Pushkar & the camel fair

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Pushkar is another of india's holy cities. a lake in the desert, perhaps not the only reason for being holy, but a pretty good reason as far as a thirsty taveller is concerned. a proper holy town in india must be dry and vegetarian: there is no alcohol or meat to be had here, not even eggs...unless of course you eat at the mayor's resturaunt. not even the gods themselves can stop a well-connected official.

It is a nice place, clean air and plenty of ways to wile away the hours; pleasant hilltop temple walks and desert trails. the town itself has character, old medevial buildings hugging the lake with tight alleys and plenty of eye candy for the shoppers. temples, holy men, and pilgrams abound, all about their business; temples collecting donations and returning peace of mind, holymen (the real ones) contemplating, and pilgrams bathing in or circling the lake in their quests.

A pleasant change has happened here. before arriving i had told laura of my first pushkar experience, and the "pushkar passport." essentially in order to get into town you would need to run the gauntlet of unholy sadhus. as u approach they would block your path and explain that as puskar is a holy town you need to complete a few simple ceremonies to pay respect to, and make prayers for your family, and to do so you need to acompany them down to the ghats, some words will be said on their behalf (family) and you will be purified by the holy water.

Knowing that this was coming and also that it is not compulsory, i said no thank you. i had been told by many people that they will often demand a hundred dollars or more, and then there are the fees per family member! this of course is only the first volley to test the waters. well they would not let me pass. it got to the point where a few of them grabbed me and said that i cannot enter town without my "passport" which is a red string that is tied around your wrist after the ceremony. in other words your mark that u have already been suckered, as once you have one you are free to come and go. after much tension the matter resolved itself by going with one of these guys, paying twenty cents, getting berated for it (as i did not pay the fifty euros he demanded), got my passport and moved on. needless to say when this sort of thing happens it can leave u a little torked.

So i prepared laura for the possibility of this, and as experience was now on our side and i knew without doubt that we will not be commiting any crime or insult by refusing, the answer would be no thank you. no buckling, no giving in to the manipulative pressures and that will be that. we now walk towards the spot of my memories, and guess what, nothing, absolutly nothing. we later found out that the problem had become so out of control that there was a crackdown, to the point where there were regular announcements on loud speakers advising to report anyone that was being too aggressive.

the authorities had actually done something, absolutely amazing! although we ran into others, who spoke of the "robbers," and a couple from campbell river who had been burned for about $25. For us it was different this time and we left with pleasant memories.

We ran into a young woman from vancouver, laura, who, at 23, had rented a small building, decorated, hired staff and opened a resturant, laura's cafe. we asked here how it was going and what made her want to do something like this. after telling us about some of the ridiculous situations she had run into and all the different ways she pulls her hair out she said she was doing it for the fun of it, the life experience. she wants to be the "crazy" aunt that will show up with a backpack and a stack of wild stories. all i can say is that is one heck of a start and i hope her hair grows quickly. it's too bad that we found her restaurant on the last day, the food was really good and she had honest to god salad. we wish her the best.

(it was laura who informed us that the way indians pronounce "laura" means penis in hindi. suddenly the giggles in response to laura's answer to the oft-asked question, "what is your name?" made sense!)

Although the town is a great place to visit anytime, we were here, by chance, for the camel fair. a time when the hotels double or triple their rates and the local "entreprenures" rub their hands together. but for good reason, it is a spectacle like no other. for hundreds of kilometers around camels are marched in for all the poking, proding, jostling, groorming, grunting, groaning, riding, racing, and a hundred other things i can't remember, that you could imagine. most likely you couldn't image it, you just need to see it to belive it.

we heard that upwards of a hundred thousand camels would pass through during the festival. possible, but it seemed more like tens of thousands. but don't let that turn your nose up at this incredible display of giant stinky beasts.

Well i don't suppose there is all that much to say, the pictures will tell the story, and if you can, perhaps you will be able to imagine a little of all the sights, sounds, relentless hot sun, and most importantly, the smells that we experienced here. but before i go i'll leave you with one little story to help you on your way.

As with all of india, the festival is a photo feast, and for amatures such as myself, a fantastic time and place to come and let pictures take themselves. there is one picture here though that left a real impression on me about the size and power of these animals. for most of the fair i had wanted to get a picture from the perspective of being on the ground looking up at one of these things with looong legs attached to a big frame with a looong neck to try and convey how someone may feel standing near, not only one, but also being in the midst of a group of large animals like these. however without upseting anyone or getting trampled the opportunity had not come, or at least not the way i thought it might.

at the end of one day, I was lying in wait on a path near where various heards were being taken back to camps somewhere on the outskirts of the fair. the path was well trodden and many had gone by to my left at a safe distance. seemed like a good spot. the path came up a small hill on which i was on the other side and out of sight even from creatures that have heads that are 10' to 12'+ off the ground.

so there i was, yeah, a real national geographic moment, on my knees and a fast moving herd comes over the hill right at me, i have a quick desicion to make: bolt or stay and click away and hope i don't get trampled. it was one of those instances where it was almost to late before it began, so i thought; "to hell with it i'll takes my chances". i hunker down and hope for the best.

well needless to say surprise was as much on my face as it was on the camels, which in a weird way is comforting as it was a sign that they were aware of my existance and perhaps would rather not step on me given the option. with all our eyes bugged out, camels, heardsmen, and mine behind the camera, they came on and i can asure you that at that moment i felt as small and helpless as i ever hope to feel again in my life, yes, small and stupid. as the last of them parted their way around me i stood up apologised to the last herdsman, who did not have to say a word in any language to tell me how close i was to becoming toe jam.

i looked around just to see how many others had almost witnessed darwinism in action. not many, except for an indian gentleman (also a photographer) who walked up to me, as i shrugged, and said "well that was something else, brave of you, you did not even try and move!" with a smile that said something else. with a nervious laugh we chat and decide we had better have a look at the shots. well, not bad, but we both agreed that my camera does not have a wide enough lens and much of the perspective is lost! ha! so close and yet so far, literally.

oh well, it made for a great memory and a fair snap. when i get home i'll get a wider lens, the unfortunate thing is that now poor laura has had to listen to me go on about how the lens is just not wide enough for a pile of situations..., "oh, now if it was just a bit wider i could fit in all..." perhaps it would have been better for her if i was toe jam, it would have saved me from the falafel i was soon to eat that would haunt the both of us for the next few weeks.

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Comments

[Deb/Mom]

fantastic shots and story
Really enjoyed the shots and stories from Pushkar (shameles and otherwise) -I know you are a great photographer, but who knew you are such a great story writer too?!! VERY glad you're not toe jam, the shots were great! I guess the only advice is to stay away from the falafel!! Looking forward to the next batch.......xoxox Mom/Deb