Pushkar Fair Tour.com Pushkar Ghats

Pushkar Ghats

The Pushkar Ghat is holy to the Hindus and religious ceremonies are performed simultaneously as camels are being traded. The night at the fairground takes on a Carnival atmosphere. The ferris wheel attracts line-ups of giggling Rajput women in their richly coloured saris and sparkling bangles that stretch from wrist to shoulder. Roadside vendors sell pots, pans, bangles, saris, belts and other various items. Campfires dot the dark desert like bright stars as the evening meal is prepared.

Originally begun as a festival to honor Lord Brahma, the creator of the universe, it also became the biggest camel fair on earth. The 200,000 pilgrims, farmers and camel drivers who attend it each year are joined by 50,000 camels and cattle, all descending on the small town of Pushkar at the edge of the Marusthali Desert. They, in turn, are joined by Hindu holy men, vendors, musicians, actors, tattoo artists, marriage brokers, outsiders and tourists in a combination county fair, hoedown, shivaree and Chautauqua that lasts seven days.

By the end of it, wagers from dozens of camel, horse and donkey races will have passed through many hands, devout Hindus will have performed ritual ablutions at the edge of Pushkar Lake (India's most sacred) and the usually empty and drear Marusthali will have bloomed with thousands of human flowers.