Cholistan Desert Cholistan Desert The Cholistan Desert (; Saraki: ), also locally known as Rohi (), sprawls from Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan and covers an area of . It adjoins the Thar Desert, extending over to Sindh and into India. The word Cholistan is derived from the Turkic word "chol", meaning "desert". The people of Cholistan lead a semi-nomadic life, moving from one place to another in search of water and fodder for their animals. The dry bed of the Hakra River runs through the area, along which many settlements of the Indus Valley Civilization have been found. The desert also hosts an
Thar Desert villages. During famine years in the desert the nomadic rebari people move with large herds of sheep and camel to the forested areas of south Rajasthan or nearby states like Madhya Pradesh for grazing the cattle. The importance of animal husbandry can be understood from the organization of large number of cattle fairs in the region. Cattle fairs are normally named after the folk-deities. Some of major cattle fairs held are Ramdevji cattle fair at Manasar in Nagaur district, Tejaji cattle fair at Parbatsar in Nagaur district, Baldeo cattle fair at Merta city in Nagaur district, Mallinath cattle fair at