One of the many activities put together to add festivities to the pure commercial / trading activities of the Mela is a Camel Decoration contest. Think Henna on a camel.
The Mela is not only for camels, however. It is also an opportunity to show and sell one’s prized “Arabian” horses.
But the masses of traders who have come to the Mela are not confining themselves to the desert dunes. Quite to the contrary ~ the Mela is also an opportunity for travellers and nomads from far and wide to come and buy goods in the town of Pushkar. The normally quiet streets of Pushkar become hard to navigate, so large are the throngs of visitors.
The groups are starting to be distinguishable to us after a few days ~ Men in white outfits and bright red turbans from Gujarat, a nearby state. “Gypsy” women, their hands and feet beautifully decorated by henna and arms laden with bracelets. Sufis, who have come from far, with their very distinctive dress and turbans.
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| This gypsy woman struck up a conversation with Peta – By the end of the conversation, they were discussing arranged marriages for our 4 boys and her 4 daughters… |
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Shopping is rampant and it is fun to see what products are attracting most visitors.
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Men shopping for wooden walking sticks.
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A truly amazing world, Ms. Peta! Thank you for a peek. Now I know that dressing up and painting a camel does little to improve its beauty. 🙂 Happy travels, Charles
I too prefer animals unadorned with clothes and jewelry. I did like the henna designs though, those were pretty cool.
Somehow reminds me of the book Caravans by James Michener although that was about the camel caravans in Afganistan, Peta, blending in in that getup, you could well be Ellen Jasper…
I will have to read up on Ellen Jasper!
Peta, Were you inclined to buy a decorated camel to be sent to Chicago???? A very different world indeed !!!!
No, JB, no camel purchasing for Chicago… they are not cuddly enough. A baby elephant from Sri Lanka on the other hand, that’s very tempting!
These photographs are truly amazing. I have never been to the Pushkar Camel Fair, but your pictures took me there virtually and I must thank you for such wonderful experience.
Cheers, Charu
Thanks Charu for your comments and for stopping by to read us. The camel fair was definitely a unique once in a lifetime experience.
Peta
Wow amazing shots! Unfortunate that we missed the annual Camel Fair by a few short weeks but we are still very excited to experience Pushkar’s small-town charm!
Gary the first time we were in Pushkar was years before this and we were determined that one day we would be back, but this time during camel fair. And we did it! Pushkar is magical regardless. Ben seriously considered making Pushkar our home base. Enjoy!
Peta
What a wonderful post. The camel decorating is a bit strange, the henna art is pretty neat though. Thanks for bringing it to us with your wonderful images.