Amritsar -
Haridwar -
Rishikesh -
Manikaran -
Pushkar
Bombay -
Goa -
Hampi -
Dharamsala -
Gorakhpur
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Pushkar
With 50 Tolas in my baggage I travelled to Delhi, where the usual chaos awaited me with its noise and smog caused mostly by the Tuk-Tuks, the three wheeled motorrized rickshaws.
The gap between rich and poor was especially apparent at Connaught Place, with its luxurious shops and first class restaurants offering all the delicacies available on the Indian subcontinent; and 'to my great pleasure' strictly divided into vegetarian and non-vegetarian. Beggars were present here too, hoping to get a few Paisas. Usually it wasn't the rich with their fat bellies who gave to the poor; they were not ashamed of their corpulence, quite the opposite was the case since it is an outward sign of their wealth. What decadence! Of course I donated to those poor people, many of them sick, missing limbs and having open wounds, but my funds were limited too, and I also needed some money. When I gave one whole Rupee, I was followed by a whole horde of beggars.
I took the train to Jaipur, the city of goldsmiths and jewellers. From there I continued on by bus to Pushkar. This idyllic city lies on the edge of the Thar Desert. And right in the middle of this desert, is the holy Lake Jayestha. From Ratnagiri Hill with its Saraswati Temple, you had a gorgeous panoramic view.
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Ratnagiri Hill
According to legend Brahma flew on the back of Hamsa, the wild goose, across the earth to find a suitable location for making a sacrifice. He dropped three lotus flowers on the earth and immediately three springs started spouting water and the lakes were formed.
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Peter Engelhardt
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Jayestha Lake
Photos by Peter Engelhardt - 1979
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Jayestha Lake II
Photo by Ian Watkinson - 1980
The Jayestha is the largest and the most significant lake, the two smaller lakes usually are dried out. In this place there’s one of the few Brahma Temples because Brahma manifested himself only here. Unfortunately only Hindus are permitted to enter the Temple.
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Ian Watkinson
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Brahma Temple
Photo by Lichtfaktor
During the Indian month of Kartik, in the phase of the full moon (October/November) there’s a high level of activity there. During the time of the Pushkar-Mela it is most beneficial to take a bath in the holy Lake. It is not just a religious event however but also a very famous camel market and fun fair.
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Lichtfaktor
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Pushkar Mela
Hundred thousands of people ‘capture’ this small and quiet town, bringing ten thousands of camels, building their tents all around the lake’s dunes.
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Pushkar Mela II
They erect sales booths, carousels and ferris wheels.
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Fair with ferris wheels
Photos by Peter Engelhardt - 1979
I lived in a hotel right next to the lake. It was still peaceful; I enjoyed the quiet before the storm sitting on the roof of my hotel at dusk. In the middle of the roof there was a small garden. Next to it a gigantic tree, its branches reaching into the red-golden evening sky its colours further enriched by the blue-green-golden peacocks holding their evening meeting here. They already had announced their coming with their distant calls of 'Piau...Piau!'; their desperate calls for water, as the Indians interprete the peacocks' screams.
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Proud peacock
Photo by Ardian Fu
But these proud creatures didn't have much time to present their glorious colours nor to enjoy the last gold of the day from the height of their tree, they were shied away from the ever present monkeys. Their tail feathers spread the peacocks tried to threaten the apes by making a rattling sound with those feathers, a thoroughly electrifying, almost unpleasant sound; also the huge 'eyes' on those feathers, meant to discourage enemies from pursuing them didn't help.Their tail feathers spread the peacocks tried to threaten the apes by making a rattling sound with those feathers, a thoroughly electrifying, almost unpleasant sound; also the huge 'eyes' on those feathers, meant to discourage enemies from pursuing them didn't help.
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Ardian Fu
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Peacocks-expelling monkeys
Digital image by Mimulux
But the apes weren't after meat. All they wanted was to have their regular places back. The following day I saw how they stole an entire stalk of bananas from a fruit vendor's stall - surely the income of some days for the poorest. When I had forgotten to close the window the other day some sweets were missing.
I would have loved staying here longer. There was going to be a Pushkar-Mela shortly and whenever this event took place prices of hotels doubled and trippled.
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Mimulux
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Camel Safari
Photo by Sehvermögen
Pushkar is also the starting point for camel safaris into the Indian desert, which also lured me with its scent but I mananged to withstand this expensive temptation. It was high time for me to continue my journey to Goa, as others I knew had done before me, considering the dangerous 'freight' I carried.
further
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