Derasar | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 25°47′59″N 71°09′53″E / 25.79972°N 71.16472°E | |
Country | India |
State | Rajasthan |
Division | Jodhpur division |
District | Barmer |
Tehsil | Ramsar |
Population | |
• Total | c. 600 [1] |
Language | |
• Official | Hindi |
Time zone | UTC+5:30 ( IST) |
Derasar is a village in the Barmer district of Rajasthan, near the border of India and Pakistan. [2] Derasar lies within the Thar Desert, which influences the lives of the residents; taankas are used to collect water and husbands have two wives, one of whom devotes herself to collecting water from a nearby water source five kilometres away from the village. [3] The culture of Derasar reflects that of the region of Rajputana within the Indian subcontinent, such as the wearing of the angarkha. [4]
The population of Derasar consists about 600 persons, including 70 Muslim families. [1]
Derasar lies within the arid Thar Desert and for eleven months of the year, water is scarce. [3] As such, rainwater is collected in taankas which "have a catchment area to collect rainwater which is then stored underground". [3] The nearest water source to the village is five kilometers away, requiring residents to walk at lengths to retrieve it. [5] [3] In recent times, men have had to find work in larger cities leaving the women to tend to the crops. [3] The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics has provided fruit trees to Derasar, in addition to knowledge on which crops would be successful in the dry region. [3] Crops that are grown in Derasar include "pearl millet, cluster bean, green gram, moth bean, sesame and watermelons". [3]
Derasar has communal grazing pastures that provide nutrition for the residents' livestock. [3]
The culture of Derasar is centered around the historic customs of the South Asian region of Rajputana. [4] Men wear a tradition Indian garment known as an angarkha, along with scarves and jewellery. [4]
With respect to marriage customs, teenagers do not date but have their marriages arranged or alternatively, choose celibacy. [4]
Unique to the culture of Derasar is the practice of polygamy, in which it is normative for men to have two wives. [4] The husband's first child is usually from the first wife, with the second wife bearing a child later. [4] The reason for this custom is said to be practical: with the nearest water source being five kilometres away, the first wife is tasked with fetching water as Derasar locals believe that it would be quite difficult for a pregnant woman to accomplish this. [5]
Close to the Indo-Pak border in Rajashtan's Barmer district is Derasar village.