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Where is the Thar Desert
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Bath and Body Works Coupons Mattress Offset Umbrella Where is the Thar DesertThe origin of the Thar desert is a controversial subject. Some consider it to be only 4000 to 10,000 years old, whereas others state that aridity started in this region much earlier. Also known as The Great Indian Desert, it is spread over four states in India, namely Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Gujarat, and two states in Pakistan and covers an area of about 4,46,000 square kilometres.The average annual rainfall of the region varies from 100 to 500 mm, it is distributed very erratically, occurring mostly between July and September. The mean average temperature varies from a minimum of 24 degrees C to 26 degrees C in summer to 4 degrees C to 10 degrees C in winter. One unique feature of this desert is that there is neither an oasis in it nor any artesian well. No native cactus or palm tree breaks the monotony of the vast expanse. Stretches of sand in the desert are interspersed by hillocks and sandy and gravel plains. Due to the diversified habitat, the vegetation and animal life in this arid region is very rich. About 23 species of lizard and 25 species of snakes are found here and several of them are endemic to the region. Some wildlife species, which are fast vanishing in other parts of India, are found in the desert in large numbers such as the great Indian bustard, the black buck, the Indian gazelle, and the wild ass in the Rann of Kutch. How these animals and insects survive in these harsh conditions, under such high temperature and without drinking water and green vegetation is amazing. They have evolved excellent survival strategies, their size is smaller than other similar animals living in different conditions, and they are mainly nocturnal. There are certain other factors responsible for the survival of these animals in the desert. Due to the lack of water in this region, transformation of the grasslands into cropland has been very slow.The protection provided to them by a local community, the Bishnois is also a factor. The increase of human and livestock population in the desert has lead to a deterioration in the ecosystem resulting in degradation of soil fertility and vegetation. "The Thar desert region of Rajasthan in North-West India is one of the most inhospitable landscapes on earth. Plan project and community workers here live and work in this vast, sprawling, arid and shape-changing environment. Apart from the huge distances between hamlets and settlements here, the landscape is constantly shifing with the sand, as wind and sandstorms re-arrange the landscape at will. This, added to the lack of water in such an arid region, means that the villagers of the area often find themselves migrating on foot across hundreds of miles towards neighbouring states in search of water. They then return as soon as it is possible to their hamlets in the desert. Life is a struggle here, but this centuries-old way of life continues here against all odds." From India Thar Desert "A lot of people quite rightly come to Jaisalmer for the fortress, and a lot of people come for the wonderful desert atmosphere, but it feels as if the majority of tourists come for the camel safaris on offer. I was no exception, but visiting during the off-season proved to be a blessing. I'd met a friendly girl called Veronique on the Jodhpur train, and we were both interested in going on a safari, so we booked and waited to see if any more tourists would turn up. They didn't, and as a result we had a much more personal experience: with just the two of us plus two guides and three camels, it felt like a real adventure as we headed off into the stifling heat of the Thar Desert. The group was four people and three camels strong. I was on Sukia, complete with a branded ship's anchor on his rear flank (a true ship of the desert), Veronique was on Lula, and our guides, Ali and Sagra, variously rode and pulled Gula. Ali, an only child Muslim (a rarity in this country of multiple-child families) was an interesting character: very clued up and with good English, he was an excellent tourist liaison between the older desert expert Sagra and us complete novices. He sang Urdu trail songs, showed us his tiny home village, and always looked spotless in his white shirt and lungi. Sagra, on the other hand, was a Rajasthani Hindu through and through, with his twirled moustache, bright yellow turban1, holey shirt and well-loved dhoti. He spoke little English (most of his conversations were in the local language) and although he was a quiet man, when he spoke everyone shut up and listened to what he had to say. The chemistry between the two was magical: the young business expert and the old man of the desert. Trees in the Thar Desert have flat bottoms where camels graze them Veronique was no stranger to the desert either. She and her husband (who once gave up his job as a journalist to study the subject of wine for a year, and is now export manager for one of New Zealand's top wineries) had toured southern Africa together, and she'd been on other trips there too, so luckily I wasn't in the presence of a dweeby indoors person. Not surprisingly, we clicked well. This was a good thing: life in the desert is hard. Your drinking water is always hot (which I found reminding me of good times in Australia); you sleep in the afternoon when the only thing that moves is the heat haze; the food is basic – chapatis and vegetable curry – but Sagra and Ali managed to create such variety out of so few ingredients that it was more than passable; pans are cleaned with sand and fires are made from sticks and cow shit; and you sleep on the sand dunes, a romantic idea but not quite the picnic one would expect. 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