𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐖𝐄𝐃𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐄𝐗

Part II the search  As I began the pursuit of finding a gift I remembered a dear friend of mine whom I had met just months prior to my near-death accident in 2013. Her techniques in jewelry making had developed considerably, and in fact, I had already become a customer since. Audy adored the pieces she made. So I rang her up to learn that she had just finished her latest collection and then sent me some pictures. Intrigued by the first design,  [manifestdesign.in] I asked for some background on the necklaces and learned that the elegant metal pieces were sourced from a deaf and mute artisan from Reha, a small village in Kutch, Gujarat, and she decided to expand on his expertise by sandcasting thin brass elements into them. The artisan couldn’t believe how beautiful they looked when she was done. The thread to be worn around the neck was made from someone else in Rajasthan and the final piece was assembled by her team in Goa. I was completely sold. Boom! It seemed as though all things were falling into place for the anniversary trip. I quickly checked to see where brass falls on the traditional anniversary gift list and it was nowhere to be found. Cotton or paper seemed to plain, so I concluded that our first will be titled our brass anniversary. At the end of February after I received my copies of the book from the first print run, I decided to visit my paternal Great Uncle and Aunt to give them one. My Great Uncle, of course, was gracious in writing an eloquent Foreword for the book, at 90 years young. They were pleased to receive it and us, so they asked if we would join them over a cup of tea, to spend some time in getting to know the newest daughter of the family. In the midst of Audy being asked about her family, I took the opportunity to ask my paternal Great Uncle about the history of ours and this is how the conversation went: ‘Papa mentioned that our ancestors were desert dacoits, Kuldip Mammaji, is it true’, I asked.‘We were smalltime bandits on the Indian Silk Route, not pillaging desert dacoits, so please mind your words’, he responded.‘Um…sorry. So where in Rajasthan are we actually from’, I asked.‘We come from a place called Bhati Village. It is in Jaisalmer, you must visit,’ he said, ‘I was once told that there is a temple with a female deity, which has protected the land for centuries.’‘Interesting. Then the whole clan must’ve migrated to modern day Pakistan at some point,’ I mentioned.‘No. Not all of us. One sect went to Gujarat, the Kutch District,’ he said, ‘this is where the modern day Kutchi Bhatias come from. We are the modern day Lahori (Punjabi) Bhatias.’ I turned to Audy and said, ‘Change of plans…we are going to Jaisalmer!’‘I still need to have a camel ride’, she replied.‘Yeah, fine. Figure out how and where and we’ll do it,’ I said....‘Kush’ https://music.apple.com/th/album/kush/1425184067… 

  [Dizzy Gillespie]

This Dizzy Gillespie track and its album were running on repeat while I was in Mumbai the following week for work. It was the first flight taken and the first face-to-face appointments since February 2020.

The flow of my steps stuttering in tandem with the bounce of the Afro-Cuban beats as I walked from meeting to meeting had things feeling just right. Upon my return, a trip already well planned by Audy during my absence was finalized, and we were to head off the day after the following to first spend two nights with my Great Uncle and Aunt’s daughter and her husband at their home in Gurgaon as the first leg of our trip to Rajasthan.

She was, of course, my confidant during the publishing of the book and had made an invitation immediately after learning of the scheduled historical journey. Upon landing in Jaisalmer, we were to head straight to the desert the first two nights where all outdoor activities were to take place. The following three days would be spent in the city where all tourist spots would be seen, and undoubtedly when a visit to my ancestral village would take place.

While having dinner on the night we arrived in Gurgaon, our host, a retired Colonel (also a Bhatia) from the Indian Army, had quite an amazing experience to share. He was a paratrooper in his early days and during a training exercise they dropped over the Jaisalmer desert. Upon landing he was greeted by a village astonished by a man falling from the sky. They welcomed him to their homes and he learned that he had surprisingly landed in a village of the Bhatia clan! He was as surprised as they were, but due to restrictions in time during military duty, he was unable to further explore the area. ‘You have an exciting few days ahead of you, I’m sure!!’ he said.  Leave comment below Part III : The Desert Spread the word!

The post 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐖𝐄𝐃𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓: 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝑰𝑰 first appeared on ARBIND BHATIA.