After breakfast we depart on the drive to Pushkar. On arrival check in at the resort, set amidst orchards of Indian gooseberry and fields of roses. (As Pushkar is a holy town the resort serves no alcohol or non-vegetarian food, though a wide variety of vegetarian delicacies from around the world are on offer here.)
In the late afternoon we visit the Brahma temple. This town boasts of the only temple dedicated to Lord Brahma in the world. Lord Brahma is the Creator in the Holy Trinity of Gods. You get a chance to walk through the winding lanes of Pushkar before reaching the lake, which is magical at sunset.
An aarti (Hindu prayer ceremony) is arranged specially for you at the banks of the lake today. After the ceremony we enjoy a cup of tea on the banks of the lake before starting our journey back to the resort. Enjoy a traditional thali dinner at the resort.
Chaos is define as utter confusion and disorder and that is what the market place in Pushkar looks and feels like, seriously overwhelming. But in spite of the original impressions you begin to feel a sense of rhythm and purpose to this apparent madness. The shopkeepers, merchants, camel drivers, tractors, motorcycles, jeeps all seem to work in harmony much like when you watch an anthill in action. There is serious poverty for sure but we also observed happiness at a different level. We are solitary by comparison because, as in the rest of India, family and friends provide wealth that we seem to have lost sight of. The Hindu prayer experience was good…not necessarily great…yet we would not have wanted to miss the ceremony for anything. Participation provides insight that observation alone cannot provide.
The tents where like camping but they are at least 5 KLM away so we were transported in a trailer pulled by a tractor, on the way back it was a camel cart. I hope the pictures gives a sense of the dust but we are in a desert after all.