The Lunatic Diaries

The best time of the day, or night, to reach Pushkar is just before dawn at about 4 A.M. Tired, haggard and looking for a room, when the first ray from the sun breaks in and the temple bells strat tolling in full glory, bringing in the vigour of the morning that usually follows a night full of peaceful rest. Its amazing how one simple sight or sound can change one's personal theories about time and space. Its almost like magic, almost as if God was riogh there.... there is reason to believe so.

The description of pilgrimage places in the Tirtha-Yatra section of the Mahabharata, suggests a grand tour of the entire country. The pilgrimage begins in Pushkar, sacred to the god Brahma, and then continue in a rambling clockwise direction throughout the subcontinent, ending in Prayag (modern day Allahabad). This mythical Pushkar lies at the edge of the Thar desert, 11 km from Ajmer, across the Naag Parvat (Snake Mountain).

The legend of Pushkar is far from being lost amongst the lores and the myths. It goes back long, when out of the divine trinity of Hindu mythology, Brahma - the Creator; Vishnu - the Preserver; and Shiva (my peronal favourite) - the Destroyer, the temples of Vishnu and Shiva abound the planet, with none dedicated to Brahma. Brahama, in search of a locale for His abode, dropped His lotus on Earth and water gushed out at three places, making the greater, middle and lesser lakes of Pushkar, and in the process, gavethe tiny hamlet its name. Pushkar literally means King of Flowers and that wud be the lotus...

Brahama's troubles were far from over, though. He started the rituals preeceding the building of a temple, in the absence of His consort, Savitri, and, instead, had a milkmaid, Gayatri, sit by his side. This is a cardinal sin as per the Hindu religion. Savitri was enraged at this insult and immolated herself after cursing Brahma, that He will never ever be worshipped anywhere in the entire universe, but in Pushkar. The flames from the fire threatened to devour the whole world, when Shiva extinguished the flames into gold-dust, resulting in the sand dunes that lie on one side of Pushkar. Till today, Pushkar has the only one Brahma temple in the world. As for the myth, the Padma Purana testifies it in its holy verses. As for Gayatri, she sits next to Brahma in His temple and has a temple de4dicated to her on a hill-top sprawling on the other end of the village.

Full of white-washed buildings, surrounded by hills on three sides and by the desert on the remaining, for most of the year this legendary Pushkar is a sleepy little town - a miniscule, picturesque hamlet of roughly 12,000 inhabitants and 400 temples, encircling the tranquil Pushkar Lake. Each November, however, over 200,000 people arrive with 50,000 cattle for several days of pilgrimage, horse dealing, camel racing and colorful festivities, for what is termed as 'the worlds biggest animal fair' - The Pushkar Mela. Ones who bathe in the lake’s are believed to be absolved of all their sins, the four days in November between the eleventh day of the Kartik and the following full moon being the most auspicious, with those who bathe on the day of the full moon said to receive special blessings. Most of the camel action takes place over the 5 days leading up to the official start of the Mela, after which time the focus shifts to religious celebrations.

Out of the approximate four hundred, there are only a few very important temples in Pushkar, all of relatively recent construction since the 'originals' were destroyed bt the Mughal emeror, Aurangzeb, during his reign. The Brahma temple stands beside the Greater Pushkar lake. The four headed image of Brahma seated on the swan, is flanked on either sides by His consorts Savitri and Gayatri. Within the temple there are smaller shrines on Indra, the Lord of the heavens and Kubera, the god of wealth.

The Savitri temple atop the Ratnagiri mountain is full of fables and adorns a beautifully carved image of the Godess. the Rangji Temple has a colourful South Indian style gopuram and intricate carvings. The Warah Temple with the image of Vishnu's reincarnation as a wild boar, and the Apteshwar temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, completing the trinity. Numerous bathing 'ghats' surround the lake and pilgrims immerse themselves in the holy waters for a cleansing of both body and soul.

Strict rules cover the town and especially the ghats: Pushkar is totally vegetarian and alcohol-free, even to the extent of banning eggs; and nefarious activities like wearing shoes, show of affection and baring your torso are strictly forbidden within 30 feet of the lake. So is photographing the ghats and the insides of the temples.

After a special lassi for breakfast (a legal mix of bhaang and curd), you could wander for hours around the holy lake, stopping every twenty metres to have absurd conversations with people or observe surreal scenes: a cow with five legs used by a sadhu to collect holy rupees, a t-shirt vendor painting Dali on his ware, kids diving in the muddy waters and resurfacing with a mouthful of coins, ones thrown in as offerings by pilgrims. Most of the elder locals, however, conserve their energy for the town's unbelievable population of black-faced monkeys. They (the monkeys) would run across a cafe into an artifact store and end up in tree, while the staff rushed out from their habitual slumber and yelled short sharp admonitions into the branches. The monkeys would take not a blind bit of notice, and after a couple of minutes it would hard to tell difference between the chased and the chasers.

Stopping for brunch could be nice, especially at the blaring Pink Floyd cafe, filled with fairy lights, mattresses laid out on the floor and hammocks swinging amongst the trees. The menu boasts a widew variety of global cuisine. The rooms in the cafe are obviously named after famed Pink Floyd albums. And a tourist sitting with his laptop typing in his travelogue escapes the prying eyes of curious locals.

The high point of each day is the sunset, invariably fantastic and vastly different from the previous day. An evening at the Sunset Point cafe, sitting on the steps of the ghat, listening to two local drummers pound away the perfect soundtrack to an incredible sunset. The tempo is slow and mellow as the sun starts its way down but by the time the lake is glowing orange, the musicians are whipping up a storm. Some foreigners take the liberty of joining them with their own drums and guitars. A very heady mix of the sun, the sand and the sounds.

Another day, another evening calls for a visit to the Savitri temple, perched on a looming mountain across the lake. An intimidating set of stairs across the mountain leads one to an isolated temple on the top. The view of the sun setting into the desert horizon and reflecting out of the sand dunes are a probably once in a life time experience.

At nightfall the twinkle of village lights reflecting and a distant tinkle of folk instruments. The fragrance of burning dung and pungently spiced food wafts across the open spaces. The fire place laden with wood and locals are generous enough to bake some sweet potatoes in the fire and treat the visitors to some delicacies on the house. Small things in life with a tinge of warmth and lots of stories.

Pushkar is classic India, an all around travellers' destination. It is a pot-pourri of contrasts. Lake - Desert, Europen tourists - Indian pilgrims, silence - bustle, Israeli cafes - bhojanalayas, bland - colourful, noise - music. People are friendly, and certainly colourful: a perfect place to unwind. A conclusion to the description of Pushkar could surely forgive a bit of poetry - It's a riot of colour, a torrent of images, a burst of sounds, an intermingling of worlds, and the final cliché - a tale of magic, magic, magic everywhere

Accomodation
Luxury( Rs.2,000 - Rs. 5,000):
RTDC's Hotel Sarovar (Phone : 0145 - 722040), was actually a palace built by Raja Man Singh of Amer and is next to bank of the lake.
Pushkar Palace (Phone : 0145 - 772944 / 45), also by the lake, is also a very comfortable place to stay in with a good view of the village and the mountains surrounding it.

Economy (Rs. 200 - Rs. 300) :
Lake View Guest House (Phone : 0145-2772106) in the middle of the town, by the lake is a surprisingly nice and comfortable place for budget travellers.

Access:
Air: Jaipur (146 km) is the nearest airport.
Rail: Ajmer (11 km) is the nearest railhead.
Road: Numerous busses of the Rajasthan Tourism plies to Ajmer from Delhi, Agra, Gwalior and other places in Rajasthan. From Ajmer there are busses available within minutes.

To visit Pushkar during the Pushkar Mela, it is advisable to reserve accomodation well in advabnce.

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