Pushkar Fair...a fairytale...

pushkar fair rajasthan camel fair house morning view
An early morning view from the terrace...

There are certain perks that you get when the hotel where you are planning to stay messes up with your dates of stay, one of which is that you can potentially get a room upgrade (with a beautiful pink balcony, exceptional view of the lake, delightful view of an old yet beautiful temple roof with monkeys jumping around and a huge four poster bed)! Of course, I was delighted that our dates were mixed up and we stayed in a room we couldn't originally have afforded :)

pushkar rajasthan camel fair
A sunbathing Camel!

pushkar rajasthan camel fair
Gods on sale, one Krishna with numerous Hanumans :)

pushkar rajasthan camel fair
The fair in the evening from the hotel terrace

However, Pushkar isn't about the hotel room, though we spent quite sometime there. Pushkar isn't even a place; for the lack of better word, I would call Pushkar an experience. I regret not going there earlier, in fact even this time around it wasn't originally my plan. Its like an addictive substance, you go there once and you would want to experience the place over and over again even later on as well.

pushkar rajasthan camel fair
Awesome threesome...monkeys playing on the temple top

pushkar rajasthan camel fair
She doesn't look pleased with my camera, though later she did smile :)

pushkar rajasthan camel fair
Family at the ghat after the holy dip...people generally stay back till they are dry before venturing out in the street...

pushkar rajasthan camel fair
A halwai...
pushkar rajasthan camel fair
Mother-son, a candid moment...

Pushkar Fair makes the place even more special. There is festivity all around, the roads are all filled with people and colorful shops, the air is miraculously cool and despite everything, you never really get tired. We had only a couple of days there and believe me, that's much less than what you would want to spend there...perhaps a week would be a better idea. It would be a blissfully long and relaxing week, everyday would start late (unless of course a few, when you would want to go out for an early morning walk and enjoy the sunrise from a hill top or near the Pushkar lake), breakfast would be with a book on the terrace restaurant with small, broken conversations, shower would be delayed indefinitely or until you decide to actually leave to roam around, shop, eat and make merry!

pushkar rajasthan camel fair
The most beautiful girl in the entire town! She had the most killer look :)
pushkar rajasthan camel fair
A camel quenching his thirst with a tap...even people used the same tap for drinking, bathing etc!

pushkar rajasthan camel fair
A family just finishing their lunch
pushkar rajasthan camel fair
Ah! A smiling lady...not everyone hated me there :)
The place completely rocks for anyone with a camera - professionals, amateurs, wanna photographers as well as non-photographers. Its tough to go wrong with the pictures, even if that is the intent! Click people, buildings, camels, lakes, temples, shops, monkeys, crows, sadhus and so on...and trust me, everything will come out beautifully :)

pushkar rajasthan camel fair
Lovely kohl eyes...
pushkar rajasthan camel fair
I like this one, they both shared a bedi...something I was tempted to try as well, but didn't!
pushkar rajasthan camel fair
Radha, Krishna in a procession through the streets on Pushkar

pushkar rajasthan camel fair
Another one of my favorite...

p.s. I managed to break one of my lenses (18mm-55mm) just before the trip, so there is little variety in the pictures. Took a few more from M's camera, will try and share them later.

Comments

  1. Woow.. Loved the colours.

    www.rajniranjandas.blogspot.com

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  2. hey
    I loved the killer look girl's picture the most
    ..and the lady with the kohl eyes is beautiful..

    Amazing shots :)

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  3. Nice shots. beautifully captured bu you.

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  4. absolutely beautiful captures!! The human emotion and real India captured in all the shots!

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  5. WOW! Siddhartha, those pictures are great, but the first one took my breath away and made my day!!! Love the portraits of people too... as usual :-)
    The woman in the picture with the subtitle "lovely kohl eyes" looks very mysterious... also love the pic of the family having lunch - great perspective! - and that photo of the camel drinking is awesome.
    Have a great day, greetings from around the globe! :-)

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  6. This post is so emotional and personal-I like it! The monkey at the top of the temple resemble at first glance cats:)

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  7. Beautiful pics Sid. I have been to Pushkar in 2009 and its amazing to see a chaos of colors in midst of sand.

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  8. Really interesting mix of shots here. I love your portraits, as always!

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  9. Fantastic photos!!! made me feel like I was there! have wanted to go since a long time, but havent been lucky yet!

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  10. A series of brilliant shots, love the portraits but my favourite is the first one, the colours, the atmosphere, i don't know, it looks just so different!

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  11. Great pics, Sid.. very colorful! BTW, did those monkeys ever raid your backpack? They looked perched and ready to pounce! :-)

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  12. :) The colours are so happy! Fairs are always awesome, no?

    The last picture was literally the cherry on the cake :P

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  13. Nice pics!

    Rajasthan is a photographer's delight! Be it the colourful festivals and melas or the hot desert or the white marble Jain temples or the serene lakes of Udaipur.

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  14. Capture of fair in the evening is just splendid , so are others . Great work .

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  15. Came here after a while and wasn't disappointed.

    Amazing photography as always, I especially liked the camel and bidi pictured.

    Also, that girl has a captivating look. Something exceptional. Beauty.

    So many colors. I would just love to visit Pushkar sometime.

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  16. Thanks for taking me to Pushkar! What a colorful place!! Wonderful photos.

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  17. All this culture is amazing. The details in girls, the colors, the animals in the street. Very movement!
    Nice shots, i like the pictures today

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  18. Beautiful pictures and a very attractive description of the festival. :-)
    I have always wanted to attend one of such festivals just because...but my parents never let me because of the awful security conditions in the city.
    Maybe I should visit India.

    PS:- The last picture is my favorite. And despite not much variety, pictures are still speaking to me. :-) Get yourself a watermark.

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  19. Did you go on the rides at the carnival?

    I love the second camel pic, drinking from the tap.

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  20. These are absolutely fantastic.. and I can't believe that we guys were there at the same time and didn't know.. worse still didn't even bump into each other.. what a pity!!

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  21. *CAPS BECAUSE I AM HIGH ON YOUR PHOTOS*

    IT IS TIME YOU SEND YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS TO NAT GEO. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. I HAVE DONE MY BIT :D TWEETED YOUR LINK.

    CHEERS.

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  22. Great clicks!! U know how to capture the essence of every moment!
    Love ur work :)

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  23. Ok, again the most difficult task, when i need to select one particular pic to say its more beautiful than the others whereas the truth is every single pic is worth liking.
    My favorite is the Candid moment(mother and son) :D
    Take care photographer !

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  24. superb!

    wondering about the camel drinking directly from the tap!

    loved the women with their beedis

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  25. The mother son moment was the most beautiful one, atleast to me :)
    Beautiful photos, and your narration of the trip was nice, splendid, I'm voting for this. And like someone said in an above comment, you should submit these photos to natgeo :)
    I'm voting for this on indi, it deserves a vote :)


    If you had a few minutes, could you read a post of mine? And if you like it, give it a vote? I'd be most grateful,really, every vote makes a difference :D

    http://www.indiblogger.in/indipost.php?post=90039

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  26. Brilliant pictures Siddhartha! I loved the last picture the best.. the woman with the beedi was just too good :D great job.
    have fun travelling! Cheers!

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  27. I missed this. I missed passing by this space and getting overwhelmed by the images, the colors, the smiles, the lives. It feels WONDERFUL to come back here. And know that now I can pass by whenever I wish to.. And as usual, the pictures are awesome. You know I liked them. I always do. Magic with the camera.

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  28. So much to see, full of stories ... beautiful captures !

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  29. The photos have amazing colors, they are very nice

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  30. @RNiranjanDas: Thank you!

    @theothersideofme: I agree, thanks :)

    @MissNomad: Thank you!

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  31. @DS: Thanks a lot, welcome here :)

    @Dominic: Thanks a lot man, I always really like reading your feedback :)

    @Ola: I agree, its a very emotional for me also...

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  32. @lumuhuku: That's great, am sure even you would have enjoyed the place! The colors are simply amazing there...

    @Halycon: Thank you :)

    @Anu: You should really go, and at that too at the fair time. I am sure you would love it :)

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  33. @DeeBee: Thanks a lot, I also really loved the first shot...I wish I could capture the weather also with the pic!

    @DarkKnight: Thanks man! And no, the monkeys don't really attack anyone (thankfully), but I was asked to be careful about the cameras...

    @Express: I like it...happy colors :)

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  34. @Abhijit: I agree...its a delight to any photographer's eye!

    @Dhiraj: Thank you!

    @PeevieJuice: Glad to have you back :) And you should plan a visit to Pushkar for sure, it takes very little planning and the experience is exceptional!

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  35. @Barbara: I am really glad you enjoyed the pictures :)

    @magiceye: Thanks man!

    @Fabio: I agree, the detailing is sometimes overwhelming even for me! I also get confused where to look, what to capture with the camera, what to just savor just with my eyes...

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  36. @Komal: Thanks a lot :) And yes, you really should visit India...you would love it. Its easy to belong to because despite all the differences, our cultures are so similar! Let me know when you do, and I will suggest you all the great things to do here :D

    The last one is my fav as well...

    @Jules: Nope, no rides this time! I was very keen on it though...there were so many things to do and we missed out on that!

    @Chintan: THANK YOU!!! Your comments always make my day :D And thanks a lot for sharing the blog's link with your friends too :)

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  37. @Bindu: Thank you!

    @RedHanded: Thank you madam, I really appreciate your feedback :)

    @Reicha: I agree, it was a beautiful moment...later they even posed for me, but nothing like the personal candid moment :)

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  38. @Sujatha: Thank you! Yes, the camels drinking directly from the tap was quite a sight!

    @Achyuth: Thanks a ton! And I am glad you read through the post as well :)

    @Hemu: Thanks a lot! And yes, I do hope I keep having fun traveling always :)

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  39. @Zeba: So good to see your words here, they are always magical :) How do you do that!!! And you are more than welcome to always visit the space...am glad that you enjoy it :)

    @Wong: Thanks a lot :)

    @Sergio: Thanks a lot :)

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  40. Hi Siddhart, good work with camera there. The portraits are great - candid captures of people and their character. Keep shooting.

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  41. Wonderful pics again.
    Heard a lot about Pushkar.
    It must be a nice place as its loved by many foreign tourists too, though didn't find any pics of them.
    Best Wishes !

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  42. Ooo Sid you are a profetional photographer!!!!
    Wonderful, colorful photos and lovely people!!!
    My eyes are full af the beauty!!!
    Many greetings

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  43. You were there! So was I for the full moon night and the day before. You're right about the week thing. And not just about Puskar. I did say the same for most places. The longer you stay the better you soak in the atmosphere.
    But I loved the place. And ooh wat textiles around :) maybe I'll blog about it. Kudos to you for all the traveling you do. So cool!

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  44. Hi & Greetings. I stumbled onto your blog and am I happy that I did ! Wonderful post on Pushkar.The photo of the camel is cute.Pics of the colorful Krishna,the ghat,monkeys & fair are superb. And brilliant series of interesting faces with fascinating expressions - so representative of Rajasthan village folk.Never been to Pushkar before but now I am really motivated to plan a visit.

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  45. Hi Siddhartha, I landed at this site through some other route. when i saw the pics I thought "hey these photos remind of Siddhartha Joshi". Later I looked at the authors profile and found it was none other than you. Comedy of sorts. Nevertheless enjoyed this and had a good laugh !

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  46. @Mayank: Thanks man, I do hope I will continue shooting interesting stuff around :)

    @Abhishek: Oh yes! Its certainly a place loved by foreign tourists, I will share some of their pics too in the next post...

    @magda: Thanks a lot for the compliments :D I am really glad that you enjoyed the pictures!

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  47. @Annie: Unfortunately I wasn't there for the full moon night :( I am sure the place would be magical then!

    And the textiles are awesome, blog about them :) I would look forward to the pictures!

    @RRamakrishnan: Its great that you liked the pictures, but its even better to know that they reminded them of me :) I agree the situation is a little comic :)

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  48. how on earth did i miss your new blog post??? as usual...there is brilliance ....beauty...and authenticity!! i would agree with chints...you should send your pics to nat geo.....

    Serious!

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  49. Thanks a lot Shruti :) I am glad you liked these! As for NatGeo, maybe there will be a day when I do that...have a long long way to go still! Thanks for so much confidence on me though :D

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  50. A true fairy tale area indeed, you added a new wish on my travel list Joshi! Wonderful and mystical place, great photos!

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  51. @NiceArtLife: Thanks a lot, am glad you enjoyed the pictures...Pushkar is certainly worth a visit!

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  52. Replies
    1. Thanks Neha :) I am glad you enjoyed the pictures :)

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  53. Gorgeous pics!
    Kalpana
    http://traveltalesfromchennai.blogspot.in

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  54. Amazing pictures Sid! Definitely makes me want to pack my bags to Pushkar :)

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    Replies
    1. You must absolutely go. Despite the influx of tourists, it's still a great place to visit :)

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