Picto Diary - 11 January 2016 (Supplement 1) - No osteoporosis?

Above: Inside our tent. Jawai Leopard Camp. Sumerpur, Rajasthan, India. 11 January 2015.

Above: Ajay and Montage at the wheel of vintage jeeps. Jawai Leopard Camp. Sumerpur, Rajasthan, India. 11 January 2015.

Above: Village People. Jawai Leopard Camp. Sumerpur, Rajasthan, India. 11 January 2015.

No hunched over women of a certain age with osteoporosis here?

Above: Members of the Margaret Taylor Dance Troupe taking a tea break. Jawai Lake. Jawai Leopard Camp. Sumerpur, Rajasthan, India. 11 January 2015.

Above: Chigan, Varun, SB, JD. Jawai wildlife guides. Jawai Leopard Camp. Sumerpur, Rajasthan, India. 11 January 2015.

Varun is the supervisor of the guide service. He's a full time professional working for Jawai Leopard Camp. He comes out of the hospitality industry and was trained at Oberoi.

Chigan is a resourceful local discovered by Varun. Chagan is apprenticing to be a guide. He's already a great driver. These guys take the Marutis places only accessible by experienced four wheel drivers. I had more than a few sphincter moments while riding with the able Chigan at the wheel.

JD is a PhD student working on something having to do with crocodiles. His mentor is at the University of North Dakota. His job as a naturalist guide is part time. JD is the only Muslim of the group. He says he likes India and wants to stay here because of the compatibility amongst his Muslim and non-Muslim friends. "I celebrate Hindu and Christian holidays with my Hindu and Christian friends... and they respect my holiday, Ramadan," he says.

SB I didn't go with, so, I didn't get his story.

All of these guys were highly competent... knowledgeable. Rarely did we ask a question about leopards, birds, the geography or topography of the area without getting a satisfactory answer.

Above: People of burden? Sumerpur, Rajasthan, India. 11 January 2015.

Jawai is not just a leopard camp. It is a trip into village life that has been extant muc in the same way for 1000 generations.

Change is afoot. The kids have cell phones. They know what's going on in the outside world. Most are reluctant to adopt the patterns of their parents and ancestors. This "progress" can render some of them vulnerable. Uneducated and illiterate, they go to the city, find menial, low paying work, borrow money, and end up as defacto indentured servants with no future. The film "Slumdog Millionaire" captured this phenomenon.

Above: Ox and cart. Jawai Leopard Camp. Sumerpur, Rajasthan, India. 11 January 2015.

"It depends on whose ox is being gored."

Above: 'Cake and Shock awarded turbines and cowherd staffs. Inducted as honorary citizens of Sumerpur, Rajasthan, India. 11 January 2016.