3 MUST SEE POINTS OF INTEREST IN PUSHKAR FAIR: SOLO BUDGET TRIP IN RAJASTHAN, INCREDIBLE INDIA!

Last Updated on December 5, 2019 by asoulwindow

3 MUST SEE POINTS OF INTEREST IN PUSHKAR FAIR: SOLO BUDGET TRIP IN RAJASTHAN, INCREDIBLE INDIA!
This blog is a part of my series on the Pushkar fair of Rajasthan in Incredible India. Check out all my blogs in the series which apart from many interesting aspects of Pushkar fair, lists down information like – Best time to go to Pushkar, Best things to eat in Pushkar Fair, How to reach Pushkar Fair, Offbeat things to do in Pushkar etc. This blog is about Top 3 points of interest in Pushkar fair. The places mentioned can also be visited even when the Pushkar fair is not going on.
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Kutchi Ghodi Dance. Pushkar Fair near Ajmer, Rajasthan. Incredible India!
The road leading up to Brahma Temple in Pushkar is crowded and mostly thronged by shoppers. Shops selling handicrafts, spices, religious things, ethnic clothes etc. inundate the streets. Also on sale were the beautiful but incongruous posters of The Pink Floyd, Elvis etc priced obscenely at Rs.5,000/-, Rs.6,000/-. Obviously, it was targeted at the foreigners.
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Brahma Temple. Pushkar Fair near Ajmer, Rajasthan. Incredible India! 
Brahma Temple of Pushkar is much revered amongst the pilgrims and it is of much importance as it is one of the few temples dedicated solely to the Lord Brahma, credited in the Hindu mythology with the creation of the world. The temple is believed to be 2000 years old though the present building dates back to 14th century.
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Local women. Pushkar Fair near Ajmer, Rajasthan. Incredible India! 
International Business Times has identified Pushkar Lake and the Brahma temple as one of the ten most religious places in the world and one of the five sacred pilgrimage places for the Hindus, in India. Being an atheist and more of a believer of the Big Bang Story, I skipped visiting the temple. The overflowing crowd and a no camera, no bags policy were the other deterrents. But I strongly recommend a visit to this remarkable pilgrim site, important from both historical and mythological perspective. I just saw the outer façade of the temple and rushed to Ajmer for my overnight solo budget trip via bus to Udaipur.

PUSHKAR LAKE AKA PUSHKAR SAROVAR

Absorbed in the festival activities, I had almost forgotten that Pushkar is better known for being a pilgrim site. Being an atheist, I kept postponing exploring this aspect of Pushkar. So on the last day, I knew I had to do it. So I rushed to the famous Pushkar lake aka Pushkar sarovar. It is a very important site for Hindu pilgrims. Pushkar lake may remind you of the ghats of Varanasi. This lake has more than 50 ghats where believers congregate to have a holy dip, in the hope of rinsing themselves of all their sins.
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Pushkar Lake aka Pushkar Sarovar. Pushkar Fair near Ajmer, Rajasthan. Incredible India! 
During Pushkar fair,the lake sees maximum influx of people as it is considered auspicious in Hindu mythology to have a holy dip during Karthik Poornima, which generally falls in October-November.
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Local women in the mela ground. Pushkar Fair near Ajmer, Rajasthan. Incredible India! 
Like Varanasi, the lake is dotted with temples on all the ghats. Pushkar fair falls around the same time when Dev Deepawali in Goa and Varanasi takes place with enthusiasm. It is a lesser known secret of Varanasi where the ghats magically come alive with thousands of lit ‘diyas’ (earthen lamps), chanting of hymns and mantras and a ‘Maha aarti’.
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Dragon Rides. Pushkar Fair near Ajmer, Rajasthan. Incredible India! 
It was disturbing to know that once crocodiles roamed the lake and devoured the pilgrims. Before much damage the British captured them and rehabilitated the crocs. Today the only wildlife you get to see here is fish in the shallow water and a huge number of pigeons. Photography is strictly prohibited here because often some women go topless (mostly older) while bathing here. I got to learn this while I had already taken some pictures. A man with authoritative stance accosted me for using my camera on the ghats. It was only when I expressed ignorance and showed him the pictures I had clicked, was I and my expensive camera spared! Perhaps, since I was traveling solo, I was zeroed in on.
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Massage parlor signboard. Pushkar Fair near Ajmer, Rajasthan. Incredible India! 
 
As I exited the Pushkar lake, I came across massage parlors. I remember one dubious looking ‘Chandra Massage’ The kitschy promotional banner outside had a sad looking white pigeon (or was it a duck? Or was it a cross between pigeon and a duck?) spreading its wings wide the way Indian superstar Shah Rukh Khan spreads open his arms and claiming “Chandra Massage READY TO FLY ….COME ONCE…..MUST TRY……….” It looked dubious and I had one more opportunity to say, ‘No thanks’ in this city.
 
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Pushkar Lake aka Pushkar Sarovar. Pushkar Fair near Ajmer, Rajasthan. Incredible India! 

OLD RANGJI TEMPLE, PUSHKAR

I quickly moved to the last stop, Old Rangji Temple. Established in 1844, the temple indeed looked ancient. It has a huge campus with a temple in the center. I arrived at around 15:45 hrs. The temple still being closed, I took off my slippers outside the temple and started taking a round of the campus and admiring the temple from the outside. It has some beautiful paintings in the Rajpoot style depicting Lord Krishna, his consorts aka gopis and animal motifs such as peacock, cows, elephants, lions and other wildlife of India.
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Old Rangji Temple. Pushkar Fair near Ajmer, Rajasthan. Incredible India! 
Soon the temple opened its gate and I took out my camera and started adjusting the settings. I was still in the campus when a super angry pujari (priest) stood up , pointed fingers at me and screamed at me at the top of his voice, “NO CAMERAS…PUT THE CAMERA INSIDE…NOW!!!!!!!” He was shivering in rage. It was straight out of Indian epics such as Mahabharata and Ramayana where holy men give ‘shraaps’ aka curses to the offenders and sinners at their whims and fancy. Upset at the way he shouted at me, and scared if he would turn me into one of the peacocks on the walls, I put my camera in my bag and walked towards the shoe rack. And where the hell are my slippers? Turned out my slippers were literally and unceremoniously thrown out of the temple (in spite of me keeping them at designated place, sigh!). One slipper in the north, the other in the south.
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Old Rangji Temple. Pushkar Fair near Ajmer, Rajasthan. Incredible India! 
I almost laughed at the way I was humiliated at this ancient temple. Told you God and me were never meant to be on amiable terms. Angry, I left the temple without seeing it from the inside and headed to catch a bus to Ajmer, from where I had a train to Mumbai.
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Foreigners enjoying the rides at Pushkar Fair near Ajmer, Rajasthan. Incredible India! 
 

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13 thoughts on “3 MUST SEE POINTS OF INTEREST IN PUSHKAR FAIR: SOLO BUDGET TRIP IN RAJASTHAN, INCREDIBLE INDIA!”

  1. I love old architecture so seeing the Brahma temple that’s over 2000 years old sounds pretty amazing. Totally agree with you that it’s disturbing that crocodiles at the lake used to eat the pilgrims there! Good thing it’s just fish now.

  2. Cannot even tell you how many years I’ve heard of Pushkar Fair and somehow I have never organised to visit the area. I’d love to visit Pushkar Lake, the steps down to the water are so photogenic and it seems this place is not so crowded if you visit at the right time? Is the Rangji temple part of that same complex by the lake or a separate location?

  3. Pingback: HOT AIR BALLOON RIDE IN PUSHKAR FAIR, RAJASTHAN IS UNLIKE ANY OTHER. INCREDIBLE INDIA! | A Soul Window - Travel Blog from India!

  4. Wow, what an adventure you had! The pictures are awesome and give such a feel for the environment. I can’t believe someone threw your shoes out of the temple!

  5. What a fascinating place. Pilgrimage destinations are some of my favorite spots to visit, as I get the benefit of learning about local traditions as well. The more I see about India, the more it seems you can’t run out of places to go.

  6. I’ve never been to Pushkar fair yet! Yes, I know.. Too bad of me, right? I hope I’ll get to go soon. Brahma Temple would be the top priority for its rarity! I haven’t heard of the Rangji temple, so I guess that’s a must visit for me as well!

  7. Yikes, sorry you had a bad experience and got your shoes thrown out! I’m usually not big on visiting religious places so I’m not sure if I’d ever make it here… especially when I run the risk of getting yelled at haha! Pushkar sounds like an incredible place otherwise though, maybe I’ll stick to the outdoors 🙂

  8. Those temples are really worth a visit to. They are old and attach much history and prominence. The Indian culture is so rich and it’s celebrated in every of their lives and buildings. So sad you had ca not so good’ time at the temple, but guess you enjoyed the other sightseeing sites. I’d love to visit India some day

  9. These temples are incredible, and full of such rich cultural, and religious, heritage. I can’t believe the first one is 2,000 years old, that’s Jesus times!! Wonderful photos on a place I’ve never heard about. Thank you.

  10. Abigail Sinsona

    I’ve always been fascinated with the architecture of India. The Brahma Temple is number one on my must-see list among the ones you featured. I love the religious festivals too, and would love to attend at least one in my life.

  11. I always find your posts so interesting and this is certainly no exception. It is odd that on the one hand, tourism is encouraged and yet, cameras are so disliked. Tourism and cameras really do go together as people appreciate beauty and want to create memories of a great trip. Perhaps it is different in a religious context but you would still think that you should have been asked politely, rather than being yelled at. Otherwise I am sure you enjoyed being in such an interesting place.

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