Pushkar and holy cows

After a very nice two hour train ride from Jaipur we arrived in Pushkar two days ago. We are now in the desert complete with camels and dry, dusty roads. We have a nice hotel room that overlooks a field of camels, pigs and an occasional monkey. The room also looks out over the city and some desert mountains. We hit the prime time for weddings in India (Valentine’s Day plus or minus three days) so there is non-stop band music from roving wedding bands. It’s the strangest music though and sounds like a 1950’s late night horror flick soundtrack.

Pushkar is a very strange place, so strange and comical we are enthralled. It is a holy city that legend has it came into existence when Lord Brahma dropped a lotus flower to earth. The petals dropped in three locations in the desert and formed small lakes, one of them being Pushkar. The waters are thought to cleanse the soul from impurities so Hindus come from all over to bath in the waters. There is only one problem – the lake is almost bone dry from an 11 year drought (imagine water in front of the while buildings in the attached photo). But that doesn’t stop the faithful from flocking here in droves as there are numerous temples around the lake and the city is still considered holy. The lake is not all that is dry, you cannot drink alcohol or eat meat in the town, and when you’re on the lake’s marble steps, called ghats, you must remove your shoes and pay ‘donations’. Remember, cows are sacred and roam free which means you are always dodging cow pies. So far while in India, I only managed to step into one. I’ve developed a new obsession of constantly wanting to scrub my feet.

The reason the town is comical is because there are so darn many foreign tourists here and many of them are old leftover or young wannabe hippies. They say if you remember the 60’s you really weren’t there, well, I think we found the 60’s hiding here in Pushkar. The lake is lined with priests wanting to give you a blessing (for small ‘donation’), well today we saw a sage old priest in a bright orange turban making a 50 gram drug deal with tourists for a bit more than a ‘donation’. Hilarious! The town is full of temples, shops, Indian and foreign tourists, tons of cows, monkeys and anything else you want to stir in the pot (or smoke with the pot) none too appetizing.

Fortunately we have a decent hotel on the outskirts of town for some sanity, as you cannot handle Pushkar streets for too long before you need a break.
Laurie