25th February 2014 (Day 17) Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India

Women selling jewellery near the front gate.

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Laneway fabrics stall.

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This woman is sitting here watching the construction workers, as we see in the next image.

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That’s a heavy weight to lift and it looks to me like poor lifting technique.  My understanding is that you keep your back erect and lift from a squat with your legs.  He’s young and fit and may get away with it but his back is at risk.

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No wheelbarrows, it seems.  It must be a very heavy weight for one person.  I hope he doesn’t have to do that too often or I imagine he might end up with compressed vertebrae.

 

A group of women and children at a doctor’s dispensary.

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Selling and weighing vegetables.

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Narrow lanes and motorbikes.

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The cans say “Bikaner Fresh – Refined Groundnut Oil”.  The cow probably doesn’t know that though.

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Havelis are elaborate mansions, usually hundreds of years old.  This elephant guards the entrance to one.

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At first glance this appears to be symmetrical but look closer and all the details on each side are slightly different.  The guide told us that two brothers lived here like in a giant duplex and didn’t get on, but I read online that there were two different architects using the same basic plan but with their own embellishments.  The following two images are different views of the same facade.

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Extreme perspective distortion due to photographing the building looking up from a narrow street.  An exposure from the first floor of the building across the street would probably have been better had there been the access and more time (that’s the second floor for Americans).  I could correct it in Photoshop but correcting it that much would not be easy, would take quite some time, would degrade the image and I’d have to invent new lower corners.

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A painter producing delicate traditional miniatures inside the Haveli.

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This Haveli is part exotic shop and part residence.  This is the owner (slow shutter speed, he is moving) and part of the interior decor.

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This is the shop, with myriad small artefacts for sale.

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Upper floor (internal) above Haveli courtyard.

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From the colour and the time stamp of the image, this must also be in the Haveli.

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This must be out in the street, though nearby.

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Outside in the street, this image and the next two show other Havelis.

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Give way to the cow.

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