Page 381 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - India

R A JASTHAN  379

The Pushkar Fair
In the Hindu month of Kartik
(October/November), ten
days after Diwali, this peaceful
town and its environs come
alive, as the much-anticipated
annual cattle fair begins.
Tents and campsites suddenly
spring up to accommodate
the thousands of pilgrims,
tourists and villagers with herds
of cattle, horses and camels
who come here to participate
Rangji Temple in this spectacular event.
This temple is conspicuous for its Pushkar has always been the
South Indian style of architecture region’s central cattle market
(see p24). Its gopura (gateway), Women at Sadar Bazaar for local herdsmen and farmers
carved with over 360 images of who buy and sell camels and
deities, towers over the area. indigenous breeds of cattle. Over
the years, this trade in livestock
0 metres 100 has greatly increased in volume.
The Pushkar Fair is now one of
0 yards 100
Digambar Jain Asia’s largest cattle fairs, and it
Dharamshala Mosque transforms the quiet little village
into a bustling market.
In the vast, specially built
amphitheatre on the outskirts
of the town, numerous camel,
Rangji Temple horse and donkey races and
Fairground contests take place amid lusty
Fairground
cheers from the spectators.
A festive, carnival atmosphere
prevails in Pushkar during
the fair’s two-week duration.
Giant Ferris wheels and open-
S A D A R B A Z A A R air theatres offer amusement,
while food stalls do a brisk
trade, as do the shops that sell
Ajmer bus station
a fascinating variety of goods.
In the evenings, people huddle
round campfires, listening to the
haunting strains of Rajasthani
folk ballads. The fair reaches
a crescendo on the night of
P U S H K A R L A K E the full moon (purnima), when
pilgrims take a dip in the holy
lake. At dusk, during the beautiful
deepdan ceremony, hundreds
Chhatri
of clay lamps on leaf boats
are lit and set afloat in a
magical tableau.

. Ghats
Pushkar has 52 ghats. Devout Hindus make at least
one pilgrimage to Pushkar and bathe at the holy
ghats to wash away their sins, thereby earning
themselves a place in heaven. Camels at the Pushkar Fair

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