talking with strangers


After a fitful night of sleep, I woke early to find myself at a loss as to what to do. My camel safari wouldn’t start for hours so I strolled outside the old city and found myself at the Desert Culture Centre & Museum.

I was greeted by the founder of the museum. He gave me a brief overview of the museum and allowed me to browse at my leisure. At intervals he appeared with wonderful specifics about the exhibit and Rajasthan.

Mr. NK Sharma is a teacher. These days his school is the museum that he founded in Jaisalmer, where he enjoys telling visitors about Rajasthani culture and history. With tourism he feels there are both negative and positive consequences. Jaisalmer is becoming more prosperous with the new businesses including hotels and travel agencies but it comes with a high price— the local people are leaving.

Because he is usually busy during the high season, he doesn’t always have the time to talk to visitors. Clearly his passion is helping others understand Hinduism and desert life. Today, he told me, was my lucky day, he time to talk and answer any questions I might have. I hope I remember everything he told me because his stories were worth retelling.

My interest was immediately piqued when he told me he was married at age 10 and his wife was just 5. I think he meant his marriage was arranged then. Marriage is the root of Hindu culture he said. If you aren’t married you are not respected. (That explains a lot!)

He opened some of the glass cases and showed me his personal relics and artifacts. I saw an opium container, a woman’s make up applicator and some sort of hookah. Amazing, how these items stood the test of time. He showed me original manuscripts, including one of the Kama Sutra in Hindi, musical instruments and traditional clothing.

What I enjoyed the most were the old black and white photographs. Some pictures were of him when he had dressed up as a woman to perform in village plays. Surprisingly the Indian men didn’t look much different than they do today.

Mr. Sharma, as a Brahmin, is devoted to learning, acquiring knowledge and following the liberal arts and sciences. To me he was just a sweet little old man who loved to share his passion with others. He strongly believes in preservation of cultural heritage and desert history. He has written several books on desert life so I bought one to help support this museum.

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