Sep 10, 2018
In
2013, tired of London's frenetic pace, Rohini (say Roe-hee-knee)
and her husband, Oliver, embarked on a long holiday to the U.S. and
their first stop after landing in Los Angeles, was Joshua Tree. It
was summer, so they lingered in Crossroads Cafe in downtown Joshua
Tree - pretty much daily. After a week, they were hooked, but had
planned to visit other U.S. locations. Even though they were seeing
new sights, they couldn't stop talking about Joshua Tree. Which is
why, at what was to be the end of the trip, they extended it for
three more weeks - and spent all of their remaining time in Joshua
Tree - and found a realtor. Going back to London was difficult and
the skeptical reactions of their family and friends at the news of
their decision was also, difficult, at best.
In this
episode, Rohini says of the trip, "I was just craving a
complete change up, but wasn't sure what it was" - the desert
hooked them.
Once
here permanently in 2014, Rohini found plenty of time to indulge in
the writing she never got to in London and decided to create a
magazine, of sorts, around it. The original effort was called The
Raven. But that faded and birthed a free (locally in print)
magazine, published twice a year, which not only contains
contributions from Rohini, but guest writers, photographers and
artists who are friends and neighbors here in the hi-desert - it's
quite a community effort. Desert-centered stories of fact and
fiction, poetry, drawings and photographs fill it's pages. It's
called Luna Arcana and it's available
online with a paid subscription. If you've visited and need a
desert fix, it's well worth it.