GAMES FOREIGNERS PLAY AT THE PUSHKAR FAIR, RAJASTHAN. INCREDIBLE INDIA!

Last Updated on December 5, 2019 by asoulwindow

This blog is a part of my series on the Pushkar fair of Rajasthan in Incredible India. I traveled solo in shoestring budget to Pushkar fair. 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 how foreigners enjoy the Pushkar fair in Rajasthan.

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GAMES PEOPLE PLAY AT PUSHKAR FAIR!

I would suggest assign an entire day in Pushkar fair to attend activities and sports organized by the Pushkar fair committee. The brochure which I picked up has a list of programmed scheduled to be held such as the kabaddi match, the milking session, the camel race etc. but not a single program started at the time mentioned on the brochure resulting in me missing many events.
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Foreigners won the ‘matki fod’ competition. Pushkar fair, Rajasthan, Incredible India!

MATKI FOD

Last day though I got lucky and witnessed some sport events. Starting with ‘Matki-fod’ (Break the pot) , two teams were formed on voluntary basis, one comprised of Indians (locals) and the other an eclectic mix of men from different nationalities. So we had an American, A Spanish, a Japanese, an Australian etc.
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A local woman watching the games at the stadium. Pushkar fair, Rajasthan, Incredible India!
Two ‘matkis’ aka clay pots were hung up in the air. The game was simple: Form a human pyramid and break the matki. The team which breaks first is the winner! Few rounds of practice was allowed to rehearse the same as for most it was a first time activity and most had volunteered to participate on a whim. That’s the spirit of Pushkar fair! We even had a cheerleading group.
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Her 15 minutes of fame. A foreigner woman being interviewed by TV Channels after winning a game. Pushkar fair, Rajasthan, Incredible India!

THE AUDIENCE!

Some foreign girls in their 20s got really excited with all the action and enjoyed hooting while our desi counterparts, i.e., the local Rajasthani girls also in their 20s were coy in their own land and watching the game covered in their translucent veil, hiding behind the pillars and shyly smiling at the going ons.
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A local woman watching the games forefingers played. Pushkar fair, Rajasthan, Incredible India!
I couldn’t help but marvel at this huge social-cultural-religious difference. Somehow, I was sure that the Indian team would bag the prize, but surprisingly the foreigners won the game by a whisker. But it was fun, prize was not the agenda here, having fun was!
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When in Rajasthan, do as the Rajasthanis do. Foreigners at Pushkar fair, Rajasthan, Incredible India!
 

The all women race like no other:

 
Then I witnessed another amusing game where women of mixed nationalities raced with each other. The Pushkar twist here is that they will have a large water filled clay pot on their head while they ran. On reaching the finishing line, the contestants have to remove the pot from the head and break on the dusty ground. Whoever does it first wins! The foreign woman who won could contain herself and was delirious with joy. What fueled her excitement was a news channel who interviewed her with platitudes like, “How do you feel?” to which she replied animatedly. So want your proverbial 15 minutes of fame. Come to Pushkar fair!
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Lagaan like hockey match between Indians and foreigners. Pushkar fair, Rajasthan, Incredible India!
 

LAGAAN STYLE MATCH, ANYONE?

I also got to see a kabaddi match and a hockey match involving the locals and foreigners. It is this involvement with local culture and a heady mix of activities, food, shows, performances, shopping and the bizarreness and quirkiness of it all that attracts foreigner traveller.All this at a shoestring budget! No wonder some tourists return to the fair like migratory birds year after year! It’s that addictive!
 
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A European dressed as an Indian bride. Pushkar fair, Rajasthan, Incredible India!

TOURIST TRAPS AT PUSHKAR FAIR!

Then there were hawkers, sadhus, local kids, fancily dressed adults harassing and amusing the clueless foreign tourists. I was sitting next to a foreign couple waiting for some program to start. They were entertained by a family of four locals dressed in traditional attire. They would do an impromptu jig seducing the old couple to dole out the money. More money…and then some more money…This couple was sweet enough to keep a smile on their face despite being conned (and they knew they were being conned) but they actually enjoyed the private interaction with the locals. Some foreigners who were perhaps not too keen on the exotica, appeared miffed with all the harassment and pestering by the locals.
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The foreigner couple regaled by a local kid. Pushkar fair, Rajasthan, Incredible India!
 

JEW PRESENCE IN PUSHKAR!

Then there were some yawn inducing though passionate exchange of platitudes shared on stage by organizers and local political and religious leaders. The Jew presence loomed large.
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The Rabbi at the stadium. Pushkar has a surprisingly heavy Jew presence. Pushkar fair, Rajasthan, Incredible India!
The bearded and garlanded Rabbi was speaking of brotherhood , co-operation and all that jazz in flawless Hindi. There were foreign women dressed up as Indian village belles.
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Women from different nations competing in the best Indian Bride competition. Read about it in my other blogs on Pushkar fair. Links are shared below. Pushkar fair, Rajasthan, Incredible India!

FOREIGNERS DRESSING AS INDIAN BRIDE IS A RAGE!

One of them was sitting pretty in a camel cart complete with bridal frills such as flowers, decoration and a ghoonghat. Ghoonghat is a veil worn by North Indian women to cover their face. And I have observed the more an Indian woman covers up, more shy she is! I was wondering what she was thinking in that ghoonghat.
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The European woman dressed as an Indian bride. Pushkar fair, Rajasthan, Incredible India!
 

HIRE A MODEL FOR THROWAWAY FEES!

 
Pushkar fair is a photographer’s and sketcher’s delight! Especially the way people dress up in traditional attire with bizzare ornaments. Picture this: Bangles which cover every inch of the arm making them look like as if they are wearing a water tumbler. I started shooting some of them in the stadium grounds. Once done, turned out they were charging to pose as models.
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The local woman who doubled as a model. Pushkar fair, Rajasthan, Incredible India!
Everyone from a ‘sadhu’ (holy men) to a rural Rajasthani housewife and children were willingly posing if you paid them. Amused, I didn’t mind it as their fees ranged between a throw away Rs.30 – Rs.50. The more pictures you click and the more you waste their time, so more the fees. The foreigners had it tougher. They had to dole out much more money than what I did. And like me, while clicking even they were not aware that these ‘models’ charge.
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The local woman who doubles up as a model. Pushkar fair, Rajasthan, Incredible India!
So, I was amused observing them being stuck in this sticky situation. But once you pay them, they’ll give you good results. They even know some winner poses which would make a top model run for her money.
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Shy local women watching games that foreigners play at Pushkar fair, Rajasthan, Incredible India!
 

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Local women watching games foreigners play at Pushkar fair, Rajasthan, Incredible India!

 

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Local woman who doubled up as a model. Pushkar fair, Rajasthan, Incredible India!

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The foreigners won the ‘matki fod’ game. Sigh! Pushkar fair, Rajasthan, Incredible India!

16 thoughts on “GAMES FOREIGNERS PLAY AT THE PUSHKAR FAIR, RAJASTHAN. INCREDIBLE INDIA!”

  1. Loving your entire Pushkar series. Its funny and very impressive to see foreigners win the madki phod contest! Lolz. Totally love your photographs of local women and esp that shot of the woman with translucent veil is just too good!

  2. Your picture of the foreigners breaking the matkis is the best photo ever! What an awesome event. I would love to see this! I think it would be pretty amusing to watch foreigners getting charged for taking photos of the “models” haha.

  3. This post is a storm of colors and movement, a rain of faces and sounds, at one point it looked to me I was right in the middle of the party trying to break the pot! And such beautiful pictures! You have been a real “hunter” of instants. Well, I have no more excuses but travel to India!

  4. I have heard such great things about Pushkar fair and this post have seriously intrigued me to attend the next year 🙂 All the games are awesome and being an Indian I know about most of them with the exception of dressing up as a bride. It is such a fun way to spread our culture and get amazing pictures 😀 I couldn’t believe that these locals actually charge for being photographed, gosh this is really weird to accept!! But I guess it’s their way to earn something out of a fair filled with tourists. Lovely pictures overall!!

  5. You got me at women as Indian brides!!! Obviously, we will enjoy the Pushkar Fair. Your photos always pop out! You are such a great people photographer. I don’t think it is a trick. India is incredible!

  6. What a fascinating place. When I first read games, none of the ones mentioned came to mind! I love the photos and the rich colors. This would be amazing to experience in person!

  7. What an enchanting tour de force of the Pushkar fair. The pictures are so beautiful, not a single word is needed to tell the story of the Pushkar fair, in fact, the pictures render the words redundant. Love the raw power and spirit of the event captured here.Hope to be at the fair someday to experience first hand this amazing spectacle.

  8. Wow! The Pushkar fair looks like a lot of fun! I always love playing games so this looks right up my alley. It’s so cool to see how these games bring the different cultures together. Thanks for sharing something so interesting!

  9. The Pushkar fair seems incredible! The colour, the excitement it is like nothing else I’ve read about! Surely you may need more than a day?! It’s interesting about photographing locals for money. I can’t tell if that makes me feel uncomfortable. but it is good to know about the culture.

  10. The game that the foreigners narrowly won sounds an exciting one! I’d love to people photograph but I’d only give them the same as you 30-50 rupees. It wouldn’t bother me if they got angry and expected ne to pay more!

  11. India fascinates me – No other place in the world impresses me more than what India has to offer! Great read – I’ve never heard of the Pushkar Fair before but I would love to be one of those foreigners playing the games. Loved the photography – you captured great portraits of the locals! 🙂

  12. The range of shows and activities sounds very interesting. Pity many didn’t start on time which made you miss a few shows. The Break the Pot activity sounds interesting. What I love about your post is how you have captured the beautiful portraits about the people at the fair.

  13. You have captured really nice portraits of veiled village girls. even behind the veil they look full of life, naught and satisfied. Foreigners having rage to dress up like a bride is quite interesting. I love those matki fod kind of games and even now also we host such type of games which are mostly seen in village fairs.

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