Dune Tunes

Dune Tunes

A dune has a life of its own
Wind gives it energy.
Here now, gone soon after,
Reappearing in a form anew

You can't create or destroy energy,
a wise man had said,
But when you have a dune around,
the same could be said of it

Seemingly destroyed, momentarily,
It rebuilds itself,
Somewhat like a soul..
Formless, timeless, eternal

If dunes were to sing,
what tunes would emerge?
What songs would be heard?
Of heroes, villains, or ordinary folk?

A dune can actually give
more than it receives,
and tune itself to play
the music you wish it to.

Of Jaisalmer and Rajasthan

We drove, a group of six, to Jaisalmer to visit the sand dunes. So now, we can claim to have "dune" it! Or, the dudes who dune it, in Americanese.

We stuck to the highways, except where it was inevitable. Advice from  faculty colleague from Rajasthan helped us select the best routes (via close to Ajmer, Pali, Jodhpur, and back via Jodhpur, Udaipur) and some of the highways were fantastic. Reminded me of the long circular drives where we went to around 20 US states each time (we did that twice)-Yellowstone National Park, Grand Canyon and South Dakota's Mount Rushmore remain etched in memory. Roads have a spinoff effect, and can take the country ahead. So does the metro railway, and Mumbai has developed due to its famed local trains more than anything else. Commuters like a predictable journey time.

Anyway, back to Jaisalmer. Dunes are fun, and every park should have a sand dune in my view. Camel rides are fun too, though some camels look starved. They should be fed well. We also did the dune thing, that is, stayed in a tent for the night, and listened to Rajasthani folk sing their thing and dance their tunes out in the dunes. Ok, I am almost dun with the dunes. For now. More later, with pics.