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Pushkar

Pushkar, a city in Rajasthan in northern India, is an important Hindu pilgrimage site. Its importance comes from a legendary account that Brahma performed an important ceremony there. This is the reason why Pushkar is one of the few cities in India to have a temple dedicated to Brahma.

the camel market

Apart from the pilgrimages to Brahma which take place throughout the year, Pushkar hosts Asia's largest cattle fair. This annual market is generally held during the month of November and brings together tens of thousands of camels and horses for sale. You can also see cows there, but in India, what could be more normal ...?

Festivities on the occasion of the camel fair

This annual market is also the occasion for major festivals. Many musicians gather there to give concerts and dance performances. Beauty contests for camels and Marwari horses are organized. There is also a contest for the most beautiful mustache, and god knows how impressive the Rajasthani mustaches are. Unfortunately, this competition was on another day and we did not have the opportunity to attend.

The Pushkar camel market is called Kartik Mela or Pushkar ka Mela by the locals and lasts almost two weeks. As always in India, the dates of this great gathering are fixed according to the stars and the moon and based on the Hindu lunar calendar. The festival begins with the lunar month Kartik and ends on the Kartik Purnima (full moon of the month of Kartik - October-November on our calendar).

Dromedaries and horses

The dromedary has always been revered in Rajasthan, a desert state in northern India. This animal is particularly adapted to the harsh living conditions of the deserts. However, in recent years, the dromedary has lost its importance in favor of cars and trucks. But we are beginning to realize that neither cars nor trucks produce milk as rich as that of camels. A timid upsurge in dromedary breeding seems to be on the horizon. The market accommodates a few thousand dromedaries, whereas there was a time when they were more than 200,000 to pile up on the ground of the market before.

Marwari horses are the descendants of Mongolian horses, crossed with Arabian Thoroughbreds and carefully bred for centuries to become the most loyal and combat-capable horses there is. A Marwari horse can cost a fortune, especially if its 4 legs are white up to the knee ...

If they are completely white, they are considered lucky charms, which is why in traditional weddings in Rajasthan, the future groom always comes on the back of a white Marwari.

Event: Pushkar Camel Market 2015

In Rajasthan, dromedaries have always had exceptional value. A sign of wealth and a much appreciated working tool, the dromedaries are pampered and decorated for sale at the largest camel market in the world, in Pushkar in Rajasthan.

Alongside the camels, the Marwari horses are the stars of this colorful market.

about the place, Pushkar:

Pushkar is an important spiritual center in Rajasthan. It has many temples and is a place of pilgrimage for both Hindus and Sikhs.

But what also makes it famous is its huge camel and marwari market which takes place every year in November.

Spoken comments in the film: 

The musicians are Pabu Ram (ravanhatta player and singer) and his wife Menghi (singer). They belong to the Nayak Bhopa tribe. Thanks to Hugues Graseli for this valuable information.

These musicians are kalbeliya, at the very bottom of the social scale, another tribe living in particular from their art in Rajasthan: music (pongal and dhol), dance and song. The dancers wear beautiful costumes. Some groups are very famous and perform as far as the West.