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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Sunrise over the Aravali Range and the Thar Desert from the Pachmantha Mataji temple, Majhewla Village, 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.
A farm girl and her goat at the Tree of Life for Animals rescue center (tolfa.org.uk) near Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
Pipe plant and ancient fig tree at the 7th century Ajaypal Shiva Temple, near Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
Man in a "Playboy" shirt strikes a pose at Taragarh, Rajasthan, India. Playboy is a popular brand in India. I've seen hundreds of men and boys wearing playboy logos.
Dusk at the 7th century Ajaypal temple site (Shiva temple), near Pushkar, Rajasthan, India. Taken on the "Black Moon" or "Shiva Moon."
Steep staircase winding through native woodlands to the Nand mountaintop temple, Nand village, Rajasthan, India
Boy from a low income family in a remote part of the Pushkar desert, Kishanpura Goyla village, Rajasthan, India
Big mama pig and piglet in the Pushkar municipal dumping ground (landfill), Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
Early morning sun on native trees high in the Aravali mountains near Majhewla village, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
A langur monkey eats roses from a garland at the Ajaypal Shiva Temple, near Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
Boys carry lights during a wedding procession, Badi Basti, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India. The boys are paid 10 rupees for three hours work. That's six cents US per hour. Such predatory employment practices are common in India.
Fertilizer runoff from nearby flower farms creates thick white foam in lakes near Maseena village, Rajasthan, India
Revered cow with painted horns and a cattle egret, in the mountains above the Bedhnath temple area, Rajasthan, India
A baby langur monkey missing one of its hands plays at a temple on Pushkar lake, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
Hanuman and Ganesh idols in a stone wall at the Ajaypal Shiva Temple, near Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
Meer Shah Ali Dargah from Taragarh Fort, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India. This is probably the most demanding temple climb in the entire region, very steep.
Stump of a desert tree cut for some local use, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India. Such logging is almost completey unregulated.
22 foot tall statue of Lord Mahavira in the main chamber of the Nareli Jain temple, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India. The room is amazing, utterly silent except for a mantra echoing quietly on a loop, no people tending to the room, perfectly clean.
A favorite photo, children play with 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.
Wild langur monkey mothers and babies in desert woodlands, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
A dog with broken front legs after being hit by a car rests at the Tree of Life for Animals rescue center (tolfa.org.uk) near Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
A dog with leg injuries eats toast biscuits while attracting the interest of a pig at the Tree of Life for Animals rescue center (tolfa.org.uk) near Pushkar, 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.
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.
Sunset reflecting in Pushkar Lake, with Savitri mountain and temple in the distance, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India. Seen through the arch of a temple.
22 foot tall statue of Lord Mahavira in the main chamber of the Nareli Jain temple, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India. The room is amazing, utterly silent except for a mantra echoing quietly on a loop, no people tending to the room, perfectly clean.
Sunrise over the Aravali Range and the Thar Desert from the Pachmantha Mataji temple, Majhewla Village, Rajasthan, India
Dog in a Santa hat missing on Christmas day at the Tree of Life for Animals rescue center (tolfa.org.uk) near Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
A framed portrait of a blind woman hangs on a wall near where she is begging at the Brahma temple, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
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