3/1/11

Daliesque landscapes of undulating sand. Talia, my desert steed, takes me through the shrub and dunes. I have so many questions about the animals and plants but the almost peace is a rarity to be treasured. The camel’s bells chime and apart from us there is no other sound at present.

In the stillness my conscience wavers. These camels appear healthier than in other places but mine cannot open her left eye and there is a smell of disease about her, the metal pins through their noses are used to guide them and whilst i am glad to see the desert, and not from a jeep, i resolve that the conditions would have to be very different for me to take a trip such as this again.

The desert where time and distance disappear, While time seems irrelevant the position of the sun and stars dictate all and what seems far can be right in front of you but more often than not what seems near is so far away. The sun sets in the distance illuminating Pakistan too before it disappears out of view.

Here in the desert the observation and acknowledgement of sun-up sun-down comes to life for me. In Pushkar i felt separate from its religious significance, grateful as i was for the suns presence and consistency. But in this environment it holds so much weight, the heat it brings or takes away is immediately tangible, the scars it leaves on the sky, the multitude of stars that follow and their clarity. All of it brings an overwhelming sense of life, the universe and everything and a deep seated gratitude to and for what i do not know.