The mongoose refused to return to his smelly feast

So now Yussef and I are in Jodhpur 260k north west of Udaipur. It doesn't sound big mileage by western standards but it has taken all day threading our way along narrow roads filled with goats, sheep, cows, water buffaloes, camels, elephants, enormous lorries carrying who knows what, tuc tucs, cars, wedding processions and loads of people...we stopped to investigate loofah gourds that are vine fruits that twine up hedges and trees – they can be eaten when young and green but these were 18” or more long and hard like rocks and will need to be left in water to soften up and lose their decayed flesh before extracting the veins. There were colonies of huge fox-faced fruit bats whose leathery black wings flapped in the wind as they hung from eucalyptus tree twigs – it wasn't safe to stand under the tree of course for it was like being under a bird roost!

We visited one temple that is dedicated to the Royal Enfield motorbike. It is traditional for all vehicles to stop and the occupants to pay homage – for the bike belonged to a local man who was killed in an accident on that spot. The bike was taken to the local police station 14 miles away but mysteriously found its way back to the accident spot. The police took it back 3 times in all and always it reappeared at the place where it now sits enshrined and nobody knows how it gets there. Sometimes people see the deceased late at night or early in the morning and there are many trees and fences that are covered in bangles and threads that people wind about them in order to protect them and their family on life's journey.

At one place we found a tractor trailer full of tree branches that had overturned with the tractor almost overturning too and watched as another tractor hauled it upright again with ropes. At another place a group of people were helping the two bus boys haul a utility wagon up onto the roof of a sleeper bus. A utility wagon is a 3 wheeler 60cc engine with a fixed trailer over the back wheels so it was a mighty feat. We watched a mother and son processing to their temples to invite the deities to the marriage ceremony; lots of newly married brides still in their wedding jewellery which they will not remove until their hennaed hands fade completely but the star was this mongoose. We disturbed him feasting on a very stinky, blown carcase of a cow beside and road and waited for half an hour to see if he would return from his perch on a rock nearby. Eventually the smell got too overpowering so this is the only good capture I could make – it doesn't show his long bushy tail. I will put a link on tomorrow when/if I can upload pics - have had to walk around this a.m. to get a connection just fo this