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Pushkar — is the quintessential cliché of everything that is Indian, and which the Indian tourism portrays to the world in all its promotion campaigns. Gorgeous sunsets over rolling sand dunes with camels and turbaned men silhouetted in the foreground, narrow winding streets lined with blue-tinged whitewashed houses and quaint little stores selling brightly coloured jholas, kurtas and bangles. Rajasthani ladies clad in ghagras of bright hues, sadhus with matted hair, snake charmers and cows wandering wherever they please. Pushkar has it all. And, as home to the only Brahma temple in the world, Pushkar also offers that religious and spiritual connection that every ‘soul-searching’ junkie travelling to India often seems to be looking for. Located a mere 20-minute drive from Ajmer, Pushkar is best known for its annual cattle fair, which is also supposedly the largest camel fair in the world. With a presence of more than 50,000 camels and hundreds of thousands people flocking to Pushkar, the fair is a major attraction for photographers, both amateur and professional. As far as accommodation goes, Pushkar has plenty to choose from, including Pushkar Resorts (one of the rare places in Pushkar where you’ll find meat and alcohol.) The city is essentially teetotaller and pure vegetarian. There are a couple of RTDC (Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation) places and a whole range of little guesthouses where most low-budget travellers live. For those on a shoestring budget, these guesthouses are a good option. And the only way to find out which one is good is to ask other travellers on the street. After all, some of them have been living in Pushkar for months. And the more scrufy looking the traveller, the better information would he give. One such nomad was Joaquin, who turned out to be a wandering musician from Spain. He had been living in Pushkar for almost six months. He was a very interesting character, who seemed to know everyone in the city. He told us about a place located somewhere in the maze that is the bylanes of Pushkar, but it was everything he had promised; neat, clean and cheaper than a pint of beer in Delhi (Rs 150 per night). Over the next three days we discovered some of the hidden delights that Pushkar has to offer.
Then there is a camel driver called Mahesh, who sits near the Brahma temple and promises the best desert night safaris in town. We went on a sunset safari on the dunes which was simply magical, but the night safari promises a lot more, including a bonfire, a performance by kalbelia dancers, dinner of laal maas (a very spicy Rajasthani mutton preparation) and a night sleeping under the stars. There is also is a cafe called Out Of The Blue with a gorgeous view of the lake. It serves the best coffee and nutella pancakes. The place came highly recommended by a French couple on the streets. It also does a killer a spaghetti carbonara. A short visit is not enough to do justice to Pushkar, but there is always something one should leave for next time, maybe a night safari and riding a quad bike over the dunes.
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There is this local
street artist Kickasso "the Indian Picasso", a portly old
Sikh gentleman, who sits surrounded by his art at a corner in the
bazaar. He promptly pulls out printouts of a Google search with his
name. "There are millions of hits when I search my name," he
tells you proudly as he tells the story of how some random tourist
decided to name him Kick-ass-o on a whim. And unwittingly, his corner
has become a local landmark.