The strange case of the vanishing lake

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When we arrived in Pushkar ten days ago we were disappointed to find that the world-famous holy lake, which has been the centrepiece of the Pushkar Festival for decades, maybe centuries, maybe millenia, was suddenly not there. This was particularly annoying because the lake is lovingly described in the latest Lonely Planet Guide and furthermore we had paid premium rate for a hotel with a lake view. In place of the lake was a flat expanse of brown dust, about 1 km square, inhabited by a few bulldozers, stray dogs, stray cows, and the occasional woman taking a shortcut with a big package balanced on top of her head. In short, something resembling a piece of waste ground, except in this case a piece of waste ground containing the ashes of both Gandhi and Nehru that have previously been scattered here.

The very nice man who runs our hotel, Paladji, explained that the monsoon had failed for three years in a row and that this was the cause of the problem. However the government had the matter in hand, they were working day and night, no expense spared, they were sinking a well, putting in a pipeline, and he fully expected the lake to be restored for the high point of the festival on November 1, when all the tens of thousands of Hindu pilgrims flock down to the water like lemmings.

Since then not much has happened. Occasionally one of the bulldozers moves about a bit, but to no discernable purpose. The number of stray dogs and cows and women taking short cuts has increased as they all get used to the idea that this dustbowl is a permanent feature. Meanwhile hundreds of tourists scour the many souvenir shops for postcards showing the lake in its former glory, indeed a magnificent sight it was, a perfect jewel.

Then a few days ago Tracey met an Indian professional photographer with an alternative version of events. In India it seems there is always an alternative version, usually many. Anyway this guy has come to Pushkar every year for more than a decade, so maybe he knows. So this guy says, monsoon failure, thats bullshit. There is a big lake in Ajmer 11 km down the road and that is still there, right? No, what happened was this. In Delhi they have a central government department responsible for holy lakes, and this department is full of bright young graduates with nothing better to do than initiate new schemes. So one of these bright young graduates hits on the bright idea of dredging the Pushkar lake to remove the centuries of accumulated silt that is no doubt sullying the holiness of the lake. He told the local government in Pushkar about this, and they informed him that this was not a good idea because dredging the lake would very likely damage the clay lining underneath the lake, which has the useful function of preventing all the water in the lake from just soaking away into the desert. Well local government unfortunately had no bright young graduate to argue their case, and anyway central government will always tend to overrule, thats politics for you. Result: no lake.

So Tracey and I sit on the hotel roof-terrace at sunset, sipping our non-alcoholic drinks, and screw up our eyes a little and try to imagine what the dust bowl would look like with spectacular sunsets and thousands of temple lights reflected on the water. On a positive note, though, although the lake itself is still a dustbowl, they have managed to fill up the dozen or so ghats (holy swimming pools) that surround the lake. So the lemmings will have somewhere to go. It will be crowded, but they are used to that.

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Comments

[lidy stoppelman]

ok
hi , injoyed your comment very much. i don't need to go there, if i read your blog. keep writing.!!!!!!!!