Pushkar fair
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History
Shoeb Khan, Nov 6, 2022: The Times of India
Ram Kumar started packing his threadbare bedding, cot, buckets, ropes and a plastic bag full of clothes in his cart. The 42-year-old landless farmer was returning home to Hanumangarh with his 10 unsold camels after camping for days at a temporary helipad in Motisar village, 5km from Pushkar.
Kumar was among the 200-odd camel herders who went back dejected and angry from this year’s annual Pushkar Camel Fair in Rajasthan’s Ajmer district after the authorities suddenly banned camels from the venue as a precaution against the spread of lumpy skin disease, citing a controversial order dated October 13.
The weeklong fair that started on November 1 has traditionally been an opportunity for herders to get a fair price (see box), to support their families the rest of the year. “Everything is finished for us,” growled Kumar. “We came to know of the ban only on reaching the mela ground on October 25. The authoritiesmisbehaved with us, and told us to return at once. ”
But it’s not easy to go back when you have marched for 10 days with a family of four, including two children, and used up your savings in the hope the authorities would relent. Kumar said he would have to beg on the road home. Some herders had covered up to 800km on foot over 30-40 days from faraway districts like Barmer, Jaisalmer, Pali and Sirohi.
Double Standards?
The loss of livelihood hurts, but the herders are angry because there is no ban on the more than 500 camel carts that ferry tourists around Pushkar town. How is it that lumpy disease, which affects cows and buffaloes, is a concern for their camels but not the cart camels serving hotels and resorts, the herders ask.
But Ramesh Mali, who claims to run 12 camel carts in Pushkar, said tourists come to the fair to see and ride their beautifully caparisoned camels, not the herds brought for sale. “Our camels have no disease, and lookat them – they are beautiful, tall and fit unlike those stinky, ugly animals up for sale. ” The tension between the two camel-owning camps was palpable.
Officials In Denial
Inside his fine tent opposite the mela ground, SDM and mela magistrate SukharamPindel said ‘camel fair’ is a misnomer because the Pushkar Fair used to be “a sellingpoint for cows and buffaloes. Then, the number of camels exceeded the number of cows,and more recently horses outnumbered camels. ”
Pindel said they were not being unfair to camel herders because they had shut down the horse market when glanders disease spread earlier. Now, all animals – cows, horses and camels – are not permitted. Superabundance Of Caution Praful Mathur, deputy director of animal husbandry in Ajmer, admitted there’s no record of lumpy disease in Rajasthan’s camels, and the decision was made only to preempt disease spread from cows to camels and horses. “The higher authorities in Jaipur released the order considering the advisories from the central and state governments,” he said.
As for the continuing use of cart camels, Mathur said, “They are reared and owned by locals, which means they have not spread any disease. ”
However, Arun Parashar, a member of one of the priest clans of Pushkar’s Brahma Temple, disagreed. There is no difference between the cart camels and those meant for sale, he said. “Both are sourced from Pali, Barmer, Jalore and Nagaur. ”
FAIR USED TO BE A SEA OF CAMELS
➤The official claim that the camel market was historically not part of the Pushkar Fair seems doubtful. The Rajputana Gazetteer of 1879 says : “In 1877, there were about 401 horses, 1,495 camels and 1,985 bullocks” at the fair
➤Murray’s ‘Handbook to India, Ceylon, Burma and Cashmere’, published in 1894, says: “Early in the Middle Ages it (Pushkar) became one of the most frequented objects of pilgrimage, and is still visited during the great Mela of Oct and Nov by about 100,000 pilgrims. On this occasion is also held a great mart for horses, camels and bullocks” ➤Bhima Ram from the Raika community of camel herders has seenthe glory days of camel trade in his youth. He started coming to the fair when he was 10. There were camels as far as the eye could see, he told TOI. “I have seen 40,000-50,000 camels in the fair for years in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s”
➤As late as 1999, the book ‘100 Things To Do Before You Die’ noted: “You’ll find the Camel Fair situated in the desert just to the west of town. The focus is on buying and selling camels; about 30,000 of the snarling beasts trade hands during the week”
➤But those days are a fading memory now. In 2019 there were just 2,500-3,000 camels, said Bhima Ram. And this year saw only 800-1000
Changes over the years
As in 2018
From: Naomi Canton, Much has changed in Pushkar, except the marriage proposals, November 5, 2018: The Times of India
The camel fair is nearly gone and with it the hustle and bustle in the bazar. Unlike the 90s, shopkeepers this time were busy with their mobiles and barely noticed tourists
When I first went to Pushkar in the 1990s, the shopkeepers used to call out: “Hello madam, which country? You want marriage? Come inside. No charge.” I returned a few years ago and nothing had changed. Each night I would wander through a colourful sea of shops selling camel models, handcrafted silver rings, mirrored wall hangings. The shopkeepers still yelled: “Come inside! Just looking”, and offered me chai.
But this time, my 10-day trip to Pushkar which I have just returned from, was different. I walked through the bazaar but no one spoke to me because they were all staring at their phones. The shops often lay empty but the shopkeepers didn’t seem to care as they browsed the internet. I had quite enjoyed the noise earlier – walking through the streets and saying “England” and “namaste” to different shopkeepers.
However, this time, even if I went into a shop, the shopkeeper barely noticed my presence and just sat glued to his mobile. Chai was rarely offered and I bought without much bargaining.
Some hotel and restaurant owners told me business was down and fewer European visitors came, but this was partly offset by an increase in Israelis and Indian tourists. “The Israelis don’t like us harassing them, so we have stopped,” one of them said. Though there was little engagement with me when I wanted it, there was plenty when I did not – mostly at Pushkar lake.
As soon as I sat down, a man arrived and serenaded me with an ektara. Then a gora in a red Aladdin-style costume danced, and another one with long dreadlocks juggled in front of the lake next to the cows. While this was going on, someone arrived to repair my shoes. Then a woman came to paint my hands in henna. A fifth person offered to show me the “Brahma temple”, quietly promising some charas on the side.
On another occasion a local man on a motorbike told me he would show me the “best thing in Pushkar.” Excited to see one of the 500-plus temples I had been told about, I jumped on. He roared through the bazaar, informing me that he was taking me to the only place in Pushkar that served beer. I found this odd as alcohol is banned in the town. I went inside to see locals chugging mugs of the beverage.
Pushkar is a small town and the news headlines of Mumbai and Delhi have little resonance there. Issues like the Pushkar camel fair, how “it is getting ruined”, encroachment of the desert were what people seemed to care about. I met Ashok Tak, camel decorator and tourism promoter, who said that 10,000 camels came to the camel fair in 2015.
But in 2017, there were 2,500. “People are not interested in keeping camels anymore because the government doesn’t provide the support,” he said.
He may have a point. In 2014-15, 9,934 camels were brought to the fair and 3,349 were sold. In 2017-18, only 827 were sold.
Despite that, the number of camel safaris and agents has only increased. The first half of my camel trek was along roads, battling cars and motorbikes. It did not feel much like a safari. It was a while before I could see patches of some sand.
“It used to be a sand dune 12 years ago,” Tak said. “But the state government decided to build a road in the heart of the desert.” Sand mining is banned in the state. “There used to be nice big dunes. Most of the dunes have been stolen. There are just a few left now. People steal the sand to fill up the foundation of their houses. Some hotels in Pushkar are creating artificial dunes,” Tak added.
Though many aspects of Pushkar have changed, one thing has not: marriage proposals. The language of courtship may be different now, but the offers keep coming. One night I walked into an empty restaurant and the waiter asked for my number. Another night, I happened to chat with a hotel manager. Within an hour he had proposed.
