Pushkar

Photographs of Pushkar in Rajasthan, India. Pushkar is a magical oasis, the antidote to all that is heavy and gloomy about India, a place of wide smiles, gorgeous landscapes, and irrepressible spirit. It’s a land of flower farms, oxcarts, ladies carrying pots on their heads, schoolkids with huge smiles walking alongside water buffalo, past wheat fields full of peacocks and monkeys. Pushkar itself is a tiny town of about 20,000 people, sometimes cynically dismissed as nothing but a tourist bazaar, for most people Pushkar is nothing more than the annual camel fair (Pushkar Mela). This is a woefully ignorant perspective though. Pushkar is an ecosystem, a collection of dozens of villages, carved out of the Thar desert and the ancient Aravali mountains, with deep traditions and a distinct, beautiful, and engaging culture. It’s one of the most important of Hindu holy places and pilgrimage sites, where Brahma dropped a flower from heaven to form Pushkar Lake. It is quintessentially Rajasthani, with a strong distinct culture of dress, dance, song, art, music, agriculture, and food.

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All the wonderful forms of life in Pushkar, Rajasthan, India

Long exposure astro photo with the lens zoomed during exposure, Ajaypal, near Pushkar, Rajasthan, India

Sisters working on their wheat farm in Doomara village, Rajasthan, India

Motorcycle with metal water pots on a wheat farm, Tabeeji village, Rajasthan, India

Sheep herders graze their animals in the desert near a massive ancient fig near Kharekhari village, Rajasthan, India

That's India for you! Marble idol of Saraswati among mustard oil cans, Budha Pushkar temple, Rajasthan, India

A woman from the Cheeta caste prepares Chapati bread from wheat grown only five minutes away, Kharekhari village, Rajasthan, India

Looking out onto Pushkar lake from a temple, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India

Weathered wall in Taragarh, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India

Troop of langur monkeys in the rocky Aravali Mountains, Ajaypal, Rajasthan, India

Street dog missing one leg, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India. The dog was likely hit by a vehicle and had its leg amputated at a rescue center.

Folk art on a door in Khori village, Rajasthan, India

Children on a flower farm, Amba village, Rajasthan, India

Beautiful people from the farming village of Kharekhari, Rajasthan, India. These are all good friends of mine.

Ajmer city from Taragarh Fort, Rajasthan, India

A mobile clinic provides medical care to camels at the Pushkar Camel Fair, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India. The famous fair is often criticized for abuse and poor care of camels. I've seen many dead camels there and many instances of abusive treatment.

Desert plants in Rajgarh village, Rajasthan, India

Peacocks perch on a huge rock in the desert ar sunrise, near the Ajaypal Shiva Temple, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India

Morning over sacred Pushkar Lake and whitewashed Hindu temples, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India

Langur monkey mother and baby in a magnificent ancient fig tree at the Ajaypal Shiva Temple, Rajasthan, India

Boy in Picholiya village, Rajasthan, India

A farm girl carries a metal bowl on her head, Kharekhari village, Rajasthan, India

A handsome family of Nilgai antelope (Boselaphus tragocamelus) in a remote stretch of desert near Kishanpura Goyla, Rajasthan, India. Nilgai are the largest antelope in Asia and require sizeable areas of undisturbed habitat to flourish. These were in an area several kilometers from any farms or villages.

Mutter (peas) fresh from the farm, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India

Ladies walk past the Pushkar municipal dumping ground (landfill), Pushkar, Rajasthan, India

Sunset over the Thar Desert from a temple above Tilora village, Rajasthan, India

Early morning fog in desert woodlands near Savitri temple, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India

Boys take a break herding their goats in the middle of nowhere to strike a pose that they came up with (and nice work!), Ajaypal, Rajasthan, India

Langur monkeys on large desert boulders in the Aravali mountains, Ajaypal, Rajasthan, India

Nighttime view of rock formations at a mine near Tilora village, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India

Cute little yellow bus in Nedaliya, Rajasthan, India

Night view of the 7th century Ajaypal Shiva Temple site, near Pushkar, Rajasthan, India

Women sweep up and burn garbage on a dusty desert road after the Pushkar Camel Fair, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India. Air pollution is an epidemic health crisis across India. India has the worst air pollution in the world, worse even than China, with Delhi the #1 worst city in the world.

Boys in a parade go past a ferris wheel at a carnival during the Pushkar Camel Fair, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India

Wheat and mutter (pea) farms, near Bhagwanpura village, Rajasthan, India

A man and his son circumambulate a small temple in the mountains near Kharekhari village, Rajasthan, India

Elaborately carved archways and columns at the Nareli Jain temple, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India

Sunrise over the Aravali Range and the Thar Desert from the Pachmantha Mataji temple, Majhewla Village, Rajasthan, India

A girl dresses up to make money from tourists taking her photo at the Pushkar Camel Fair, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India

A boy carries a metal water pot on his head, Kharekhari village, Rajasthan, India

Temple interior, Hokaran village, Rajasthan, India

Adorable kids from the Cheeta caste, Kharekhari village, Rajasthan, India

Nareli Jain temple, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India

Indian Pariah stray dog in the Aravali mountains, Ajaypal, Rajasthan, India

Gayatri temple, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India

A wild male peacock displays for nearby females in the Aravali mountains, Ajaypal, Rajasthan, India

Carved metal door in the Nareli Jain temple, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India

Cow skeleton near a watering hole in the desert, Ajaypal, Rajasthan, India

Barbed wire in the desert, Budha Pushkar, Rajasthan, India

Muslim visitors to Taragarh Fort cast shadows on a teal wall, a common color in Islam, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India

Weathered cement at a temple in the desert, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India

Indian Pariah stray dog in the Aravali mountains, Ajaypal, Rajasthan, India

Mother and son of the Cheeta caste in Kharekhari village, Rajasthan, India

A family of seven albinos living near Pushkar, Rajasthan, India. They're panhandling during the Pushkar Camel Fair.

Rock mine near Tilora village, Rajasthan, India

Trucks ply the country road through the desert near Ajaypal, Rajasthan, India

Rice growing in irrigated fields in Kharekhari village, Rajasthan, India

Stairway leading to Nand Temple, Nand village, Rajasthan, India

Flower farmers drive their tractor across a bridge over a lake in Maseena village, Rajasthan, India

Small temple near an elementary school in the Aravali mountains, Kharekhari village, Rajasthan, India

Red satchel used to collect flowers on a flower farm, Banseli village, Rajasthan, India

A man poses proudly on his motorcycle in the Thar Desert, near Kharekhari village, Rajasthan, India

Resident Nepalese swami, Bedhnath temple area, Rajasthan, India

Sheep herder in the Aravali mountains, Ajaypal, Rajasthan, India

A boy tends two very skinny cows in the desert, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India

Wide view of the Pushkar camel fair at sunset, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India

Temple overlooking wheat fields near Nand village, Rajasthan, India

Hazy winter morning over farmland and rural village of Hokaran, from the Bedhnath temple area, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India

Aravali mountains and Thar desert seen through a window in an old abandoned fort above Budha Pushkar, Rajasthan, India

Chapati wheat fields with old Rajgarh fort on a distant hilltop, Rajgarh village, Rajasthan, India

Goat inside Nand temple, Rajasthan, India

Children of the Cheeta caste in Kharekhari village, Rajasthan, India

Man dressed for a parade marking Katrik Purnima, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India

Disheveled straw and ceramic figure at the Budha Pushkar temple, Rajasthan, India

Elaborately carved archways and columns at the Nareli Jain temple, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India

Yellow flowers (sp.) growing in desert dunes, Chawandiya village, Rajasthan, India

Still life of wall and windows, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India

A boy collects donations for having his photo taken during the Pushkar camel fair, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India. I photographed this same boy doing the same thing over three years.

Crushing traffic in Pushkar, Rajasthan, India. Pushkar is a major pilgrimage destination for Hindus.

A cabbage farm on a misty winter morning at sunrise, Banseli village, Rajasthan, India

View of workers in wheat fields from inside of a small 300 year old temple, Bhagwanpura village, Rajasthan, India

Detail of a flower farm in idyllic Bhagwanpura village, Rajasthan, India

Small shrine in the desert near the Gayatri temple, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India

Lone tree and small muddy pond in the desert, Kharekhari village, Rajasthan, India

Local doctor with an image of hip-hop legend Tupac Shakur on his jacket, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India

A low income boy with a charming suit and crossed-eyes (medical, not playing), Pushkar, Rajasthan, India

Farming family growing chapati wheat, Kharekhari village, Rajasthan, India

Wonderful family in Pushkar, Rajasthan, India. Good friends of mine.

Albino girl plays with a toy doll I gave her as a gift, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India. The family of ten albinos is panhandling during the Pushkar Camel Fair.

Children play video games on an old makeshift setup in a general store in a remote area of Ajaysar village, Rajasthan, India

Rocks in the mountains near Bedhnath temple area, Rajasthan, India

Goat herding girl in a striking pink outfit, Kharekhari village, Rajasthan, India

Cow with leg injuries recovering at the Tree of Life for Animals rescue center (tolfa.org.uk) near Pushkar, Rajasthan, India

Pujari performing morning prayers, Majhewla, Rajasthan, India

Abandoned fort above Banwal village, Rajasthan, India

Elevated view of Banwal village and the Aravali Range, Rajasthan, India

Abandoned fort above Banwal village, Rajasthan, India

Sunset over the Thar Desert from a temple above Tilora village, Rajasthan, India

A candle illuminates an icon of Parvati and Ganesh on a window sill, Badi Basti, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India