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The Pushkar Fair, or Pushkar ka Mela, is the annual five-day camel and livestock fair, held in the town of Pushkar in the state of Rajasthan, India. It is one of the world's largest camel fairs, and apart from buying and selling of livestock it has become an important tourist attraction and its highlights have become competitions such as the "matka phod", "longest moustache", and "bridal competition" are the main draws for this fair which attracts thousands of tourists.[1] In recent years the fair has also included an exhibition cricket match between the local Pushkar club and a team of random foreign tourists. The Imperial Gazetteer of India, mentions an attendance of 100,000 pilgrims in early 1900.
Pushkar is a town in the Ajmer district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is situated about 10 km (6.2 mi) northwest of Ajmer and about 150 kilometres (93 mi) southwest of Jaipur. It is a pilgrimage site for Hindus and Sikhs. Pushkar has many temples. Most of the temples and ghats in Pushkar are from the 18th century and later, because many temples were destroyed during Muslim conquests in the area. Subsequently, the destroyed temples were rebuilt. The most famous among Pushkar temples is the red spired Brahma Temple built during the 14th century CE. Pushkar is located on the shore of Pushkar Lake, considered sacred by the Hindus particularly in Shaktism. The Pushkar lake has many ghats where pilgrims bathe. Pushkar is also significant for its Gurdwaras for Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh. One of the bathing ghats is called Gobind ghat built by the Marathas in the memory of Guru Gobind Singh.
Pushkar is famous for its annual fair (Pushkar Camel Fair) featuring a trading fete of cattle, horses and camels. It is held over seven days in autumn marking Kartika Purnima according to the Hindu calendar (Kartik (month), October or November). It attracts nearly 200,000 people. In 1998, Pushkar hosted about 1 million domestic (95%) and international tourists over the year.
If you ever find yourself in northern India in November make sure you go visit the Pushkar Camel fare! These photos where taken during an early morning the day after the fare had ended, and everyone was packing up. Aboslutely stunning scenery with loads of photographic oportunities.
Pushkar is a small village with a holy lake that the God Brahma created when he dropped a lotus leaf (or something ;) and it sprung out of the desert. Every year by the fullmoon of November around 200 000 people come to visit pushkar for this holy hapening! To make it even more crowded the largest cattle fair in the world has grown around the same event and so there are Brahmins running around the streets together with Camels and holy cows who have five hows. It is unlike anything you've ever seen.
For those of you who like shopping Indian souveniers we found that Pushkar has the most to offer and at the best prices. I think that the stuff we consider Indian isn't usually bought by the local Indian so you have to go somewhere half touristy to find it and this is a good choice. It's touristy but not too much and it is such a lovely little village!
I'll be posting more photos from Pushkar as soon as I have time to.
Pushkar, hawker
A hawker is a vendor of merchandise that can be easily transported; the term is roughly synonymous with peddler or costermonger. In most places where the term is used, a hawker sells inexpensive items, handicrafts or food items. Whether stationary or mobile, hawkers often advertise by loud street cries or chants, and conduct banter with customers, so to attract attention and enhance sales.
According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, there are 10 million street vendors in India, with Mumbai accounting for 250,000, Delhi has 200,000, Kolkata, more than 150,000, and Ahmedabad, 100,000. Most of them are immigrants or laid-off workers, work for an average 10–12 hours a day, and remain impoverished. Though the prevalent license-permit in Indian bureaucracy ended for most retailing in the 1990s, it continues in this trade. Inappropriate license ceilings in most cities, like Mumbai which has a ceiling 14,000 licenses, means more vendors hawk their goods illegally, which also makes them prone to the bribery and extortion culture under local police and municipal authories, besides harassment, heavy fines and sudden evictions. Over the years the street vendors have organized themselves into trade unions and associations, and numerous NGO's have started working for them.
(source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawker_%28trade%29)
Rajasthan, India
Kalbelia or Kabeliya is a dance from Rajasthan, performed by the tribe of the same name. The dance is an integral part of their culture and performed by men and women.
In 2010, the Kalbelia folk songs and dances of Rajasthan were declared a part of its Intangible Heritage List by the UNESCO.
(Wikipedia)
The Pushkar Fair (Pushkar Camel Fair) or locally Pushkar ka Mela, is the annual five-day camel and livestock fair, held in the town of Pushkar in the state of Rajasthan, India. It is one of the world's largest camel fairs, and apart from buying and selling of livestock it has become an important tourist attraction and its highlights have become competitions such as the "matka phod", "longest moustache", and "bridal competition" are the main draws for this fair which attracts thousands of tourists. In recent years the fair has also included an exhibition cricket match between the local Pushkar club and a team of random foreign tourists. The Imperial Gazetteer of India, mentions an attendance of 100,000 pilgrims in early 1900s.
Barefoot children near Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
added to 'when I stop ... continue' ... indian nationals ... stick
Rajasthan, India
Kalbelia or Kabeliya is a dance from Rajasthan, performed by the tribe of the same name. The dance is an integral part of their culture and performed by men and women.
In 2010, the Kalbelia folk songs and dances of Rajasthan were declared a part of its Intangible Heritage List by the UNESCO.
(Wikipedia)
Sunset in Pushkar. A holy place - apparently.
Taken with a Fujifilm nexia 2000ixZ APS camera, and scanned in with a film scanner thingamajig.
Pushkar - Rajasthan - India - November 2012
Relationship and Bonding is not just for humans. Over a period of time, the camels gets closer to their masters gain the comfort and feel the real comfort with their very touch.
Pushkar, a tiny city around a small lake in a green and fertile valley, attracts many tourists. Many of them seem to forget to leave (maybe because of the marijuana) and just stay here ;-)
We enjoyed our days there and walked up a nearby mountain at dawn to a temple to see (another) sunrise. What an elevating sight...