Khamma Ghani Pushkar

With a backpack full of memories, I headed to Sindhi Camp Bus Stand in Jaipur for my next destination; Pushkar. Pushkar is a small town located in the Ajmer District of Rajasthan. Every year this town hosts a camel fair for five days. The camel fair is mainly organised for buying and selling of livestock. Apart from this I was told, a lot of competitions are held and local handicrafts are sold.

Having missed the Pushkar Fair, I wasn’t really sure what I would do in this peaceful town. It took little more than two hours to reach Ajmer and from there another half an hour to reach Pushkar. Unlike the hustle bustle of Jaipur, Pushkar seemed to be a sleepy town. Still unsure about what to do in Pushkar, I asked my Hostel Manager about the things I must do in Pushkar. While visiting the Brahma temple topped the list, offering prayers at the Ghat and visiting Savitri temple on a hill top were among the other things he mentioned I could do. It all seemed doable in one day.

Since I reached Pushkar in the afternoon and I had one full day to do the above mentioned things, I decided to visit Ajmer Sharif in the evening. Pilgrims come from far and wide to offer their prayers here.

Ajmer Sharif

Tip: One must cover their heads before entering the dargah so make sure to carry your handkerchiefs and dupattas

On reaching the dargah, I could feel a positive energy. I was told by many that all wishes come true here. But seeing the sufferings of the pilgrims I found myself being grateful for the blessings instead of making wishes. Perhaps it was one of the rare moments in my life when I actually counted my blessings.

Luckily for me, I had reached the dargah in the evening. I got to see the musicians perform qawali. Their soulful voice and the aura of the place had an unusual calming effect on me.

Musicians performing Qawali in Ajmer Sharif Dargah

The next day was the day to explore Pushkar so the first thing I did was to hire a two wheeler. I started with the famous Pushkar Lake. You can just sit by the lake and see everyone go about with their daily activities. You can also offer your prayers.

Pushkar Lake

After sitting by the lake for some time, I visited the Brahma temple. It is said that Pushkar is the only place which has a Brahma temple. One of the local priests told me that according to legend, Lord Brahma wanted to perform Yajna at the Pushkar Lake. While Lord Brahma was ready to perform the Yajna, his wife, Savitri, could not reach at the designated time. Fearing that the yajna would not be performed at the auspicious time, Lord Brahma married a local girl named Gayatri and performed the same. Seeing Gayatri sitting at her place, Savitri cursed Brahma that he won’t be worshiped anywhere except in Pushkar.

Intrigued by the story and the possibility to see a lovely sunset, I decided to visit the Savitri temple at the hill top. Now one can either climb the stairs or take a ropeway to reach the hilltop. The lazy me chose the latter.

After seeing a lovely sunset, I thought of buying few gifts for my folks. Now I don’t love shopping but I found myself going on a shopping spree in Pushkar market. Afghani pants, leather bags and notebooks made out of handmade paper were some of the things that I bought here without burning a hole in my pocket.

The next morning I woke up with a heavy heart. Although Pushkar is a sleepy town with very few things to do, I wanted to spend some more time here. It felt good to be away from the fast life for a change but like all good things, my stay in Pushkar had to end too. So I headed back home hoping to be back in Pushkar soon…perhaps for the Pushkar fair next time 🙂

I tried Laffa for the first time in Pushkar. It is an Israeli street food. This Indian version had raw veggies like cabbage, tomato along with mashed potato and white sauce.