Pushkar Cattle Fair
Pushkar Camel Fair
Pushkar is a town in the state of Rajasthan in India. Pushkar means born due to a flower. Hindus believe that the gods released a swan with a lotus in its beak and let it fall on earth where Brahma would perform a grand yagna. The place where the lotus fell was called Pushkar. It is situated at 14 km North West from Ajmer and is one of the five sacred dhams (pilgrimage sites for devout Hindus.) It is often called “Tirth Raj” – the king of pilgrimage sites – and has in recent years become a popular destination for foreign tourists.
The Pushkar Fair is celebrated for a period of seven days during the period of Kartik Purnima. The major attraction of the fair, the camel trade dominates for the first five days. The buyers and sellers flock in huge numbers to participate in the trading of camels. Smooth transaction is as common as heavy bargaining. Trading is not restricted to the camels as the sale of other animals like goats, sheep and horses are also carried on in full swing.
Camel Fair
The importance of camels in the fair is demonstrated further when beautifully dressed, ornamented and even scented camels walk up to be a part of the camel pageant. There is absolutely no doubt that the camels, with all the decoration, draw more eyes than even the prettiest of women around. The best camel, ofcourse wins the coveted title.
Dance on sand
Calbelia Dance
However, this is not all about camels! There are camel race as well which has people shouting and encouraging their favourite camel. As the camels reach close to the finishing point, the noise first grows louder and then subsides as only the supporters of the victorious camels continue with their plaudits. The rest, though a little disappointed, know that they have plenty of things to cheer them up.
The women folk of the fair find a much better place to entertain themselves – the ornaments and garments stalls. The colourfully decorated stalls have so much of appeal that women are invariable drawn towards them. And then, there are tatoo stalls, the most loved stall of the women. The rural women may not have the same facilities as the urban women to look glamorous, nonetheless the tatto stalls give them a beauty mark for life that separates them from the rest of the clan.
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