𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐖𝐄𝐃𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 (Pt. III)

8 min readApr 1, 2021

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐖𝐄𝐃𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 (Pt. III)

𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝑰𝑰𝑰 : 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒕

Heading straight to the camp upon landing in Jaisalmer, Part III is filled with emotions. Was it the ambience, the wine or something else? Do find out!

After a day’s rest, the escapade was about to begin. The 10 a.m. flight from Delhi in a propeller plane was more frightening than anything else due specifically to the narrow distance between the seats ahead, behind as well as across. Luckily, mask-wearing was strictly adhered to and not a sneeze or cough was heard throughout the flight. As we descended into the civil enclave of the Air Force base and looked out the window, the Jaisalmer Fort was shining gold. It was a scorching afternoon and after a couple of quick stops in the city, we headed straight to the desert camp. I began feeling uneasy as we drove through the outskirts, not due to the heat, but rather from the memory of my last visit to a desert city. Losing a friend after having been left deserted in Abu Dhabi is truly unforgettable as mentioned in Chapter 5 titled ‘An Ambivalent Reception’ of the book. I realized once we checked in and were shown to our rooms that I had completed overestimated the provisions. ‘How the hell does this place have the word exotic as a prefix to desert camp?! The air condition better be working’, I thought. The manager suggested that we rest until the sun was closer to the horizon, cooling the weather for the camel ride.

Audy on the other hand was fiddling to a different tune. After a cup of coffee the suitcases were opened bare; each of her packed clothing items was either being displayed on the bed or hanging off the two chairs in the room. I couldn’t even find a place to sit. Determining what would be the proper attire for a long awaited camel ride, she relentlessly mixed and matched, and demanded my opinion on every attempt. I thought the first outfit was perfect for the occasion and excused myself from the room. The couple of hours since we had arrived wasn’t enough to properly chill the Chardonnay bought in the city, but I returned to the room from the lobby kitchenette with it, and two crystal wine glasses anyhow.

‘Cheers Audy! To our first anniversary!’ I said.

‘It’s 4 o’clock Binny, I still need to do my makeup. Are you sure this is the time to have a drink? We have a camel ride in an hour’ she responded.

‘Camels are peaceful animals. I’m sure ours will understand anyway. Have you decided what you’re wearing,’ I asked.

‘I’m still not sure.’

‘Lovely, best of luck with that.’

‘Don’t you need to figure out what you have to wear’ she asked.

‘I already have. White kurta, white jodhpuri and the colorful turban picked up from the city,’ I responded, ‘…will need to use the mirror to tie it so if you could grace the bathroom with freedom, I’d greatly appreciate it.’

Her eyes pierced as the head slowly tilted backwards which could have only meant that my sneering remark was duly acknowledged but certainly not appreciated. It was an emotional time and I should have known better. She helped fold my turban within the hour and I was fully dressed with a moustache perfectly waxed within 15 minutes. She sat moody in the outside area of the room after finally getting ready for the upcoming excursion and I thought that it would be appropriate to give her the gift which was hidden in my backpack. She was happily surprised not just by the gesture or the design of the two necklaces but also by the fact that it complemented the outfit she had chosen to wear, the first of which she had actually tried on.

Click to see videos titled “The Gift” https://www.facebook.com/681346429/videos/pcb.10158050441416430/10158050442831430

The camel keeper had arrived and Audy insisted that she’d sit in the front. It’s not difficult to appease a wife’s demands a half bottle in. However, it was an unwise choice. Given that I was untrained with the physics of this animal’s movement, sitting on the back arc of the hump as the camel walked had me look like I was in questionable motion. Of course I complained humorously, thanks to the wine, till we reached the sand dunes and dismounted.

Click to see videos titled “The Camel Ride”

https://www.facebook.com/681346429/videos/pcb.10158050441416430/10158050443076430

Walking through the silky sands with serenity from one dune to another hand-in-hand as the sun was setting was nothing short of magic.

We sat to chat and take pictures when we noticed three men from a distance walking directly towards us. They were three generations of musicians, and the grandfather insisted that we listen to some traditional songs. He tuned his harmonium and instructed his son, the drummer, and his grandson with khartal sheets to begin playing. The tempo, the rhythm and the sounds had me in a trance immediately and within a minute after requesting an old Rajasthani folk song, I decided to join the band, informing them that I was going to rap. They were very confused! As I prepared to weave into their flow, a rendition of my marriage proposal which is described in Chapter 2 titled “The Engagement” of the book, was the only idea that came to mind. With a presto tempo, I entered the musical swordplay to recite the verses and each of the members of the band observed closely to see the breaks in my pattern, leaving them with no choice other than to mesh the song I had requested with my instructions and conclude the performance. Their expressions were priceless. It was perhaps the most exhilarating experience since the lockdown, both for myself and the troupe.

Click to see videos titled “The Desert Jam”

https://www.facebook.com/681346429/videos/pcb.10158050441416430/10158050443556430

As the moon became visible at dusk and as we cameled our way back, Audy instructed the keeper to remove the weakest passenger. The back, hamstring and groin muscles had gone for a complete toss and I just couldn’t survive another thrust from the hump without being thrown off. Upon our return to the camp we learned that there would be no further events as only one room was being occupied that evening, but we were also told that local song and dance performances would be scheduled for the following. As consolation, we were given some fried pakoras to eat. ‘Damn! I guess that means no meal either’, I said to Audy. We sat at the roof top of the sandstone structure which housed the reception underneath drinking the second bottle of wine as we went through all the pictures and videos from earlier. The stars were shining bright. I was physically exhausted and other than making the customary call to my parents highlighting the adventures for the day I could barely have a conversation with Audy.

‘Sir, dinner is being served’, said the waiter almost over an hour later.

‘What? You never told us. I thought this was dinner. You gave us three plates of pakoras. I am not eating anymore,’ I responded.

‘No, we should. They made it for us. Otherwise it will go to waste,’ Audy replied.

‘We have a video call with Nant soon right? I told you my phone battery is almost done and I need to charge it.’ I said amidst a bit of confusion.

‘Ok. So we’ll ask them to send the food to the room’, she said.

‘No we will eat in the cafeteria after I charge my phone,’ I said.

‘Look at the time Binny. It’s already late. You’re tired and not making any sense!’

That conversation was the genesis of our first fight as a married couple on the eve of our first anniversary. It spawned such unnecessary resentment, touching upon all the frivolous aspects of our relationship that in hindsight seems so ridiculous. Voices were raised, tears shed. And things didn’t get any better after the 90 minute argument once Audy fell asleep after eating a meal cold. I sat on the chair next to the coffee table covered with her clothes and looked upwards to the roof of the tent. There was a scorpion sitting at the meeting point of the rods where the sheets met. It could fall and land directly on the bed! I slithered my way in and attempted to wake Audy. She was out cold. After shrugging her once again, she turned to me with those same piercing eyes and I said,

‘Hey…It’s midnight. Happy anniversary bubba!’

‘Hmmm’ she responded.

‘Wait…there’s something else. It’s very urgent! Look up! There’s a scorpion right above us.’

She got up, looked closely and said, ‘That’s not a scorpion. It’s a grasshopper.’

‘What? No way!’ I responded.

‘Please don’t bother me. I need to sleep,’ she said.

I was terrified. I wouldn’t stand up on the bed to get a closer look. What if it she was wrong and it attacked in defense? This risk was far too great. Uneasiness turned into internal panic. So I could do only one thing to calm the nerves. I put on the headphones to jazz things up and distract myself from whatever the thing on the tent roof was.

Enter John Coltrane. The sensitive bebop soothed the senses and had me begin to wonder why I was feeling so uncomfortable in a place that had an imprint on my genetic code. ‘I chose to visit this place to know where I come from. Why is my mind rejecting it’, I thought. I was more focused on the ambience and less the purpose, and that had put things completely off track.

‘I need to fix this. The first thing that I gotta do when I wake up is make amends with Audy!’

𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝑰𝑽 𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒅 ‘𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑯𝒖𝒏𝒕’ 𝒐𝒏 𝑺𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒕 𝟭𝟭 𝒂𝒎 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝑻𝒊𝒎𝒆