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.
Loading…
Sunset reflecting in Pushkar Lake, with Savitri mountain and temple in the distance, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
Boys herding goats make chai tea by filling a plastic water bottle with water from a creek, milk from their goat, and tea from their pocket, then boling it over a fire. Bedhnath temple area, Rajasthan, India.
Picture of Sherawali Mata (Tiger Goddess Mother) on a temple wall, Budha Pushkar, Rajasthan, India. Sherawali is a very popular diety around Pushkar.
Hindus prepare roti at a day of observance for deceased relatives (not Mahalaya, something else, but I don't remember the name), Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
A boy and his horse at the beautiful mosque near Taragarh fort, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India. He charges tourists to sit on the horse for a photo-op with the Mosque in the background.
Trucks make their way through thick fog on a cold winter morning before sunrise, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
Composite of a langur monkey with baby jumping across a rock near the Ajaypal Shiva Temple, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
Cow with leg injuries recovering at the Tree of Life for Animals rescue center (tolfa.org.uk) near Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
An elderly woman rests outside on a bed in bright midday desert sun, Badi Basti, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
A girl dresses up to make money from tourists taking her photo at the Pushkar Camel Fair, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
Styrofoam garbage piling up in Pushkar, Rajasthan, India. It will be burned, letting off toxic fumes.
Albino boy plays with a Rubik's cube given as a gift, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India. The family of ten albinos is panhandling during the Pushkar Camel Fair.
Pariah street dog in the wilderness near the 7th century Ajaypal Shiva Temple, near 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.
Ladies in mostly yellow saris mark a day (I can't remember the name of it) where they all gather and cry loudly to mourn deceased relatives, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
A sick pug puppy that died a few minutes after this photo was taken at rescue center near Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
Steep staircase winding through native woodlands to the Nand mountaintop temple, Nand village, Rajasthan, India
A girl carries a lantern during a marriage procession, Badi Basti, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India. Low caste children are employed at just six cents per hour to do this work.
Langur monkeys eat discarded flower garlands at the Ajaypal Shiva Temple, near Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
A volunteer shares affection with a dog at the Tree of Life for Animals rescue center (tolfa.org.uk) near Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
A puppy struggles to avoid traffic, Devnagar village, Rajasthan, India. Countless dogs are killed or maimed every day across India by vehicles.
A woman from the Cheeta caste prepares Chapati bread from wheat grown only five minutes away, Kharekhari village, Rajasthan, India
Workers rescue a dog with two broken legs in the mountains near the Ajaypal Shiva temple near Pushkar, Rajasthan, India. It was taken to the nearby Tree of Life for Animals (tolfa.org.uk) rescue center, where it made a 60 day recovery..
Beautiful native forest in the Aravali Range at the highest point in the entire Pushkar/Ajmer region, Leela Seori, Rajasthan, India
Puppy with mange at the Tree of Life for Animals rescue center (tolfa.org.uk) near Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
Gorgeous flower farms near Maseena village, Rajasthan, India, home to some of the happiest people I've ever met
Pujari lights a fire at the 7th century Ajaypal temple site (Shiva temple), near Pushkar, Rajasthan, India. Taken on the "Black Moon" or "Shiva Moon."
Women wearing saris and marigold garlands march in a marriage procession, Badi Basti, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
Remote Pachmantha Mataji mountaintop temple near the village of Majhewla, seen from Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
Foreign tourists delightedly snap photos of a captive red macaque monkey performing at the Pushkar Camel Fair, Pushkar, 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.
Alfie, a dog who was hit by a train, early in his six month recovery at the Tree of Life for Animals rescue center (tolfa.org.uk) near Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
Tractor next to an excavation show the very deepy sandy soil of the Thar Desert, near Amba village, Rajasthan, India
Sunset reflecting in Pushkar Lake, with Savitri mountain and temple in the distance, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
Alfie, a dog who was hit by a train, early in his six month recovery at the Tree of Life for Animals rescue center (tolfa.org.uk) near Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
300 year old hilltop temple set amongst wheat and mutter (pea) farms, near Bhagwanpura village, Rajasthan, India
A favorite photo, a primitive toy tractor, Sidiyas village, Rajasthan, India. Rock mining is common in the area, and the toy is mimicing the tractors hauling rocks that are common in the region.
Classic India Pariah street dogs living at the Aloo Baba temple walk in the rocky desert near the Ajaypal Shiva Temple, near Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
Ajmer at night from the highest point in the entire Pushkar/Ajmer region, Leela Seori, Rajasthan, India
Foreign tourists cover their faces due to the air pollution from dust and smoke at the Pushkar Camel Fair, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
Pujari lights a fire at the 7th century Ajaypal temple site (Shiva temple), near Pushkar, Rajasthan, India. Taken on the "Black Moon" or "Shiva Moon."
Ancient fig trees, a creek, and a temple complex dating to the 7th century, Ajaypal, Rajasthan, India
Children play video games on an old makeshift setup in a general store in a remote area of Ajaysar village, Rajasthan, India
