 "Deshnoke railway station was the first large-scale inauguration of a redeveloped station, with 100 more such to follow in the next 8 months Photo: Railways Ministry")
Around 5 in the evening, the area near the Karni Mata Mandir in Rajasthan’s Deshnoke village is crowded with devotees seeking blessings and hoping to catch a glimpse of a white rat at one of India’s major pilgrimage sites. Until a fortnight ago, these same streets would have been preparing to slip into hours of darkness and silence.
For any town that had to observe civil defence and blackout protocols during the week marked by aerial warfare between India and Pakistan, stories of sleepless nights and a sense of constant, clutching unease are common among the people.
Shops in Bikaner and
