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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Silhouette of a boy tending his carnival ride at Pushkar Camel Fair, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India. Candid photo, not staged.
Dusk at the 7th century Ajaypal temple site (Shiva temple), near Pushkar, Rajasthan, India. Taken on the "Black Moon" or "Shiva Moon."
Enormous fig tree at Ajaypal, Rajasthan, India. This is the single largest tree within 20 kilometers of Pushkar, with a crown diameter of 150 feet. It's home to langur monkeys. Fig trees are sacred to Hindus and are commonly found at temples. This temple site dates to the 7th century.
Small marble icon of a cow sits on a field of plastic in the Pushkar municipal dumping ground (landfill), Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
Night view of Pushkar from Gayatri temple, Rajasthan, India. In the distant right is Savitri mountaintop temple.
The awesome spirit of Rajastjan in one photo, children in the very small and remote (not on any maps or in any official records) Nadi village, Rajasthan, India
Pilgrims visit the 7th century Ajaypal temple (Shiva temple), near Pushkar, Rajasthan, India. Taken on the "Black Moon" or "Shiva Moon."
Main ghat at Badi Bhasti, where pilgrims come to bathe in sacred Pushkar Lake, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
Street dog standing on an old ruined temple atop a hill overlooking the auspcious Budha Pushkar temple complex, Rajasthan, India
Plastic chai tea cups burn in a fire to keep people warm on a cold winter morning in the desert, Majhewla village, Rajasthan, India. Such fires, numbering in the millions every day across India, contribute to the country's terrible air pollution.
A puppy with broken front legs after being hit by a car plays with other puppies while recuperating at the Tree of Life for Animals rescue center (tolfa.org.uk) near Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
A man feeds langur monkeys on Tuesday, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India. Tuesday and Saturday are considered days for charity by Hindus, and many people feed monkeys on these days. It causes countless monkeys to become killed or injured by traffic.
300 year old hilltop temple set amongst wheat and mutter (pea) farms, near Bhagwanpura village, Rajasthan, India
Night sky and rocky desert hills at Ajaypal, near Pushkar, Rajasthan, India. Single exposure with the foreground illuminated by a flashlight.
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.
Beautiful Bhagwanpura village, Rajasthan, India, set amongst flower and vegetable farms in the Thar Desert
Hazy winter morning over farmland and rural village of Hokaran, from the Bedhnath temple area, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
Stars behind an ancient fig tree at the 7th century Ajaypal temple, near Pushkar, Rajasthan, India. Single exposure with the tree illuminated by flashlight.
An injured dog recovering in the safety of a sunny courtyard at the Tree of Life for Animals rescue center (tolfa.org.uk) near Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
Huge rock slabs and ancient temples in the spectacular landscape around Rajgarh village, Rajasthan, India
An emaciated dog recuperates at the Tree of Life for Animals rescue center (tolfa.org.uk) near Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
A cabbage farmer tends a field on a misty winter morning at sunrise, Banseli village, Rajasthan, India
A man and boy sit with three street dog puppies next to a fire on a cold winter morning, Chachiyawas village, Rajasthan, India
Sunrise over the Aravali Range and the Thar Desert from the Pachmantha Mataji temple, Majhewla Village, Rajasthan, India
Composite of a langur monkey with baby jumping across a rock near the Ajaypal Shiva Temple, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
A sick pug puppy that died a few minutes after this photo was taken at rescue center near Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
Volunteer nurture injured dogs at the Tree of Life for Animals rescue center (tolfa.org.uk) 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.
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 very Hindu scene - Ganesh idol, incense, conch shell, oil lamp, and flowers - all devices of Hindu prayer, Budha Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
Image of Sherawali Mata (tiger Goddess mother) painted on a rock in the Aravali mountains, near Kharekhari village, Rajasthan, India
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