Rajasthan / Thar desert

Here’s what happens when your photo lab scans your negatives with all the enthusiasm of a Monday morning commuter: my Holga’s “artistic” clicks and light leaks are now immortalised with an extra layer of digital indifference. Yes, it’s a cheap Chinese toy camera, and yes, I loaded it with expired film on purpose—because I like to live dangerously, or at least unpredictably. Still, you’d expect a medium format to look less like it was developed during a sandstorm.

But the real story is the night under the stars in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. If you ever find yourself in the Thar Desert, do try sleeping outside—there’s nothing like spicy campfire curry and the company of fellow wanderers, all swapping tales of “finding themselves” and how little they’ve showered.

Best of all was our guide’s favourite legend: the Japanese tourist who, armed with a camera and boundless optimism, took a million photos of the desert, the stars, and the moon. He was so determined to capture every grain of sand that he wandered off, only to be found at dawn, blissfully asleep under a solitary tree—camera still clicking away, probably hoping for that perfect shot.

So, even if my scans look like modern art, the memories—and the stories—are worth every pixel.