Dinner at Rampura

25 NOV 2016
 
On our brief road trip the last few days we visited Rampura, the ashram’s 35 acre orchard and the future home for Rajasthan’s first eco-retreat. It’s is a tranquil, peaceful place where one can relax and connect with nature. The trees are lovingly tended for and irrigated with a drip system from an on-site rainwater water storage tank that uses solar power to fill and maintain it.
 
At Rampura there is an impressive array of plants, including berries and other shady shrubs, as well as: 650 Israeli date palms, 435 Palm, 585 Lemon, 56 Gunda, 50 Sheesam, 1500 Pomegranate, 5 Bael, 35 Shade, Neem, Peeple, Kathala, and Khejari. If that weren’t enough there are plans for planting additional species of trees including papaya, mango, banana, avocado, ashwaganda, amla, cheekuas well as adding an extensive organic garden. Since the eco-camp has yet be realized, we camped out on cots under the stars on the dark night of a new moon.

I the pleasure of eating wonderful fresh cooked Rajasthani food with chapati cooked over an open fire. The perfecion of this night was completed by sleeping out under a massive array of stars that rival anyplace I have ever been. Being at nearly the same latitudes (Jodhpur at about 27.20˚N, 73.50˚E and Southern Nevada at 36.17˚N 115.24˚W) the stars looked pretty much like a Mojave night sky. I felt at home under such a familiar sky, though I was literally half way around the world from our desert southwest of the US.
 
I could have reached out and touch the milky way.