I recently returned from an extended visit to the Raika sheep nomads that are on their annual migration to Southern Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. They rely mostly on camels to transport their belongings, including beds, lambs and small children. It is the chore of women to load and unload them. It was marvelous to see how the camels cooperated - I even want to say collaborated. They patiently allowed themselves to be packed and seemed to know that their burden was precious. Even an old blind sheep was carefully tied up into sling.

One can hardly imagine a more eco-friendly way of transportation. Unfortunately, the Government of Rajasthan has legislation in the pipeline that will make life so much more difficult for the nomads. In an effort to "save the camel", special permits will be required to move any camel across state borders. A chunk of bureaucracy that nobody needs and that will certainly not contribute to "saving camels".

And here is a picture of me, being nuzzled by one of the camels, curious whether I would join the group on migration. unfortunately I had to politely decline, as my desk was beckoning. But I promised to be back soon and share photographs, as well as more solar-powered mobile chargers...