The Cattle Fair of Pushkar

A veiled woman in Pushkar Mela

Finally it was Pushkar. One of the largest livestock Fair in the world, I have always longed to visit. I had painted several images of this Mela in my imagination without knowing that a much bigger surprise was waiting for me.

From Jaisalmer I had to take an overnight train to Jodhpur where I waited for a couple of hours and took a train to Ajmer. From Ajmer it was nearly an hour of bus journey to Pushkar.

I have booked my stay in the resort of Rajasthan Tourism which was just opposite to the Mela ground. I don't think one can ask for anything better.

The Vibrant Pushkar Mela

It was about 2pm when I checked in. It took an hour to get myself ready and plunge into the Mela. It was completely overwhelming. What hit my eyes and filled my senses was much larger than my imagination. It took some time for me to get acquinted with the Mela and start shooting.

The endless flow of Camels

It was a huge open ground full of tents and makeshift huts. These were temporary settlements of the Cattle traders for 4/5 days when Pushkar fair is entirely a Cattle Fair. After this, the Mela is converted to the religious Pushkar Fair. Several of these settlements were made under Camel carts. I found them quite unique and very interesting.

The flow of cattles continued throughout all the days I stayed there. It was a nice sight to see hundreds of Camels marching to the whistle and other sounds from two cattle runners, one in the front and the other at the end of herd.

Apart from Camels, Horses and Cows were the other major cattles in the Mela. While I was more interested in Camels, Horses were quite glamourous with their airconditioned tents, trainers, a.c wagons etc. etc. The traders of such horses were also quite interesting; dressed as filmy heros they would whisk in & out of the Mela in their swanky sports cars.

 Like any other mela, Pushkar had its own characteristics & charm. It's here that I have seen and experienced real Indians from the heartland of India.

The Cattle traders came from villages hundreds of miles away, mainly from the state of Gujarat & Rajasthan. They came walking with their cattles, for days & nights. They came carrying their needs for roads & also for their stay in Mela. Some of them came with their wives and sometimes also with kids.

Very very simpletons, males and females. It was absolute delight talking to them. So simple and so innocents. But each one of them holds strength which can easily give serious complex to so called body builders. No one including elderly riders used saddle either on horse or on camels. I have seen people jumping on and getting down from running camels & horses and stopping them simply by catching their reins.

While the males remained busy in the trading activities, the females kept themselves busy in looking after the children, cooking etc. The raw beauty and charm of these brightly dressed females were really striking. Absolutely basic but very original; they defied all definitions of style (in its conventional meaning) and created their own style statement.

                                                                             

It was end of October; Winter was just setting in; Nights started getting cold. These people had their own way of warming up and this gave me opportunity to try my long awaited dream shot.

I used to spend the greater part of the days in the Mela ground. While my day used to start with the sunrise, I had to remain indoor from 11am to 4pm due to scorching Sun.
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 I had a very unusual experience in Pushkar Mela. Most of us think Camel is a very timid animal. But in reality they can also be agressive. It was the second day, around 9am, I was framing a candid shot. I was squatted on ground and was quite near to a sitting Camel. Suddenly I felt something hitting my right knee and felt a bite

It was the innocent looking Camel (I have last seen chewing philosophically); it extended its long neck and charged me. I was lucky to have worn a thick canvas trouser which it couldn't pierce. Camels teeth are supposed to be quite poisonous and strong. A bite means few injections and a bad wound.

Apart from being a big livestock fair, Pushkar Cattle Fair is also a famous tourist destination. Every year it attracts thousands of Photographers from all over the world. There are amateurs like me as well as professionals. The Mela also get huge no of tourists from abroad as well as from all over India who come to see this.




Apart from the traders and their families, like any other Mela there were others. Amongst others, the most interesting to me were special barbers trimming Camel's hair and vegabonds clad in fancy dresses of Gypsy, Snake Charmers etc giving pose for Photographers.

But nothing can match the charm of reality specially when you are in the heartland of India and with real Indians; each one full of energy and life.




 

Like every good thing in life, my Rajasthan trip also came to end a little too fast. I had to start the next morning for Jaipur via Ajmer from where I was to catch my Chennai flight in the afternoon. 

There were continuous announcements of authorities for the traders to collect permission to evacuate Mela ground  so that they can leave by morning. I tried some low light shots in that evening.

  

My Last Evening in Pushkar Mela

Early next morning, with heart full of memories and cards full of raw images, I started my return journey to Chennai to be on time for my only daughter's Birthday.

Buses full of pilgrims started coming even in that hours. Everything in the ambience had changed overnight, it was time for religious celebration........