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I enjoyed the privilege of being one of 25,000 tourists that joined the throng
of 300,000 visitors - colourfully dressed devotees, musicians, acrobats, folk
dancers, traders, comedians and sadhus – in the sleepy town of Pushkar in
November (2006). The event, of course, was the Pushkar Fair – the world’s
largest camel fair.
Pushkar is in the state of Rajasthan, some 14 km from Ajmer, which in turn is located about 130 km south west of Jaipur. Besides being famous for the annual Pushkar Fair, the town is a sacred pilgrimage site for Hindus. No pilgrimage of Hindu holy places is considered complete until the pilgrim bathes in the sacred waters of Pushkara Lake, situated in the centre of the town. Besides this, the 14th century temple of Lord Brahma is the only temple in the world dedicated to the Hindu God of Creation.
The Pushkar Fair is a seven day extravaganza ending on the first full moon after Diwali and Eid ul-Fitr. And as my title blurb suggests, it is a kaleidoscope of colour and a riot of sounds, flavours, smells and cultural activity. Most visitors of the touristic nature are accommodated in tent cities surrounding the town. Those that have booked early enough find comfortable lodging in the town’s few hotels and guesthouses. The desert people – those that have converged on the town for trading and fellowship – sleep in makeshift tents on the desert floor amongst their livestock.
The first few days are dedicated to furious livestock trading – not limited to camels, but also horses, cattle and goats. Some deals are transacted in just a few minutes. The most interesting to watch, however, are those that take place after long bouts of back and forth haggling. There are also circus rides and row upon row of vendor stalls selling everything from axe heads and aluminium buckets to more touristy items such as jewellery and garments. And then there are the ever-persistent hawkers that converge on Pushkar from all over Rajasthan to sell their trinkets. The more innovative of these actually sell memory cards for digital cameras – a new phenomenon in modern times.
Let the fun and games begin! The tempo of business subsides in the final days of the fair and the merriment begins. Camel races, where these normally beasts of burden bedecked in finery lumber over the course, is the first event. Next is musical chairs, where the camel is supposed to stick his head between two poles (in ever decreasing numbers) as the music stops. The beauty contest is a highlight. This is when beautifully bedecked camels are paraded in front of seemingly impassive judges with hopes of earning a prize. The ‘laadoo oonth,’ a contest where person after person get onto the back of camels in order to determine the strongest beast, is a popular event. It is not uncommon to see camel and occupants tumble to the ground during the event. Besides these camel-related activities there is also horse and other livestock judging. I saw some of the finest looking horses that I’d ever seen during this event. One popular side (or unofficial) activity is to watch the nats * (acrobats of Dalit status) perform tightrope manoeuvres within the far reaches of the stadium.
A visitor that decides to visit the Holy Lake during the festival is advised to be watchful for fake sadhus (holy men) – and I’m told that a vast majority are fakes. I personally went to the lake, removed my shoes and descended down the steps of the ghat. Before I knew it, a fellow was sitting beside me. He performs a ritual that in part involved the recital of a mantra. He then asked for a 20,000 rupee donation to charity. Much to his displeasure he got 50 rupees and a telling off. This guy didn’t even have the decency to dress up like a fake sadhu, but was attired in regular street clothes. Most managers of tent complexes give visitors what they call a Pushkar Passport before they leave for town. This involves tying a red and yellow puja string around the wrist and applying a dab of red on the forehead. This, they say, will dissuade the fake sadhus, because it will indicate that you’ve already been suckered.
Transportation around the fair is by one of three methods – shanks’ mare (foot), camel taxi, or camel back. The taxi variety is a camel-drawn cart that holds up to six people. A popular activity during the fair is to embark upon a half day camel safari and I recommend this to Indian and foreign tourists alike. I set out with about fifteen others from my group on one of these excursions – one person (and two under special circumstances like infirmity due to age) to a camel.
We left our tent compound at 08:30 one morning and proceeded through the dusty scrub land to the village of the head camel driver (our guide). Villagers – children and adults alike – tending livestock in the fields and at the wells stopped their activities to wave and say, “Hello.” Others lined the dusty roadway within the village as we passed – all seemingly just as interested in us as we were in them. We dismounted our handsome steeds when the roadway narrowed to a path and our guide escorted us on a walking tour. “This is our temple …. This is the local shop ….. and this is where our village Brahman lives,” he said, as the gentleman met us at the door and invited us inside to meet his family and view photos of his ancestors. Then our guide took the whole group to his own home, where we all sat down over tea and discussed similarities and differences in our lifestyles and cultures. Neighbours, who our guide described as his caste family joined the gathering. And, do you know what? Despite the obvious poverty that these people lived in, nobody – I say again nobody – stuck out their hand, unless to shake hands. This was the most moving of experiences that I’ve encountered during my ten years as a resident of India. The whole concept is being pushed by the Ministry of Tourism and is called Village Tourism. It’s a splendid concept. Our guide, of course, was handsomely tipped at the end of our excursion. He, in turn, was expected to spread the proceeds amongst his fellow villagers. I believe that he did, because that’s the idea of the village tourism initiative.
All in all the Pushkar Fair 2006 was a wonderful event. The 2007 edition will be held between the 18th and 24th of November and I recommend it to anyone interested in experiencing the best in Indian culture.
See photo feature
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