India, May 5 -- Since my last tour of Rajasthan in 1982 we found the infrastructure had unrecognisably improved.

During December 2023-January 2024, my husband and I took a road trip around Rajasthan, expertly organised by Nico Kostich of Yonder in London. We were extremely tired and the stay on arrival in the gorgeous Aravalli hills was refreshing. Our first observation was the marvellous quality and reach of the tarmac roads, hitherto rural villages off the beaten track would have been only accessed by dirt roads.

We ventured on foot into rural Meena villages and tidy family compounds, with several branches of a family living in neat houses with goats and buffalo in the yard around.

Nowadays the Meenas work is mostly in tourism, dairy...