Beyond grand deserts and golden forts, Alana Hunt discovers the beating heart of Jaisalmer.

Jaisalmer Fort, Rajasthan © David Kerkhoff

Jaisalmer, also known as the Golden City and renowned for its famous camel safaris into the desert, is in western Rajasthan – indeed only 100km from the Pakistan border (which explains the sudden presence of the Indian military). At the heart of this city is the glorious Jaisalmer Fort. Up until the early 1950’s, just after India’s Independence and Partition, the fort had continued to serve as the locus of a fully functioning dynastic monarchy. However today, just half a century later, the once royal residence is now supported by the tourist economy, with hotels and over-priced, poorly-prepared food dominating its laneways. From my window, at the top of this grand old fort, I watched men, hundreds of metres below, coming to piss, again and again and again, on the base of the fort’s walls: a metaphor for our times.

This is not to say Jaisalmer is not an interesting place to be – quite the contrary! It is precisely because of images like these – of men pissing on the wall of a fort and the subtle military presence and the camel safari men and the golden colours at sunset – that make this grand, yet quaint, old city in the middle of a desert so interesting. On the whole it is a relaxed place that treats visitors well, and is much calmer than many other tourist destinations in India. I would recommend staying in the fort itself (approx. Rs650/$AU25 for a double room) – the views that reach far beyond the scenes below, across the city and out into the desert are well worth it. But be sure to explore the city beyond the walls of the fort as this is where its heart really lies today.

Taking a left from the gates of the fort will take you through the old city. On the roadside here at the base of the fort there is a government authorised Bhang shop. Bhang is basically a preparation of marijuana – usually mixed into a milky drink of sorts and traditionally taken by Hindus on their Diwali festival, and also enjoyed by travelers. Asking around for good Rajasthani food we were told about Milap Restauran, just on the city’s outskirts. The sign outside reads “Pure Veg Homely Food” and with vegetarian thali for Rs35 it couldn’t get much better than this – so for the next few days this homely yet little-known restaurant became our favourite place. If you order in advance they will also prepare dal bati churma – a traditional Rajasthani dish that was almost impossible to find in the rest of the city. About fifty metres from Milap is a small roadside chai stall that looks out to the town centre. This too became a favourite place to visit: sitting, watching, listening and drinking tasty sweet milky chai. Not far from here is the Jaisalmer Public Library, which has a small collection of English language material, mostly translations of Indian novels – it’s a nice place to spend a few hours browsing through some Indian literature. And finally there is the Jaisalmer Folklore Museum – too often forgotten on the tourist trail dominated by camel safaris. This place has an amazing collection of all sorts of odd historical material and old royal portraiture, and in the evenings around 6pm there are traditional puppet shows that perform to a full house. Simply wander around Jaisalmer on foot and the city will unfold for you.