After an amazing 2 days in the blue city of Jodhpur, we headed north and west towards the Pakistan border to Jaisalmer. Jaisalmer is named after its founder Maharawal Jaisal Singh, a Rajput king in 1156 AD. “Jaisalmer” means “the Hill Fort of Jaisal”. Jaisalmer is sometimes called the “Golden City of India” because the yellow sand and the yellow sandstone used in every architecture of the city gives a yellowish-golden tinge to the city and its surrounding area.
Jaisalmer has an imposing fort, built in 1156 by the Bhati Rajput ruler Jaisal, Jaisalmer. The famous Indian film director Satyajit Ray wrote a detective novel and later turned it into a film − Sonar Kella (The Golden Fortress) which was based on this fort. This is a living fort and about a quarter of city’s population still live within its protective walls.
Jaisalmer is the quintessential India of one’s childhood dreams and it never fails to offer up a fantastic array of photographic possibilities.
The image above and below are images are of an astonishing woman who I met years ago while visiting a village of “untouchables” (the lowest caste in India). Every year since meeting her, I make a point to visit her with my photo tour group. There’s something absolutely wonderful about her. Perhaps it’s the way she carries herself, and the way she interacts with her children, and her humble, welcoming, confident manner. To say that I am enamored with her might be an understatement.
Each year I spend most of my time during our short visit to her village, interacting and photographing exclusively, her. I’m including a series of images (more than I usually post of an individual) because of the personal connection I have made with her, the story of which is chronicled here (click link). The story entitled “The Untouchable” ended up being the most popular blog post I’ve ever written.
For those interested even further, here’s one more blog post about the “untouchable” woman.
The kids are growing up.
Yes, they are Janet! Amazing how time time can fly!