Hindus visit Pushkar year-round to take a dip in the redemptory waters of the lake, but there is one particular day when bathing here is believed to relieve devotees of all their sins, and ultimately free them from the bonds of samsara : the full moon ( purnima ) of the Kartika month (usually Nov). For five days leading up to and including the full moon, Pushkar hosts thousands of celebrating devotees, following prescribed rituals on the lakeside and in the Brahma Mandir. To add to the flurry of colour and activity, a large camel fair is held at around the same time in the sand dunes west of the town, when hordes of herders from all over Rajasthan gather to parade, race and trade their livestock. The transformation of Pushkar from a peaceful desert town is complete and overwhelming - the streets are packed with swarms of pilgrims, hawkers and thousands of tourists; hotels and restaurants are chock-a-block, and prices soar. Families from all over Rajasthan struggle through the crowded lanes laden with children, blankets, food and makeshift tents, setting up camp in the dunes where night fires, delicious open-air cooking smells and traditional folk music drifting through the starlit night create an unforgettable experience.
Once trading is under way, camels and cattle are meticulously groomed, lined up and auctioned, while women dressed in mirrored skirts and vivid shawls lay out embroidered cloth, jewellery, pots and ornaments beside the herds, stopping trade occasionally to gather dung to fuel the evening fires. Cattle, poultry, sheep and goats are entered for competitions, and prizes given for the best displays of fruit and vegetables. Away from the main activity, the dusty ground is stirred up by vigorous camel races , noisily urged on by gamblers. Things become even more animated as acrobats balance precariously on tightropes and cartwheel between the crowds.
Aside from its overwhelming size, the most striking feature of the Pushkar camel fair from a foreign visitor's point of view is that it is attended by equal numbers of men and women. With the harvest safely in the bag and the surplus livestock sold, the villagers, for this brief week or so, have a little money to spend enjoying themselves, which creates a lighthearted atmosphere that's generally absent from most other Rajasthani livestock fairs. As a result, photo opportunities are endless. Proudly dressed in their most colourful clothes and jewellery, both the menfolk and their wives and daughters tend to be happy to pose for the camera, being as interested in you as you are in them. The presence of so many exotic foreigners milling around in the crowd all adds to the holiday feel for the herders, for whom Pushkar represents the highlight of the year, eagerly looked forward to throughout the heat of summer and the hard work of the harvest.
The fair typically attracts up to 200,000 people. In recent years, however, numbers have dwindled due to the drought. Only a fraction of the normal number of herders showed up in November 2000, because so many of them had no animals to sell. More than ever, therefore, if you're coming to see the camels and traditional costumes, the best time to come is at least a week or so before the final weekend, when most of the buying and selling is done. By the full moon, the bulk of the herders tend to have packed up and gone home (unless the local tourist office has managed to induce them to stick around with the lure of free fodder, as it has done for the past few fairs), leaving crowds of pilgrims from neighbouring districts to enjoy the religious celebrations.
Hotels hike their rates at least a fortnight before the full moon, and are usually full well before the start of the fair, but extra accommodation is provided by RTDC in tented compounds outside town where there's a choice between dormitory beds (Rs200-300), deluxe tents (Rs2500 and upwards), or huts (Rs2500 and upwards) complete with private bathrooms. Be sure to book well ahead by contacting the RTDC office in Jaipur (tel & fax 0141/316045) or by writing to the Manager, CRO, RTDC, Usha Niwas, Kalyan Path, Jaipur. The tent village has an information counter (tel 0145/772074), exchange facilities, safes, shops and a medical centre. Additional luxury camping, complete with carpets, furniture, running water and Western toilets, is offered by the local maharaja's Royal Desert Camp , out on the Motisar Road (Rs2500 and upwards); for reservations, contact the Hotel Pushkar Palace (see Accommodation). |
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