Pushkar - a small town in the heart of
Rajasthan. Known mostly for its annual camel fair, locally known as the "
Pushkar Mela" that is held around Nov- Dec. It is supposedly the worlds largest camel fair.
Pushkar is also known for the fact that is considered one of the holiest towns in India mostly because this is where a lotus fell from the beak of a swan
released by the Gods and hence it became the place where B
ramha was to perform his Grand Y
agna. Its about 14 ms from
Ajmer and a total of about 8 and a half hours journey from Delhi.
I call
Pushkar "The Land of the Bovine". Honestly, its where cows rule!! They get the best food, they are worshipped, and they generally strut their stuff about. The unofficial motto of the
Pushkar is "
Sab Kuch Milega". And the place really lives
up to that motto. Alcohol, Tobacco, Drugs and Non-Veg are strictly forbidden there. But, you can get everything from beer to hashish. All you got to do is not look like a typical Indian tourist.
Getting There:There are no direct buses from Delhi to
Pushkar. You have to take the Inter-State bus to
Ajmer and then a local bus to
Pushkar. The journey there was the most eventful. We had bookings for a bus that left from Delhi at 10:30 pm for
Ajmer. Turns out, there is no bus and even if there is a bus, there were no bookings!!! For those people who were heaving a sigh of relief at the introduction of the online bus ticketing website called
redbus, I
wouldn't get too happy. Our bookings were not communicated to the travel agent and we ended up with an hour of haggling, arguing and trying very desperately to control our temper. And for three women travelling without a male companion it could also have turned out to be rather unsafe. I would request you to move your asses and go up to a travel operator or the local Inter State Bus Terminal if you want sure shot bookings. The Government is so much better sometimes!!
And, at the end of an hour, we had to do that. We took an auto at 11:30 in the night to
ISBT and got the last
Rajasthan Roadways bus to
Ajmer.
Costed us a lot less, we were extremely uncomfortable but
at least we got there in one piece; physically and mentally. The bus was also on time which is a major
yay! for the government.
Ajmer to
Pushkar is another half an hour. There are buses that leave every 15
mins from the main
Ajmer bus stand to
Pushkar and cost you as little as 10 bucks.
The Place:When you reach
Pushkar, beware of all sorts of vendors that will assail you. From Rickshaw pullers to cart pushers. Yes, you can even use pushcarts as transport there!!! But that aside, the energy about the place hits you. Its lazy and
energetic at the same time. When you are at the outskirts of the town, there is an expectant lull. You know it before you hit the main town; you expect the energy but you cant feel it. And then suddenly, there is rush of everything. It all hits you at the same time. All the people; shopkeepers, tourists,
sadhus, kids, chattering women; all of them converge to form what can only be described as
a hurricane. The market is pure chaos. There are signboards everywhere,
advertising all sorts of hotels, motels, guesthouses, shops. Touts will come so close you can smell the breath. And then you see them- The Cows. They are everywhere. Its like, its
their land and your
encroaching upon it. They will sit meekly and chew endlessly but you still feel like your intruding into
their private space. Its amazing! you can imagine them sitting there all along and the town just sort of coming up around them. An hour later, when you have finally made peace with them and made a mental note of "Always-Look-At-The-Ground-When-Walking" 'cause there cow dung everywhere, you kind of get used to them and even start to like them a little bit.
Hotels:
The hotel search was a disaster as well. We had made bookings in a small two-room guest house called Chachas Garden; one of those establishments that are run by a foreigner woman and her Indian husband. We reached there after an hour of walking around. (Pushkar is like a maze, by the way. It would take you a couple of days to get used to the small bylanes, pathways and such. One wrong turn and you can end up wandering for hours.) Anyhoo, we finally reached only to find out that the hotel was overbooked and couldn't accommodate us. So the search began again and we finally managed a room at...wait for it...Pink Floyd Hotel!! Yup! That was the name of the place. Not very Pink Flyod-y if you ask me, except for the name and a couple of posters on the wall at the reception. We stayed in a room called "Obscured by Clouds". Very innovative! The room was pretty okay. Very comfortable for the three of us. The loo was a disaster though. It was so small that we were almost standing on the commode and having our baths. But otherwise, it suited our purpose just fine.
Food:
Our quest for good food fell flat on its face. The food at the hotels terrace-restaurant was really bad. The view was splendid though. But, we did not find good food till next days breakfast.
"Funky Monkey" was the name of the blessed cafe. The food there made our trip one of the best I've ever had. Its a small cafe with just about 4 tables set out on the road. So if a cow passes us and decides to sample our food, there was nothing we could practically do about it.
Don't expect too much from the service as well. It took about 45 minutes for three "set" breakfasts. So light up your cigarettes and enjoy the views of the market while you patiently wait for the food.
Stuff to do:
Out of the many temples and ghats at Pushkar, we managed to visit just one - Savitri Temple. Its on a neighbouring hill. 750 kms high, the climb is about 1.5 kms, so its steep. Don't attempt the climb in heels, chappals and such. Walking/trekking shoes would be best. Also, carry along bottles of water. The temple is not much to look at. But the climb can make you feel at peace once you reach the top. And, the view is Spectacular!!! You can even see the course of a dried up river leading into a lake. Its the best place to see the sunset if your not afraid of the climb down in the dark. The stairs are not all smooth concrete. Most of the way is just stairs cut out from the hill itself.
We also went down to the ghats at night. Not being much of a visitor to H
indu holy places, I was quite
dissapointed. The ghats were full of, you guessed it,
cowdung!! It could be spiritual for a lot of people but personally I
didn't feel anything except a need to have a bath once I got back to the hotel.
Now for the
girly part. The shopping is just
mind blowing! The market has such an energy about it that it calls to you. By the end of a few hours I was actually scared of it and
didn't want to venture out again. Also, remember to bargain. We found a really nice shop called The Dali Shop. It
sells paintings, UV and otherwise also and the owner would gladly show you all his paintings if you manage to convince him you are interested in that sort of stuff.
Overall:What surprised me the most were the contradictions that surround
Pushkar. You can sit for hours in a cafe overlooking the ghats just doing nothing and at the same time, just outside the cafe, you can go crazy in the market, shopping, looking for stuff, talking to locals. I sat next to a
sadhu on the bus from
Pushkar to A
jmer, and even though the bus was claustrophobic and overcrowded, I felt at peace, surrounded the smells of burnt wood and camphor coming from him. In a place of religion and spirituality you can smoke up, drink and do pretty much anything you want as long as its
not in the public eye.
People will
stop and pose for
pictures, smile for them even. They will get up on a
lazy afternoon and escort you when you are lost. They will give you free Iced coffee, albeit with a fly in it, if they feel guilty enough about overbooking you. They will even take you to the loo at their relatives place if you really need to pee in the middle of the market and cant find a loo.
When you go to
Pushkar,
don't expect too much but you will definitely get what you want whether you like it or not. "Sab Kuch Milega!!!!"
Jai Savitri!!
