Pushkar Fair
The Pushkar Fair – Camel Fair Pushkar is scheduled between late October and November (determined by the lunar calendar), and villagers bring about 50,000 cattle (majority of them camels, but also a lot of horses) to trade & sell. It also includes a plethora of activities such as processions, horse shows, camel races, camel and cow beauty contests, acrobatics, camel safaris and much more.
Pushkar is one of the oldest existing cities of India. It lies on the Shore of Pushkar Lake. The date of its actual origin is not known, but legend associates Brahma with its creation. It is a holy place mostly visited for the sacred Pushkar Lake, the Brahma temple and the renowned Camel Safari.
Culture Activities
People of Pushkar are really very polite and of helping nature. They are also very soft at their heart and jovial by nature. One coming in touch, you will sure love to spend more time with them.
The main local festival of Pushkar is Pushkar Mela. Other than this mela, other fascinations of Pushkar are Camel Fair, Kartik Shukla Ekadashi, Cattle trading, Camel Racing and many more. During all these festivals, the beauty and charisma of this holy town reaches cloud nine. Also, one can see wonderful performances of cultural dances and music at the time of famous festivals in Pushkar.
Holi Festival
Holi is considered as one of the most revered and celebrated festivals of India and it is celebrated in almost every part of the country. It is also sometimes called as the “festival of love” as on this day people get to unite together forgetting all resentments and all types of bad feeling towards each other. The great Indian festival lasts for a day and a night, which starts in the evening of Purnima or the Full Moon Day in the month of Falgun. It is celebrated with the name Holika Dahan or Choti Holi on first evening of the festival and the following day is called Holi. In different parts of the country it is known with different names.
The vibrancy of colors is something that brings in a lot of positivity in our lives and Holi being the festival of colours is actually a day worth rejoicing. Holi is a famous Hindu festival that is celebrated in every part of India with utmost joy and enthusiasm. The ritual starts by lighting up the bonfire one day before the day of Holi and this process symbolizes the triumph of good over the bad. On the day of Holi people play with colours with their friends and families and in evening they show love and respect to their close ones with Abeer.
Pushkar Lake
The Pushkar Lake is a semi-circular shaped sacred water body, also known as ‘TirthaRaj’. According to the Hindu mythology, the lake was created from one of the petals that fell from the lotus flower with which Lord Bramha killed the demon Vajra Nabh. The Pushkar Lake is surrounded by more than 300 temples and has 52 ghats, where devotees take holy bath. It is a belief that if a person takes a holy dip in the lake on Kartik Purnima, then that person attains salvation it is also a belief that taking a sacred bath in the lake clears one from all sins and that it cures all skin diseases.
A week long fair before Kartik Purnima is very famous. Known as ‘Pushkar Fair or Pushkar Camel Fair‘, it witness over 50000 camels with lakhs of visitors.
History of Pushkar Lake
The history of Pushkar Lake dates back to 4th Century BC. Though the creation of Lake as an artificial lake started in 12th century when a dam was built over the Luni river. Guru Govind Singh is said to have given sacred speech of the Guru Granth Sahib at the Bank of the Lake.
The Rajput rulers of Amber, Bundi, Bikaner and Jaisalmer made great efforts to restore the importance of the lake and its surrounding temples. After that many kings of the Different area built ghats over the lake.
Pushkar Lake, Pushkar on Google Map
Attractions Near Pushkar Lake
Pushkar Lake is one of the most revered sites in Rajasthan and home to the only Brahma Temple of the World. Also the lake gets crowded during various festivals and the famous Pushkar Camel Fair.
Temples Near Lake : There are about 500 temples located at the shore of the lake of which many were destroyed during the Mughal rule in India. The most important of these is the Brahma Temple which is believed to be about 2000 years old though the architecture is of 114th century.
Ghats at Lake : There are about 52 ghats at the lake which is used by pilgrims to take bath. But 10 of these are most famous and are important historical architecture too. These are the Varaha Ghat, the Dadhich Ghat, Saptarishi Ghats, Gwalior Ghat, Kota Ghat, Gau ghat, Yag Ghat, Jaipur Ghat, Karni Ghat and Gangaur Ghat.
Pushkar Fair : Pushkar Camel Fair is Asia’s largest camel fair which commences on Prabodhini Ekadashi, the 11th lunar day in the bright fortnight and ends on Kartik Poornima – the full Moon day in the month of Kartik (October– November) . The lake becomes too crowded during this time as it is said that taking bath on Kartik Poornima is very blissful and wash away all you sins.
How To Reach Pushkar Lake, Pushkar
By Road: Pushkar Lake is located at the centre of Pushkar city. One can easily reach here by hiring taxi or bus from Ajmer.
By Rail: Pushkar Lake is well connected through nearest Ajmer Railway station ( 15 km) to major cities railway stations like Delhi, Agra, Mumbai, Chennai, Ajmer, Pali, Jaipur, Ahmedabad.
By Air: Pushkar Lake can be reach through nearest Jaipur Airport (148 Km) which is well connected with regular domestic flights to Delhi, Mumbai.