Pushkar Fair

This fair is held at Pushkar town, 11 km from Ajmer in Rajasthan for twelve days annually. This cultural and trade cum religious fair is an attractive and lively spectacle with Rajasthani men and women in their colourful traditional attire, saffron-robed and ash smeared Sadhus (holy men) and thousands of bulls, cows, sheep, goats, horses and camels in richly decorated saddles. Perhaps the largest cattle fair in the world, it attracts more than one lakh people, and from all over Rajasthan as well as tourists from different parts of India and abroad.

Reasons to visit Pushkar fair:

• It is the world's largest Camel Fair.
• Pushkar has the world’s only temple for Lord Brahma.
• Pushkar has the world famous Sarovar with 52 Ghats surrounding it.
• Pushkar offers around 400 temples to see.
• Pushkar Fair is all encapsulated with numerous cultural activities.
• Ethnic shopping items from all over the state are on sale during fair.
• It’s a rare combination of religious fervor and cultural vibrancy in Rajasthan.
• One of the most interesting and attractive feature of the fair is the opportunity to meet and see numerous different cultural folks. 

History:

Pushkar has the world famous Brahma temple and Sarovar.

According to a popular myth Lord Brahma was on his way to search for a suitable place to perform a 'Yagna' (a fire sacrifice) while contemplating, a lotus fell from his hand on the earth and water sprouted from that place.

One of the places where the Yagna was performed was Pushkar.

The famous Pushkar sarovar (Lake) has 52 ghats surrounding it. During a visit to the holy city of Pushkar it is considered to be very sacred to take a dip in the Lake.

On the full moon day of Kartik Purnima thousands of devotees throng the place to take a holy bath in Pushkar Sarovar.

Major Attractions of Pushkar Fair:

The annual fair held at Pushkar in the month of Kartik is the largest cattle fair in the entire Asia. Visitors and tourists from all over the world gather here to witness the participation of numerous camels, horses, cows, mules, goats and sheep along with their masters, which is one of its kind spectacles. Some of the major attractions at this colorful occasion are:

• The first five days of the fair is dedicated to buying and selling of cattle. This process normally takes a lot of days as initially the sellers lure customers by praising their animals and when there is a deal there are lots of negotiations that take place. After the cattle are sold it is decorated and ornamented.
• One of the major attractions especially for women is shopping. Some of the most exquisite and awesome varieties of ornaments, accessories and other jewelry is available at different stalls. These craftsmen engage in this craft for the whole year and wait for the fair to make some profits. Numerous stalls of trinkets, silver ornaments, chains, nose rings, necklaces, waistbands, anklets, toe rings, hairpins and the ivory bangles worn from wrist to shoulder are what attract the women in the fair. Garments and tattoos are also very popular among womenfolk.
• On the last two days of the fair many cultural and amusement activities are organized for the visitors to have loads of fun and frolic. Camel Races, Musical Chairs for Camels, Camel Beauty Contest and Laadoo Oonth are some of them. These activities are for every age group and indeed there is something to enjoy for every visitor to the fair.
• The main ceremony of ritual bath in the Pushkar Lake is done on the Full moon day of Kartik punima. Pushkar Lake is believed to posses some medicinal properties.
• Camel races are very popular among visitors from across the world. On the full moon days, a tented city is created around the Pushkar Lake, where these races are held. Spectators and participants both have a gala time during the races.
• Necklaces of glass beads from Naguar, pottery, printed textiles from Jodhpur and Ajmer are all on sale here
• Pilgrims flock from all over India to be in Pushkar at this auspicious time. They also believe that all the 330 million Gods and Goddesses are present at Pushkar Lake during the occasion.

Main Events:

The department of Tourism, Rajasthan organizes many activities and events for the tourists. These activities are sliad for the entire period of the fair.

Significance:

Pushkar fair has since ages been a constant source of amusement and attraction for tourists and visitors from all over the world. The fair and the city of Pushkar both offer infinite sources of significance to many religious communities.

For Hindus, Pushkar is one of the five Dhams or pilgrims which have always been held high in esteem.

Mythologically it is believed that battle Lord Brahma when fought a battle with demon Vajra Nabh with a lotus flower, the leaves of the flower fell down at three places on earth. All three places are around Pushkar and it is also believed that these three places have resulted in lakes. At one point in history the Pushkar Lake was surrounded by 500 temples and 52 palaces.

One of the most significant features of the city of Pushkar is the temple of Lord Brahma, which in fact is the only Brahma temple on earth.

How to Reach Pushkar:

The nearest city to Pushkar is Ajmer which is about 11 Kms from Pushkar. The various sources of connectivity to Pushkar are:

• Air:  To travel by air, the nearest airport from Pushkar is Jaipur. Jaipur is about 131 Kms from Pushkar.
• Rail: The nearest railway station from Pushkar is Ajmer, which is well connected to all major stations of India.
• Road: For the road travelers who want to take a bus to Pushkar, there are two Bus-stands in Pushkar. One is the Marwar bus stand that is situated to the North of the town. This stand has buses to some major cities like Delhi, Jodhpur and Bikaner.The second stand is situated to the East of Pushkar and buses running to Jaipur and Ajmer.

Where to Stay:

Pushkar has always attracted wide range of tourists from all over the world and thus the department of Tourism has pitched in large number of tourist accommodation and other facilities. In Pushkar one would find large number of both public and private hotels in every range and amount.

Many people prefer staying at the RTDC, government hotels. Rajasthan tourism Development Corporation, RTDC has wide range of hotels in Ajmer namely Khadim and Sarovar. In Pushkar Tourist Village is the only hotel by RTDC.

Although throughout the year various tariffs right from luxury, Deluxe to moderate are available, many hotels charge exorbitant prices during the Pushkar fair in leau of Business profits.

One can also find many hotels just around the fair ground by many private companies. There are also some special tour packages offered by both government and private sector that include fares for accommodation, food, travel etc at some nominal prices.