Following in the hoof prints of the Rajput warriors, Nicky Holford gallops through the magnificent Thar Desert atop her trusty Marwari steed.
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The sun is beating down and dust gets in my eyes as I swerve to avoid a startled camel that lopes across my path. But my horse is unfaltering, a true warrior weaving through rows of millet, unfazed by the numerous obstacles in his path.
I’m inches from the horse in front, whose thundering hooves transport me to the days of the Rajput warriors galloping into battle, far from the chaos of Rajasthan’s busy cities.
We are in the Shekhawati region,north of Jaipur, on the edge of the Thar Desert, 400 kilometres from the Pakistan border. We have abandoned the golden triangle of Rajasthan and replaced the trappings of tourism with tumbling forts and deteriorating merchant havelis.
Now off the beaten track, this region was once an important caravan route across the Thar Desert between Delhi and Sindh (which is now part of Pakistan) and the Gujarati coast. Its history comprises battle and religion: today both Muslimand Rajput influences are part of its character, and its history of Rajput warriors is rich. One of its attractions is the havelis left to deteriorate by the
Marwari merchants, many of which are accessible to the public. A combination of tax-free advantages and profits from trade led merchant families to build imposing havelis embellished with
hand-painted murals telling stories of battles and love, decorated with big glass chandeliers and the latest fittings of the time from Europe.
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