Beyond the Dunes: Journeys to Rajasthan

AUTHOR NOTES

Juhi Sinha studied English at Delhi University. She began writing while still in her teens and has since then, as a freelance journalist, written for various newspapers and magazines in India. In 1989, she set up her television production company, J.S. Productions, where she writes the script, narration, dialogues and songs. To date she has produced 500-plus programmes in English, Hindi and Urdu.

DESCRIPTION

The many-splendoured tourist Mecca, legendary for its romance, royalty and undulating sand dunes, is explored and examined in this sparkling account of the author's many rendezvous with Rajasthan. In her many avatars as starry-eyed tourist, harried producer of documentary films, lover of music and someone who realizes that there is much more to the desert province than picture-perfect palaces, Juhi Sinha travels to forgotten towns and cities, while also discovering unseen facets of familiar destinations. What emerges is an affectionate portrait of a land and people who simultaneously live in the past and the present.

The author recounts in vivid anecdotes the highlights of her numerous journeys as she traverses the state on holidays and film shoots: from the murals ofShekhawati to the 'Sonar' Qila ofJaisalmer, from the luxurious Heritage Hotels that dot the map, to the barren wastes near Pokaran, stopping along the way to relate the ballads ofMoomal— the princess whose doomed love story is still recounted—and to introduce us to unforgettable characters like Padam Singh, the rickshawallah who doubles as a bird-watching guide, and Nek Muhammad, the folk singer and his troupe who star in her film.