Come November and Pushkar in Rajasthan is awake, especially, the week concluding with Kartik purnima. The lakeside rings with the sound of pilgrims taking dips in the lake, worshipping at the temples along the banks and sadhus chanting scriptures.
The rest of the city overflows with thousands of people who bring cattle and camels, to take part in the annual cattle fair, the largest in Asia. Following closely on their heels is the crowd of tourists who troop in to enjoy the fun. This year the fair begins on November 17 and concludes on November 24, the last four being the most important dates.
Surrounded by hills on three sides and sand dunes on the fourth, it forms a fascinating backdrop for the festival highlighting Rajasthan’s love of colour, music, dance and joyous celebrations.
An interesting feature of the fair is the mass trading of camels which holds centre stage. The festival hosts about 50,000 camels which are dressed up, paraded, sold and take part in races. Special stalls are set up to sell trappings and jewellery for the camels, silver beads and bells, and anklets.
In the afternoons you find everyone watching camels, horses and cows being paraded and raced. The buying and selling of cattle takes place almost simultaneously. The roadside stalls offer traditional Rajasthani clothes, jewellery, handicraft items and mouth watering delicacies.
The evenings are devoted to live shows arranged specially by the fair authorities which comprise instrumental music and folk songs; folk dances and fire dancing — all of it bringing to life the vibrant culture of Rajasthan. The musical instruments range from flutes to trumpets, string instruments to kettledrums. The folk musicians not only dress up in their colourful best but also decorate their instruments. Most visitors to the fair find them absolutely fascinating especially those from foreign countries.
A special “tourist village” made up of attractive tents springs up during the time to accommodate people and has the advantage of being right next to the fair grounds. The village has a coffee shop and dining hall that can cater to 1,500 guests at a time. Each block of tents is named after a famous Rajasthani dance.
Those interested in staying here should book well in advance as they get filled up soon after the fair dates are announced.
Lake of nectar
Seven miles north of Ajmer, Pushkar is a celebrated place of pilgrimage. According to the Padma Purana, when Brahma, intent on performing a special yajna on earth was considering where to have it, the lotus fell from his hand.
He decided to have it where the lotus fell. As the flower touched the earth, water gushed out and formed a lake. Brahma named the lake Pushkar after the lotus. Devotees believe that the water turns to nectar during the Kartik purnima week, thereby assuring all dippers a place in paradise. Pushkar has the most important though not the only temple dedicated to Lord Brahma.