Pushkar, a town bordering the Thar Desert was our next destination. It is set on the very beautiful Pushkar Lake, a sacred Hindu site with 52 Ghats. Since we hadn’t seen any Ghats at Varanasi, we were looking forward to the prospect of these.
We had been forewarned about the ‘Pushkar Passport’, so we were ready with our own passports bought in Shadipur. The passport is the blessing bracelet made of red and gold thread. It shows you have been blessed and paid your donation. By wearing it you are left alone by the temple touts. It transpires that many of the priests here are not genuine, the Pooja - blessing for your fore-fathers is free but then you’re asked for a donation - the cost can be ludicrously high, depending on where you come from. They even accept all major credit cards. It has led to some very unsavoury bullying behaviour. No point in calling the police when it turns nasty because they are in on the scam too. The main Ghats are cordoned and policed by holy men all working to get the donation. Only a couple of Ghats are freely open to walk on in peace. Surrounding the lake are tired, tatty dirty shops all targeted for the tourist market.
Blessing at Jagnnath Ghat
The problem with this town lies with the religious people because they do nothing to stop this corruption. Infact, they encourage it, because they earn a good wage from it. The knock-on effect is that it’s killing the trade in the town. It drives people away from spending their money and keeps the quality of the goods sold here really low.
Cordoned Ghat.
It was only a matter of days before we felt very disillusioned by Pushkar. Its phoney rules painted on holy walls, phoney people and phoney priests. The centre is a fake tourist trap in beautiful surroundings that you’re prevented from enjoying in peace.
So what did I like about Pushkar?
The real life in the periphery of town and the abundance of cows and dogs. More cows than you could ever imagine, roaming freely round the town, in and out of shops and hanging out in the middle of major highways and blocking tiny alleys, not giving two hoots about anyone or anything - except for their chapatis. Roads can become gridlocked just because of a cow. The barber shops are a joy and I’m getting quite a collection of images from each town we visit.
Our local Tailor
Pushkar Puddle. We brought rain to Pushkar
Our local Barber’s.
Barber and Pedicure
You Tuber from Pushkar
Our faith in Pushkar as a whole was restored by a jeep ride into the Thar desert and the surrounding villages - this is the future for Pushkar if it is to turn it’s economy around, investing in the future and not just for today. It is stunning.