“ae mere vatan ke logo, zara aankh mein bharlo paani, jo shahid hue hain unki zara yaad karo kurbaani”
English translation – My fellow countrymen, let your eyes moisten with tears as you remember the sacrifice of the martyrs who have given up their lives for security of our country.
Review of these 2 places are not found on any blogs, as most of the blogs are by non-Indians visiting Rajasthan and foreigners do not visit this site. These places hold sentimental values for Indians and we find out about this after speaking to the locals on the first day – “If you want to see the real Jaisalmer and desert you have to visit these 2 places”.Only Indians visit this place, haven’t yet found foreigners visiting these locations, or maybe it is so close to India-Pakistan border that foreigners are not allowed.
Longewala is small town in the Thar desert in Jaisalemer very close to the India – Pakistan border. The Tanot Mata Temple is situated in the village Tanot of district Jaisalmer. I would recommend the visitor to read up legends and stories (plenty on the internet) related to these two places before visiting. The Tanot Mata Temple is a heritage site maintained and preserved by the Border Security force (BSF).
a 
b 
c 
d 
e 
f 
g 
h 
i
The Tanot Mata temple was unplanned but the best sight seeing day of our tour is today. Its amazing how the BSF manages this temple, right from the pujari to security. They are staunch believers of Tanot mata, as it is said that she protects the Thar desert, especially after all the attacks on the temple by the enemy failed. We are fortunate to attend the “aarti” of Tanot mata, our timing is perfect.
Next, we head to the Longewala war site – the actual place where the Indian army (120 soldiers) fought with the Pakistani forces (equipped with approximately 2000 army men and fleet of tankers). The Indo-Pak border is just 15 kms from here. 6 months ago tourists were allowed to go near the border, however after the Phulwama attack in Feb 2019, the border visits were closed unless someone knew the armymen personally.
The Longewala war showcases exceptional bravery and intelligence by the Indian Punjab regiment. Please read it up on the internet, its a story every Indian should be proud of. The super-hit Indian movie “Border” is based on this war and is a must-watch.
The same ghost of patriotism that crept into my soul at Sikkim, again got hold of me and I was more than proud of being Indian living on Indian soil and trying my little bit to do some social service for this great motherland. A very big salute to Indian military, navy and airforce and all those valiant men who have sacrificed their personal lives and serving the nation. We are such selfish civilians, always looking to fulfill our personal goals, conveniently forgetting that our first duty is towards our motherland. One more time I wish aloud that my kids should also have joined the saviors of our mother land, all in vain.
The Pakistan army intended to cross the Longewala border in the wee hours of morning, have breakfast at Ramgrh (30 kms) and eventually capture Jaisalmer by lunch time. a handful of soldiers ruined this plan of the enemy by intelligent operations. There are many versions and take on this episode, nevertheless, it was a patriotic moment.
We leave from Longewala by 1 pm, there are no food stalls here. We stop by at Ramgarh around 3 pm for lunch at a roadside dhaba. Amazing north Indian food here – forgot the name of the dhaba, but all places in Ramgarh are popular eateries. En route we see a lot of windmills, huge and intimidating – shows a mans intelligence to use nature to generate electricity. We stop by for a very short while at Bada Bagh cenotophs, its a photographers delight. The sun has already set so, we are unable to take good pictures – but beautifully carver chhatris or cenotophs.
We reach out hotel ‘Dev Villa’ at 6 pm, freshen up, settle down in respective rooms and enjoy the complimentary tea / coffee, basically just explore the vicinity of hanuman chauraha. And thus ends our patriotic day.