Pushkar

I was just browsing through one of my recent photo albums and I chanced upon the pictures I had taken when I visited Rajasthan last October. I was in Rajasthan for a dear friends wedding and he forced me to stay back for what was considered one of their grandest festivals, the Pushkar Camel Fair!!

The Pushkar camel fair falls between 2^nd November and 5^th November. Ok, I know what you’re thinking.. what’s the big deal about camels anyway?? And what do you see in a camel fair?? Don’t get me wrong.. it not like a pet show or something, where you have camels lined up for tricks n stuff (although that would have been sooo cool!!), but, here’s the thing…It’s camel man!!! Have you ever seen a camel up close??.. even if u have, you ain’t ever seen them like this!!! All decked up and almost ready to do a jig of some sort!! And I’m not talking about just 1 single camel… millions of them!!!(I think I saw more camels then people there).. the sight is just amazing!!

This festival takes place in a village called Pushkar, a normally quiet and small village, does not have a great number of hotels, several entities set up tented camps surrounding Pushkar . . I highly recommend the tented camp, Raj Resorts, which may be booked through Rajasthan Tours (rajtours@sancharnet.in). Very comfortable spacious tents, isisal carpets, with a private bathroom attached to your tent with running water, camp beds with sheets and blankets, laundry services, evening Rajasthani entertainment by a campfire, lock boxes for valuables, and a good fare of vegetarian cuisine . . . (due to the Hindu festival that takes place, no alcohol or meat . . only vegetarian cuisine), extremely helpful staff . . . a well organized camp.

You know what the best part was?? It was seeing Marwar breed of horses making a genetic comeback in the desert. Honestly I don’t know what so special about these horses, but they did attract a large..no, make that a really large, crowd and trust me.. I’ve never seen horses like them before.

Oh, and a word of caution.. when you arrive there, ensure that your valuables are locked away safely, before going for the festival.

Enjoy your trip there!!