You can topple off a camel when it's rising on its hind legs or lowering itself on its forelegs. You can also fall when it turns sharply to one side, and, if you are not careful, you can even slip when it's walking briskly. If you have a lazy stomach, or have consumed something hard to digest, ride a camel. Its gait causes your back and stomach to trace a spiral trajectory, even as your bobbing head manages to hod back and forth. The anxiety of the first 15 minutes is also excellent for the heart, while forearms and wrists are exercised in the vital process of holding on to the saddle. If you are still anxious after the first 15 minutes,get off pronto in the interest of your cholesterol-choked urban arteries, otherwise roll on.
By now, you have figured out that the key to keeping your seat is to sit loose, rather than tight, and go with the flow of the beast. Also, by now, the turbaned Raika has led you far away from the fort, palace or desert camp where you are staying. As Rajasthani towns are small, you are probably in the countryside, with tall kejdi trees lining your path.
The camel will now insist on stopping and stripping a few kejdi branches of their thin, tender leaves, while the Raika will persuade it otherwise with a sharp knock to its knee. Regardless of the outcome of this debate, it's best to guard yourself against the outstretched thorny branches of the trees.
In the countryside, you will be made to feel like an elephant in a Gurgaon mall. Everybody, especially the kids, will stop to stare at you. Giggly voices will declare you a gora (white), notwithstanding your native colour. You will be asked "vaatij your nim" and showered with bye-byes. If you are attired in shorts, consider your foreigner status stamped and sealed. By the way, bare calves mean enduring the prickly camel hair pressing through the bright saddlecloth.
A camel's passage through the countryside has a charming effect on other beasts, at least in places where it is not too common a sight (contrary to belief, most of Rajasthan is like that). Cows and buffaloes that routinely defy pressure horns will run at the camels approach. A buffalo running with its tail in the air is spectacular, to say the least.
Small talk
Out in the fields, and almost one with the camel by now, you might wonder what it is like to hold the reins. Don't be alarmed if the Raika now offers the black ropes to you on his own. You might fancy the beast making away with you at a trot. More so when it
casts its baleful eye upon the world, sensing the change in pressure on the reins. But it is a wise beast, accustomed to tourists. Running is hard work, so it will head for the fence of henna twigs instead, and steal a quick snack while you wonder whether to pull the reins or dig your heels in its sides, and weigh the possible outcomes of such violence.
You, who spin a big car out of jams everyday, have been humbled by a camel. And the Raika, with the slightest superior air, will resume the 'safari', reins firmly in his hand. This is the time to get chatty with Nemji, or whatever his name is, about camels. If language is a barrier, let your hotel/ camp guide assist.
Ask Nem]i where he bought the camel, and how much it cost. Also ask him how long it's likely to survive. Although common knowledge, you could still ask about and express amazement at the beast's eating and drinking habits. Chances are that your camel is not from the premium Jaisalmeri breed that costs at least Rs 35,000 each. Rather, the Raika would have picked up the Barmeri camel at Pushkar for under Rs 15,000. And though it will live to be 20-25, the Raika won't keep it more than a few years — they change their camels ever so often.
And back
You've been on the camel a couple of hours, and see no point in remaining there much longer. On the way back to your hotel/ camp, you no longer feel the animal's rolling gait, and are barely holding the saddle. Back in the town street, it's the camel's turn to be scared by the sounds of motorbikes and jeeps. The Raika does his best to shield the camel and calm it, but it still takes a few uncertain steps.
On this home run, you realise the change in perspective wrought by your perch. The shop signboards are below you. The shampoo sachets and packets of chips hung at lintel height are also below you. And that explains the high gateways of Rajputana's palaces and havelis:
It's all about ' saving your head.After two hours, you might fancy yourself as an accomplished camel rider, but now, as the beast dips on its forelegs, remember to hold on to the saddle. And then again, as it drops its rump. Finally, you are there!
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