spinning cotton beside the road

Still in Nagaur

Another day wandering around the animals at the show – watching the horse competitions and occasional recalcitrant bulls pulling their stock men this way and that through the tethered animals which just watched on placidly. These brahminy bulls with their humps are so much more docile though than western animals, nevertheless no cows are allowed – can you imagine how much testosterone is around! There were decorated camel and moustache competitions, but with only 3 entrants in each we weren't unhappy that we couldn't find the venue and made our way west to see the Siberian Cranes instead. They come for the winter to the same ponds each year and are fed by the locals. There seemed to be double the number that were there last year and they moved in a great grey mass until suddenly something would disturb them, a dog or a child perhaps, and then in waves they would take off carefully one by one, gathering numbers but no collisions occurred. When they came in to land again they seemed to float down gently like parachutes, almost stalling before hopping just a couple of paces. They sometimes waded in the rather vile looking water but mostly stood beside it to drink.

On the way to the cranes we found this 80 year old lady sitting beside the road spinning cotton for making khadi bandar garments just as Gandhi did. More photos to come another day – very little internet connection here