The Cholistan Desert

The Cholistan Desert is also known as the Rohi Desert. It is situated in the Punjab region of Pakistan and is the largest desert on the Indian continent.

The word Cholistan comes from ‘Chol’ which means desert in Turkish, but it could also come from 'Cholna' which means moving.

About 2.5 million people live in Cholistan who are nomads and travel around the desert, looking for water and herding and trading camels. The people live a very simple life and are very religious. They still keep their primitive customs and traditions and place great value in music and singing. They have a very strong culture with many romantic legends dating back to ancient times. The women and men both wear baggy, embroidered and colourful clothes. They have fabulous desert festivals where you can see camels dancing and wearing even more colourful clothes than the people. People still live in houses made of mud and straw just as they did 200 years ago.

The Cholistan people make interesting handicrafts such as wall hangings, bed covers, carpets and blankets with bright colours and beautiful patterns with geometric designs.

The desert expands over to Sindh and into India. The dry bed of the Hakra River runs through the area. When it dried up so did most of life there. Wildlife is scarce. Wild cat, jackal, wolf, squirrel, field rat, over 200 types of insects and as many as sixty varieties of snakes are found here.

The desert also has an Annual Jeep Rally, known as Annual Cholistan Jeep Rally.

It lies at an altitude of 400 ft. above sea level and covers an area of 23,500 sq. m. Temperatures range from 8º C in winter to 34º C in summer. There is very little rainfall in the area averaging about 3 - 5 inches annually. During the wet season the people built shallow reservoirs to catch the rainwater so that they could survive. Cholistan is changing because a canal system has been introduced.

Places of interest include the Derawar Fort where the tombs of the ex-rulers of Bahawalpur and their families are situated, and Shrines of Channan Pir.

Anticipation Guided Response

It's possible to believe in love at first sight
I disagree, If you believed in love at first sight then you would be judging a book by its cover. In other words that would mean that looks is the only thing that matters in love, whereas character, or having common interests is more important. Unless you're someone for whom looks is the most important thing only then can you fall in love at first sight.

Two strangers stuck on an island together could learn to love each other
I agree. They would get to know each other gradually through sharing experiences. They may end up having to work together to survive on that island and might eventually fall in love after getting to know each other. Spending time with someone will help you get to know each other and appreciate each other's good points because you will be able to get to know them deeply rather than superficially as you might if you were not having to spend every minute of the day together.

It is a good thing to sacrifice your happiness for other people
I agree. Someone might need something more than you do and it might not be such a big loss for you if you gave that thing up. Besides at the end of the day, helping another person will make you feel good yourself because it is always better to give than to receive.

Women in your society are free citizens
I agree. Women in our society have the same rights as men do. Women can do anything men can do. Maybe even better! However women should get equal pay for equal work. And because women are financially independent nowadays, they are free to do exactly as they please. Unfortunately many women in our society find themselves in a position where they have to do everything - they go to work and they look after the house and kids. Husbands don't do anything but they will all get the boot when my generation grows up because we wont stand for that.

The Outsiders Book or Movie

I think i would have to say that the book is better than the movie. In the book you are able to get into the character's head but in the movie it's mostly actions.
The book gives more details which helps us have clear view of what is going on whereas in the movie some things are harder to understand. One example is the relationship Ponyboy had with Sodapop. If i hadn't read the book i don't think i would have caught on how much ponyboy looks up to Sodapop. Also in the book Ponyboy looks up to Darry but that doesn't come across very strongly in the film. Some relationships in the book are completely left out in the film like the connection between Bob and Johnny and the difference that each of their parents treat them.
However because the movie is visual we understand certain things faster than we do in the book. For example we don't realize, in the book, that he's actually writing an English essay until we get to the end whereas in the movie we can actually see him writing it at the beginning of the story.
In the book the writer tells us a lot more about the background to their lives with the Socs and Greasers. The scene in the movie theater comes well into the book whereas in the movie it comes right at the beginning which shows how much is left out.