Day four saw us pass through the Khmbalgargh nature reserve, passing from the Rajsamand district into the Pali district, from the Aravelli mountains into the plains, dust and heat. The 12km ride through the nature reserve was without incident, we saw no wildlife, unlike in the Pali district where I saw a herd of 12 Nilgai once, a viper snake crushed on the road, lots of mongoose and some monitor lizards. When we reached the gate on the Pali district side a cute little dog adopted us after I fed it a chapatti. She loyally followed us for the 6kms to the Jain temple in this photo, where I tied Chandra up and we both had lunch and two hours rest before riding on to Narlai.
While digesting my Jain temple lunch, free from garlic, potatoes or onions as they are life forms and it would kill the plant to eat them, another dog came by. I have a photo somewhere of a dog I once found in a similar state, there really is no way that I can describe it other than that it was walking around with its brain falling out in a blackened and stinking cavity full of maggots where an ear or eye once was. It has been like that for some time, the locals chased him away with sticks and stones before I could get close to him.
From the temple it was 25kms ride to Ajit Singh's farm, and on the road we encountered a loose female horse for the second time that day (the first being near Khumbalgargh). Although very excited by the sight of another horse I managed to keep Chandra under control (without a bit too may I add!) and we eventually arrived at Ajit's stables at 4:30pm.
In that strange Indian way that makes my question my ideas of determinism, chance, coincidences and so on Dr Naveen had popped in to visit Ajit. Dr Naveen is a government vet from Desuri, a nearby town. Having graduated from Vet school in Bikaner he got the standard government job stationed in his hometown and settling into the tedium of artificial insemination of cows and helping farmers increase milk yield. His elder brother is also a vet however he went to work for Help in Suffering, a very good charity in Jaipur city, thanks to whom Jaipur is now a rabies free city for the first time, proving how effective the animal birth control and vaccination programs can be.
Anyways Dr Naveen's brother showed him how to de-sex dogs and so they started up their own little animal birth control program in their own free time, from their own pockets. Dr Naveen would catch a dog after tempting it with food and then operate on it, one per day meant that a couple hundred were done before people started to notice. Sadly the said people were Hindus, very religious Hindus, who formally complained that this doctor was depriving these dogs of the precious ability to give life without even getting their consent. So they moved Naveen and he began again, and again the Hindus noticed and complained. And so Naveen was told in no uncertain terms that if he didn't stop his silly hobby they'd station him out in the Jaisalmer or Barmer districts. And so he had to stop, although he still helps wounded dogs he finds and so I was able to tell him of that mornings dog and he promised to tell all vets in the area to carry an injection on them to put the dog to sleep when they found it. So the poor dog got lucky and his suffering was lessened thanks to some lucky coincidences on its part. Rabies is still a huge problem in the Pali district, ignorance aiding its spread.
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