Jewel in the desert
A.SRIVATHSAN
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Pushkar means `lake' and it is also the name of the ancient pilgrimage town on the edge of the Thar desert in Rajasthan.
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PHOTO: SARVESH
PUSHKAR: Ancient pilgrimage town.
Hastinapur is a city of elephants and Kozhiyur is the city of the rooster. The list of Indian cities that have embraced animal and tree names is long. The place names are significant. They reflect a history and worldview that is not narrowly focused only on human beings. Instead, they are intelligent and sensitively broad based.
The name encompasses a wider ecology of objects and relationships between them. It recalls a history that far exceeds human habitation. Hence it is not surprising in India to find a town named Pushkar.
Pushkar means a lake and it is also the name of the ancient pilgrimage town at the edge of the desert in Rajasthan. The beginning of the town is located in the legends of yore. However, historically, the lake is said to have been created only in the 12th century when a dam was built across the Luni. About 400 temples dot the lake and there are as many as 52 ghats or bathing places around. The temple of Brahma is unique to this place.
Tourist delight
The old and new Rangji temples are interesting examples of how architectural ideas travel and manifest in distant places. These two temples are attempts to replicate the South Indian temple architecture in the far west regions of Rajasthan.
The long-winding street leading to the Brahma temple is a tourist delight and an example of a street in good scale and variety. The white walls of the buildings and the blue waters of the lake make a perfect post card picture.
The environmental quality of this five square kilometre lake is under threat and so is the picturesque quality. The studies done by the Central Pollution Control Board, New Delhi, list high level of construction, tourism and sewage have made the lake vulnerable to pollution. The report also states that the present quality of water does not support the quality requirement for bathing. It is an irony that the very resource that was once celebrated and revered is now insensitively treated.
Camel Fair
Rajasthan is known for its cattle fairs that are held in places such as Bikaner, Nagaur and Pushkar. Of the many fairs, the one at Pushkar is the most sought after tourist attraction in India. In its origin, this fair was part of the Karthik Purnima or the full moon celebration in the month of October- November. During this weeklong celebration, thousands of villagers and their cattle descend on Pushkar for trade.
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