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Dial 9799115956 for a camel in Pushkar, Rajasthan
This photograph was taken at the Pushkar Camel Fair in Rajasthan where these animals are brought for trading. The number tattooed on the camel may be a good idea to identify it but one question comes to mind: After it is sold by the owner, does this mobile number go as a part of the package? 
Click on the image for a larger view.
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Farmers sipping tea at night in Pushkar in Rajasthan during the Camel Fair
This image was taken late night in Pushkar in Rajasthan during the Camel Fair. These farmers, like thousands of others, would have come to the town to buy or sell animals (camels and horses mostly). After a hard day’s work, they are sipping tea at a roadside stall – just a few hours before this, there was barely space in the street behind to even move around with devotees in hundreds of thousands also coming during this period for a holy dip in the town’s lake. Click on the image for a larger view.
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One of the perks of being a travel writer is you get to meet characters you did not even know existed. Including Kikasso the artist in Pushkar.
The only Sikh I met in Pushkar, he says he has been painting since 1970. But he has had careers in the Army as a wireless operator from 1972-1978 and as a cashier in Syndicate Bank after that before taking voluntary retirement in 2000. It was then that he decided to pursue his ambition of being an artist full time. [continue reading…]
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Phool Chand Bhatt pursues his ancestral profession of making puppets for both sale and to put up shows. He lives in Jaipur, but travels to wherever opportunity calls. Like to the Pushkar Camel Fair where he sets up shop for a fortnight every year.
He is one of the many who take a shop in the market for Rs. 5,000-10,000; these would typically be tailoring or grocery shops rest of the year. He sells his puppets starting at Rs. 100 a pair going up to a few thousand. The expensive ones come with proper strings for all parts to move. He also has some very old ones: he collects these from other performers in villages who have decided to give up this profession. There are many he buys for 30-35 Euros to sell for 100-150 Euros to foreigners. [continue reading…]
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The process of buying and selling animals at the Pushkar Camel Fair is a regulated affair. All animals entering the fair grounds are issued a receipt; these need to be produced when the animal is sold.
At the end of all trading, the Government also issues a Safed Chitthi, a kind of a sale deed between the buyer and seller. And these have to be produced at checkposts as proof that only bonafide owners are in possession of animals. There have been incidents when animals have been stolen at night; after all, everyone sleeps in the open during the fair. People usually take turns staying awake to ensure their animals are safe. These receipts also serve as a record of the volume of trade each year, and the value commanded by the animals. [continue reading…]
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Events like the Pushkar Camel Fair are also a time to display special skills – with some bravado thrown in. Take the acrobats and an 11-year old girl dancer, Manjari.
While the acrobats were getting into position, the young girl was introduced as an exponent of Ghoomar, a traditional Rajasthani dance. Her claim to fame according to the show host? She is capable of taking 2,000 revolutions while dancing when normal people would tire after just a few. And off she went…1, 2, 3…by 25 she was looking like she would fall under the harsh sunlight. [continue reading…]
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Camel racing is a popular sport in rural Rajasthan, and it was only fitting to include the event at the Pushkar Camel Fair. However, dollops of amateurism was added to the event when foreign tourists were invited to race the camels. Of course, they could scarcely be expected to make these species walk, let alone run. They were thus allowed a local to ride pillion and be the actual ‘driver.’ [continue reading…]
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If you are looking to buy a camel or a horse, head out to the Pushkar Fair to pick up a good bargain. Yes, the fair ends on November 2, but if you read this in time you may still have time to make a quick trip.
The rates of animals this year have bottomed out due to the drought in many districts. This means lesser money in people’s pockets in a year when camel feed has become dearer – costing Rs. 10 a kg or Rs. 700 a quintal (100 kgs). A typical camel requires 10-20 kg of feed a day. But didn’t we read that camels can go without food for days on end? Rubbish, say the farmers. They eat when we do. [continue reading…]
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