Rajasthan

Life on the Dunes

Sohini Chattopadhyay

Photographer Gauri Gill’s images of Rajasthan are distinct for their absence of colour. She says that would have just got in her way.

For the Love of Polo

Charu Bahri

In Rajasthan, the game of kings is an aspirational recreation—for queens, rich tourists and poor mahouts alike. But riding a horse is not a skill that can be hired for a day, and therefore there’s also chauffeured polo, atop elephants and camels.

Tilonia’s Solar Sisters

Sohini Chattopadhyay

In a village in Rajasthan, illiterate African women are being taught to become solar engineers

Chewing on It in Pushkar

Rahul Jayaram

Away from the more famous ongoing cattle fest, Pushkar’s first literature festival left ample mental fodder to chew on.

In Search of the Snake Demon

Jay Mazoomdaar

In the heart of Thar Desert, a mysterious snake is believed to be sucking the life out of its victims in their sleep without ever having to bite. Horror stories about the peeuna (one that drinks) have travelled across the sands for centuries. We chase the myth to find the snake behind the scare