Pushkar

We really enjoyed our stay in Pushkar. The Camel Fair was a riotous celebration of colour and camels. We were all equal participants in the circus, with tourists from abroad, and from all over India adding to the festival in their own ways.

No-one takes themselves too seriously at the fair. One of the more hilarious events was the moustache competition open to entry by all men; the finale saw many moustaches on display, some several metres long, held up by hair nets and fondled, caressed and stroked by all within striking distance.

There were competitions for the most decorated camel; camel dancing and horse dancing; in between it all are variety side shows of acrobatics and tight rope walking, snake charmers and  camel rides; all offset  by magnificently coloured turbans and sarees. We took camel rides around the fair every day; at sunrise and sunset, on the edge of the desert.

Fairground rides were built up as we were there, not unlike Benjamin's k-nex.  We took many rides, with Rajastani turban wearing grown men joining in with as much gusto as us; we gave some rides as a present to some village girls - the joy on their faces was pricelesss. Health and safety concerns had long taken a back seat for us, (particuarly after some of the driving we had seen and experienced), but the lack of any kind of harness to hold people in on these rides was a litttle unnerving.

The lake in Pushkar is holy. The story as explained to us is as follows: Brahma, wanting a place to call his own, dropped a lotus flower to select the spot; this fell to the earth, and as it did, the lake at Pushkar was formed. Initially people were able to gain salvation by bathing in the lake at any time. However, the heavens got too crowded and the gods appealed to Brahma for reason. He eventually agreed that something had to be done, and limited the days one could achieve salvation by bathing to just 5 days a year, the last 5 days of the month of Karnati. As it happens this coincides with the camel fair and as the fair builds in momentum, more and more poeple come to Pushkar to bathe and be sanctified.

One day as we sat in the morning by the lake, drawing the beautiful ghats, an Indian family joined us. One of them was an architect and complimented Benjamin on his drawings. They had travelled to Pushkar to do puja for their departed grandmother; a priest joined the elders of the family for the elaborate and personal rituals.  The younger members of the family sometimes watched, other times joined in and recorded the proceedings on their smart phones.

One another occassion, a group of trans gender men dressed in female sarees, danced on the street around Sophia Benjamin and Helena.

The mix of the fun and frolics, trading and religious devotion was strange and delightful. We saw many surprising, entertaining, and thought-provoking scenes.