Snapshots - meet Gantatsing (by Joe)

Naturally, one of the most interesting things about travelling is the people you meet. Thought I'd put down a few snapshots from time to time of people we cross paths with.

This is Gatatsing (above). He is 49 and has an incredibly dry voice (filterless fags and desert air). He farms a plot in the Rajasthani desert on behalf of a wealthy family from Jodhpur with the help of his two sons (see one of them in the photo).

He is very proud of his tractor and expressly asked that I take the picture with him in front of it. Tractors are increasingly used in India, (we've seen lots of tractor shops and ads on journeys through the countryside), though they remain less common than horse or camel-drawn ploughs and seem to be aspirational.

Currently he is farming aloe vera which, popular in the west, makes a good export price.

According to Gatatsing, opportunities for large scale farming in Rajasthan have only become possible recently as electricity (to run pumps) has become more widespread through a Government-funded scheme. Wells from which water is pumped have to be around 80 metres deep in his region.

Joe