By camel through the desert

Although I dared not hoping it would really become true, Babu kept word. He needed to go see his uncle for debating about buying new animals (mainly cows and some horses). Since his uncle was living on his farm in the middle of the desert, we could not go by car. Only option left was Shaun. Nandinis camel. Since I first met Shaun, I totally fell in love with this gracious and majestic animal. I loved his giant big and gentle eyes, his endlessly long eyelashes and his always puckered lips. How he would always look like he´s just woken up from a very long nap, with his bedroom eyes and slow chewing motion by grinding his jaw. The moment Babu announced that we would be going on a camel safari, like a little kid I started counting the days until I would finally get to ride Shaun.

The morning of the camel safaThe morning of the camel safari, we woke up early and went to Babus Hostel where he kept Shaun. It was about a five minute drive by car from his house, so not very far. We took it slow this morning, as always in India. Before work, there was always time for chai. And some chatter. Some more chai, and some more chatter. The sun came up, and we were still drinking chai in our plastic stools up on the rooftop of the hostel, watching the sunrise. Babus camelman made the chai for us. Best chai I have ever tasted, made over the fire fueled with cow dung. Babu said, that was what made the chai so good. Then, the camelman (Babu paid him for living on his farm, taking care of the cows and Shaun) started to pull out the camels´ harness. It was so playful, fancy and bright, it was a beautiful sight watching him put all these colors on Shaun. He put three colorful necklaces around Shauns neck without any other purpuse than for him to just look pretty. It was just such a pleasure to watch the camelman interact with this big but gentle animal. Shaun seemed used to the process of bridle because he bent down his head immediatly when the camelman got the headpiece ready. The skinny man tied a rope to a piece of wood sticking out of the right side of the bridge of Shauns nose. They had pierced him there to be able to control him through it. It didn´t take much strength for guiding since it was a senstive part and Shaun instantly reacted to it. Next, the camelman made Shaun get onto his knees. An interesting thing about camels which I didn´t know about was that on their front legst, they had three parts instead of two, which by kneeling down all fold together perfectly. It is fascinating to watch them get down, I still don´t feel able to explain it to you here, but if you ever get the chance to ride a camel, have a closer look! I found it a very profound fact to know that their actual knee is not in the middle of their front legs but rather upwards. Just a little note for you here:)ri, we woke up early and went to Babus Hostel where he kept Shaun. It was about a five minute drive by car from his house, so not very far. We took it slow this morning, as always in India. Before work, there was always time for chai. And some chatter. Some more chai, and some more chatter. The sun came up, and we were still drinking chai in our plastic stools up on the rooftop of the hostel, watching the sunrise. Babus camelman made the chai for us. Best chai I have ever tasted, made over the fire fueled with cow dung. Babu said, that was what made the chai so good.

The morning of the camel safari, we woke up early and went to Babus Hostel where he kept Shaun. It was about a five minute drive by car from his house, so not very far. We took it slow this morning, as always in India. Before work, there was always time for chai. And some chatter. Some more chai, and some more chatter. The sun came up, and we were still drinking chai in our plastic stools up on the rooftop of the hostel, watching the sunrise. Babus camelman made the chai for us. Best chai I have ever tasted, made over the fire fueled with cow dung. Babu said, that was what made the chai so good.

Then, the camelman (Babu paid him for living on his farm, taking care of the cows and

Shaun) started to pull out the camels´ harness. It was so playful, fancy and bright, it was a beautiful sight watching him put all these colors on Shaun. He put three colorful necklaces around Shauns neck without any other purpuse than for him to just look pretty. It was just such a pleasure to watch the camelman interact with this big but gentle animal. Shaun seemed used to the process of bridle because he bent down his head immediatly when the camelman got the headpiece ready. The skinny man tied a rope to a piece of wood sticking out of the right side of the bridge of Shauns nose. They had pierced him there to be able to control him through it. It didn´t take much strength for guiding since it was a senstive part and Shaun instantly reacted to it. Next, the camelman made Shaun get onto his knees. An interesting thing about camels which I didn´t know about was that on their front legst, they had three parts instead of two, which by kneeling down all fold together perfectly. It is fascinating to watch them get down, I still don´t feel able to explain it to you here, but if you ever get the chance to ride a camel, have a closer look! I found it a very profound fact to know that their actual knee is not in the middle of their front legs but rather upwards. Just a little note for you here:)

So Shaun got down and the camelman (we never found out his real name as Babu would always only refer to him as camelman) put a saddle on him made out of wood padded with cushions. I was the first one to ride, so Babu signaled me to climb up. I was sitting up front, and a lady from canada right behind me. I had two handles on the saddle to hold on to, she only got my back. Without further notice, Shaun started to get up in a intense jolt. We both got taken by surprise, but I was pretty quick in reacting. I gripped the handles while the ladys fingernails clawed into my skin very hard. We both got thrown backwards, and her grip got even more firm. I tensed every muscle in my body to seek control, but she just jiggled like saggy jello and took me with her. Pain rushed through my back, but she wouldn´t let go, even now that the camel was standing. She was panicking behind me, almost falling off and making the camel nervous by screaming and panting. Sometimes I really am amazed at how lazy we humands have become and how our bady is just as limp like a potato sack! She was wiggling at every step the camel took. We managed to calm her down after a few minutes and she started to relax. Her grip on my back loosened, and I gasped out in relief. The first few steps on Shaun were a bit unfamiliar, but I got used to his pace pretty fast and started to adapt my movements to his. The lady in the back had more problems adjusting, and after a short while her legs started to fall asleep. She started moaning into my ears, and when it started to get on my nerves I suggested for her to get down and walk when she felt such pain riding him. She did not listen. So all way through the desert, I had her groan in my ear and got pretty annoyed. One hour. They said it would take us one long hour through the desert to the farm of Babus uncle. One long hour of groaning and panting…I was not looking forward to it.

So Shaun got down and the camelman (we never found out his real name as Babu would always only refer to him as camelman) put a saddle on him made out of wood padded with cushions. I was the first one to ride, so Babu signaled me to climb up. I was sitting up front, and a lady from canada right behind me. I had two handles on the saddle to hold on to, she only got my back. Without further notice, Shaun started to get up in a intense jolt. We both got taken by surprise, but I was pretty quick in reacting. I gripped the handles while the ladys fingernails clawed into my skin very hard. We both got thrown backwards, and her grip got even more firm. I tensed every muscle in my body to seek control, but she just jiggled like saggy jello and took me with her. Pain rushed through my back, but she wouldn´t let go, even now that the camel was standing. She was panicking behind me, almost falling off and making the camel nervous by screaming and panting. Sometimes I really am amazed at how lazy we humands have become and how our bady is just as limp like a potato sack! She was wiggling at every step the camel took. We managed to calm her down after a few minutes and she started to relax. Her grip on my back loosened, and I gasped out in relief. The first few steps on Shaun were a bit unfamiliar, but I got used to his pace pretty fast and started to adapt my movements to his. The lady in the back had more problems adjusting, and after a short while her legs started to fall asleep. She started moaning into my ears, and when it started to get on my nerves I suggested for her to get down and walk when she felt such pain riding him. She did not listen. So all way through the desert, I had her groan in my ear and got pretty annoyed. One hour. They said it would take us one long hour through the desert to the farm of Babus uncle. One long hour of groaning and panting…I was not looking forward to it.

Babu and Kani had to walk, since we could only fit two people on Shauns back at a time, and to say it in Babus (a little rude) words: he didn´t want two heavy people on Shaun at the same time. That is why me and the lady from canada got to ride first, while Kani would get to ride Shaun on the way back. He chose to walk both ways because he was used to it, so it was only up to me to do both ways as I was declared «not too heavy » as a second person. The desert was somehow pretty bleak and unkind. There were some dry bushes and very few trees that all looked dead and lost here. The camelman was leading Shaun, and I was glad we had him since I would have most certainly gotten lost in this god foresaken place where everything looked exactly the same. From far away, we saw a mountain in the middle oft he desert, and it never seemed like we would get any closer no matter how long and far we walked, but at one point we were suddenly there, passing the mountain to our left. Turned out to be more like a big hill, all piled up dirt in different colors. It started from a little canyon and it somehow looked manmade, so I was wondering if they were doing mining work here. We were now pretty far ahead from the two others who were walking, but we kept going. I didn´t know how much time had passed, but I was sure that we simply HAD to be there soon. It must have been an hour already! The sun was out, but it was not hot yet. We started our journey around eight this morning, so it was actually a good thing to be the first to walk on foot, because the way back would surely be much hotter and strenuous because of the heat around midday. I saw a hill and thought, that the farm had to be behind that hill for sure. We passed the hill and there was still no farm in sight. I saw the next hill and thought, maybe behind this one… and got proven wrong. In the end I gave up, giving in to the constant moaning and panting coming from behind and just lost myself in this infinite expanse of the desert.

We did arrive. At some point. It took us more than an hour, but at one point the farm finally came in sight. We tied up Shaun outside and went in, and got greeted by the uncle, his two sons, their dog and a cat. As soon as we sat down, the boys were sent inside to make us some chai. Chai was always served to guests. After a couple or more minutes, Babu and Kani arrived. Kani looked exhausted and had covered her head with a scarf. I was impressed that she had pulled through. I wasn´t entirely sure that I was gonna make the way back in this heat! We drank the chai and then the uncle demanded his boys to present us one of the horses from their breed. They offered us to ride it, and I took a try. It was pretty uncomfortable due to the skinny back of the horse (no saddle) you could feel her spine cutting in between your legs. She was so tiny and fragile that I soon got off, scared to break her spine with my weight. Babu was dared to try too, but the horse did not seem happy about it and fell into a light trott. Babu flew off under thunderous laughter on our part. The horse seemed so scared and intimidated, that I was wondering if it had been beaten a lot. While the others were still amused, I felt bad for riding her now. She had the for indian horses typical ears that pointed towards each other. The boys tied her to a handle by the stable where she had some hay to eat, and then everybody left to go join the others in the cowstable to start about doing their business. I stayed behind. A thought about what the canadian lady had just said before everybody left crossed my mind: she let the horse sniff her before touching it. Her comment: «I want the horse to trust me first!» I found it a very nice thought. Trust was so important but mattered so little when it came to animals. And this particular animal seemed not to trust anyone on these grounds. It rather seemed pretty terrified for its life. So when everybody left, I wanted to try it out for myself and slowly started to approach the horse. It still looked frightened and its eyes widened in pure shock, watching every step I made. I came to a stop about a meter away from the horse and just leaned against the hay box. Carefully, I placed my arm on the box, outstreched towards her, palms up. Like an invitation. I wanted to allow the horse to seek contact whenever it was ready. So I waited, holding perfectly still and clearly looking the other way. After a few minutes, the horse realized I wasn´t going to do anything without her asking for it. So when I showed no interest towards her, curiosity won and her head came closer, slowly. I did not move an inch. Not even a twitch in my hand. The horse got more confident, and after some hesitation, it gently touched my hand with its nostrils. Smelled. When I still didn´t move, she took a step closer and tenderly rubbed her cheek against my palm, a shy plea for some caressing and affection. Very careful and slow, I started to move only my fingers, tickling her on the spot she offered to me. Else, I did not move. She came another step closer and held her head down. I raised my hand, slowly, careful not to startle it, and scratched over her forehead. After a while, she pleasantly closed her eyes. We stayed like that for a while, and the more confidence the horse had in me, the more parts she let me caress. When the others returned, so did the fear. She almost jumped at the noise the others made just by coming around the corner talking. Now, I was sure that this horse had experienced things that made it be this scared. Traumatized even. And I felt bad leaving it here. I could feel a small twinge of conscience nagging at me, but what was I supposed to do? I could not save every animal on this planet ! And I for sure could not save a tiny rawboned horse on a farm in the middle of the desert of Northern India. But I tried to cling onto the though that I have been one person in its life that had enabled it to feel save and loved, even for only a couple of minutes. I really hoped it would never forget and live on memories like that. And I promised myself that from now on, I would be more regard- and respectful around animals – they deserved it as much as we did.

After business was over and deals were made, it was time for us to leave the desert farm. It was Kanis turn to ride Shaun, and since Babu had hurt his leg from falling down the horse, we made him ride in the back. It was warmer now. But I felt good walking. Riding a camel really hasn´t turned out to be very comfortable, and I could feel my butt hurting from the wooden saddle too. We had been walking the desert for about half an hour when we passed an indian woman with her goats, grazing in the shade by a water well. Babu was done riding and wanted to get down. And so did Kani. She could not handle the pain anymore. And since I regarded it as a one in a lifetime chance to ride a camel, I gladly took the offer and got on a second time for the rest of the way. By myself. Although I had scratches on my back, a sore butt and bruises on my legs from riding, I enjoyed every minute of it. With a better saddle, I am sure it would have been a more enjoyable ride, but still I will never forget this journey. Camels are just great creatures! And the thing I learned from this day: that even animals feel the need to trust.