FINDERS KEEPERS

Photo credits @Colourbox

A couple of summers back our daughter, looking a picture of perfect morning dishevelment, came tearing through the door, running her daily-designated path to our room with as much impatience as a ten year old could muster. Her holidays had started and we had yet to decide where to go. It was sacrilegious that three days had already been wasted and the confusion continued to persist when our daughter’s insistence on seeing sand dunes finally settled the matter (thanks to the chapter “The Great Indian Desert” in her Social Studies book). She was very curious for the experience, so Jaisalmer it was.

We set off to feast on the blazing sunsets and golden sand dunes crossing places like Dechu, Chacha and Pokharan on the way. Jaisalmer, a cairngorm in the barren vastness of dust, is undoubtedly one of Rajasthan’s most beautiful cities that blends so perfectly with its natural surroundings that are so gracefully annotated with the pristine calligraphy of cactus shrubs and date palms. Situated on one of the most traversed trade routes of the world, Jaisalmer once served as a beacon to men who made the perilous journey through the wind washed sands of time. So its imposing forts, magnificently carved havelies, cenotaphs and the body churning camel safaris at Saam were enough to bring back the smile on our daughter’s face. But with a day to spare we were naturally hungry for more. Someone mentioned a village named Khuri nearby. It’s a comparatively little known tourist destination about 50 odd kms away from Jaisalmer. Besides some sand dunes, which they call teebba and clusters of small huts with mud plastered floors and walls (now converted into hotels for tourists) the place, we thought, had little to boast about. We were soon to be proved wrong.

Legend has it that Khuri, which means "fodder" in local lingo, is notorious for its unusual “finders keepers” theory. In the enormous wasteland of the desert the camel aka “ship of the desert” does once in a while face navigational difficulties and lose its way. But God forbid if the camel is found by a native of Khuri it becomes almost impossible to reclaim the animal. “This is how their magic formula works,” we are told by a self-appointed local guide. “The Khuri villager argues that he should be fully compensated for having looked after and fed the animal well for months.” “That seems fair enough”, I argue. “Yes I know. But therein lies the catch Bai Saab. You see, fodder being an expensive and almost rare commodity in this part of the country, the final estimate is always beyond the owner's reach and thus the finder almost always gets to keep the camel.” “Very ingenious,” we admit, now understanding clearly why the village is called khuri.

With a story to take back home we begin to leave when the man, with a hint of mischievousness, adds, “You haven’t heard the most interesting bit hukum.”“And what is that,” we ask in unison. 

“Well, just thought you’d like to know that our very own Finance Minister, Shri Jaswant Singh belongs to this village.”

P.S:- The article was published in
“The Times of India” (Delhi Edition) on
the day the Finance Minister Shri Jaswant Singh
gave his budget speech under the title “Fodder for Jaswant”.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/edit-page/MIDDLEBRFodder-for-Jaswant/articleshow/38804077.cms