP 2008