"She Never Married": The Gatekeeper Of Kuldhara, 82, On His First Love

"She cried a lot the day I left, but I had to let her go," the gatekeeper recounted.

The town of Kuldhara stands in the heart of the Thar desert in Rajasthan. Believed to be haunted, this abandoned town has an 82-year-old gatekeeper who recently spoke to Humans of Bombay about the story of his first love. "I was in my 30s when I first met Marina - she had come to Jaisalmer all the way from Australia," the gatekeeper of Kuldhara said as he opened up about his touching love story. This was in the 1970s, he said, at a time when he hadn't yet become the gatekeeper of the abandoned town. He met Marina in Jaisalmer and during her five-day trip, he taught her how to ride a camel. "For both of us, it was love at first sight. Throughout the trip, we couldn't take our eyes off each other," the gatekeeper recalled.  Before she left for Australia, Marina confessed her feelings and said "I love you" to the man who had fallen for her at first sight. Though the gatekeeper was left tongue-tied after hearing Marina's confession, he says she understood his silence. The two continued to stay in touch after she flew back to Australia.