VIII

Haipui Healing

" And. if the following day they chanch. to find

A new repast, or an unfcasted sping

Will bless their stars, and think it luxury! "

C^N the merciless glare of the desert sun that creates
J many a mirage, the camel with resignation and
patience carries its burden—fche Eajpub with his turban,
the wife in her bright costume, and the children. This
is a part of India where the many colours of flowers and
the green of <foliage are seldom seen. Little wonder,
then, that the women of Eajaputana choose brightly
coloured costumes and glittering jewellery. As the sun
travels across the heavens, the changing light paints the
landscapes with varied hues, and even a barren land
becomes beautiful. Nature in her myraid moods and
the brightly clothed, women make of Eajput realms a
land of colour—colour that always attracts the
human eye.

The traveller in Eajputana sees much that belongs
to the plateau of Algeria, and particularly fche feature
common to all deserts, the camel—the ship of the desert,
as he is called, but really the king of the desert. The
Thar, geographically, occupies a large portion in the
regions of Eajpufcana; it is not all white sands, perhaps,
like the greater deserts, but barren land; barren in
vegetation, yet fertile in history and warriors. At one
time the chief capital of t his romantic land was
Ohitorgarh, but it is today a deserted city-fort.