A Journey Through Mārvāṛ from the Perspective of a Camel

With the example of selected fragments of the Ḍholā-Mārū rā dūhā, the poem from the sixteenth century, composed in old Rājasthānī, I would like to present how the peculiarity of Mārvāṛ is described during a journey through this region made by the main character on his miraculous camel. Mārvāṛ as the desert part of Rājasthān is a distinctive region with its characteristic fauna, flora and as the natural habitat of camels. The description of Mārvāṛ is, however, presented in the poem in a quite extraordinary way – in the form of a dialogue provoked by the camel who is disappointed that he had to arrive in this region with his master. This surprising but interesting twist provides a pretext for a positive evaluation of Mārvāṛ by the stranger Ḍholā and a negative one by the typical desert animal. Nevertheless in the paper I will try to demonstrate that the paradox is ostensible as the twist was used to spice up the storyline.