People of Pushkar, Rajasthan

There is a small village in Rajasthan named Pushkar. Extremely famous for the Puskar Camel Fair, this village is one of the biggest attractions of Rajasthan. Every year Pushkar celebrates a 7-day colorful camel festival in November. This vibrant fiesta is mostly celebrated to attract local camel traders and other livestock.

Camel traders sitting together inspecting a camel to buy

Camel traders sitting together inspecting a camel to buy

Apart from the livestock traders, there are many interesting elements in this fiesta like- camel and horse races, cultural performances, bridal competitions, magic shows, exhibitions, the longest mustache competition, and camel and horse safaris.

    Besides the animals, the people are also an attraction. I visited Pushkar for this festival last November with a photography group named Impressions Photography, led by the director of operations Mr. Sarang Mhaskar, an amazing photographer and mentor. The tour was organized during the last days of the fair when the number of cattle is minimized which let us focus more on the local people. The conversations with the locals are one-of-a-kind experiences and this blog is all about the incidents and the conversations I had with a few of the local people there...

 

 Don't let the wrinkles deceive you, he was one of the most positive and enthusiastic men I met in Pushkar. He had come to visit the Pushkar Temple like almost every Rajasthani does on the last day of this 7-day fiesta. We asked him if we could take his pictures and he immediately agreed. He seemed quite excited because he posed for all of us, looked into each camera as we carefully observed, and captured his expressions.
   After a few clicks, I showed him his photographs. His eyes twinkled and his mustache curved into a smile. He loved the pictures and this one was his favorite. Later, he came to me and asked me to click a few photos of his wife. This was a bit surprising for us because the people in Rajasthan are known to have a certain mindset and this type of reaction to photographers is less common unless the photographers are willing to pay them in exchange for photos. But this gentleman here wasn't anything like what I heard or experienced. He loved his wife and thought she genuinely deserved to be photographed. He said, "My wife is very beautiful. Take a few photos of her." Unfortunately, his wife was very shy to be photographed so he respectfully apologized and gave me his blessings. It made me wonder how we automatically judge people. Youngsters follow the modern lifestyle while the oldies are still stuck in patriarchy. This man changed my perspective. His wonderful attitude towards us and his love and appreciation towards his wife was truly adorable. What impressed me more was how he respected his wife's choice when she said she didn't want to be clicked. He did ask her politely a few times but when she said she felt shy, he stopped and said, "Sorry beta, I cannot force her if she's not comfortable." The man is an amazing example of how men should be.

Like I said before, people in Rajasthan have a certain mindset and are pretty religious. They strongly believe in the concept of castes, popularly known as ''Jaats" in Hindi. This one was clicked when we were roaming on the streets of Pushkar trying to capture some candid as well as learning a little about architecture photography.

  This lady here was a little offended at first when I asked her if I could take her pictures but once I hit up a conversation with her, she got comfortable and posed for me. As we spoke, I realized that she's very religious and had a very traditional mindset. She asked me questions about my family and suddenly she asked me, "आपकी जाति क्या है?" I genuinely felt really weird at first but considering how religious she was, that was expected. When I told her I'm Maharashtrian, her facial expressions changed and she felt uncomfortable once again. She took a pause and said, "We do not allow women and girls to do whatever they want. It does not fit our virtues."

  There was definitely a lot of awkwardness and tension. It wasn't really her fault. She grew up in a surrounding where females have certain rules to be followed. So, what was I supposed to reply to her? All I could do was smile and thank her for letting me click her pictures. And that is what I did.

 I met various people in Pushkar. People with different mindsets. Some believed in strictly following the tradition and culture, while some believed in modernization. This lady here was a mixture.

   I randomly struck a conversation with her asking about the Pushkar temple and the fair. As we talked, she asked me my age and of course my 'Jaats'. I told her I'm 22 and that I'm a Maharashtrian. A woman next to us immediately asked if I'm married or about to be married. It was a weird question for me, obviously. But, before I could reply, this lady said, "Marriage? Are you mad? She's just 22. She's so young. She has to study more." Then she turned to me and said, "Beta, study as much as you want and be successful first. There is no rush to get married so early. Tell your family to find a good husband for you who is as educated and good-looking as you are. Don't settle for less."

  Her words hit me. I loved her so much for saying that. I touched her feet and took her blessings and jokingly said, "When I'll be looking for a husband, I will call you. You come to Pune and help my mother." She laughed and said, "Yes! Don't forget to invite me to your wedding. I will not miss it. You're like my daughter." 

  I was so touched by this. She was very different from the rest of the crowd.  I knew I would never forget this woman and her words. She was so different from the woman in the story for this one. Yes, she also asked about my 'Jaats', but instead of getting offended, she was more interested in me and the Maharashtrian culture. That is what made her different from the rest of the crowd.  
  

  I had a really interesting encounter with these two girls. I mostly wore Kurtis and Indian jewelry during my Pushkar trip and it gave me a new story that hit me hard! I was casually capturing candid of the crowd near a temple when these two girls approached me saying, "Hello! You foreigner?" I was surprised and a little offended too. I didn't understand why they would think I wasn't an Indian. I instantly replied, "No! I'm from Maharashtra. Why did you think I'm not Indian?"  They were clearly awkward and embarrassed but their reply shocked me. They said, "Usually the female tourists here wear shorts and very modern clothes and the foreigners wear Indian clothes and jewelry. That's why we thought you are also a foreigner." There was an awkward silence between us for a few seconds. But then immediately one of them asked me to click pictures. As they posed, various thoughts ran through my mind. It felt like reality hit me. I didn't understand how exactly I should feel about it. I was disturbed obviously but I was also a little proud of myself. 

  I thought to myself, "Are we losing our culture? Are we so busy adopting the modern lifestyle that we have forgotten where we have come from? What are we doing exactly?"  While trying to catch up with the modern world and adopting the changes, we are forgetting our origins. Of course, what we wear is a personal choice and nobody has the right to tell us differently. But when we go to a religious place like Pushkar, we forget that we are also representing India and Indian culture just like the locals there. I know clothing isn't the only element to represent our culture, our manners and teachings also count. But isn't clothing is the basic element of the country's culture?

  There's nothing wrong with adopting the modern lifestyle. But forgetting our culture to do that is definitely wrong.

Thank you for reading my blog! Please mention your favorite story and your views about the blog in the comments!