The Rajasthan circuit - Pushkar Fair (cont.) - the 23rd of November 2012

(...)

We started our morning at Pushkar by visiting the Brahma Temple said to be one of the very few dedicated to Brahma, who according to myth was cursed by his wife Savitry when in her absence  he invited a  tribal girl to take her place in an important ritual.

We were very few among the huge amount of pilgrims. Though there was nothing specifically worth photographing apart from the worshipping spirit one could easily feel, we were not allowed to take any photographs, neither were we at the next "visiting place", which ended up being a ceremony in which we participated in a rather reserved way, at one of the ghats.

As we tried to follow along the "prayers" and get into the spirit of being blessed as a Hindu priest put a holy mixture on our foreheads and a bracelet around our wrists, we managed to see quite a few pilgrims bathing in the holly ghat to remove their sins.

As many of our trip companions took to the stalls and shops Christian and I just strolled along the main road trying to "absorb" the festive, almost Carnival-like atmosphere as we headed towards the local stadium, where camel, horse and donkey  contests were supposed to take place.

All we managed to see were some horse-riders training themselves for the riding competitions and a few cheers from people on elephants gathered around a sort of circle, where something must have been going on, but which we unfortunately  had no access to from where we were.

It was fairly late when we drove towards Jaipur, where we were supposed to have arrived in the early afternoon, having had therefore to have the circuit schedule re-arranged one more time. It was nevertheless a different cultural experience,which gave us a thorough insight into the spirit of the Pushkar Fair, which so many of our trip colleagues had been looking for.

We got to the hotel late in the evening and tiredness made us go to bed almost immediately. The following day would be culturally "overcharged" and we had to be prepared for it.

 

The Rajasthan circuit - Day 9 - Pushkar Fair - The 23rd of November 2012

We got up fairly early so as to take advantage of the Camel fair, to which we drove on camel pulled carts along a rather short side road from the camp.

Pushkar, whose name derives from "pushpa" (flower) andkar (hand) after a legend claiming that its lakes were created from the petals that fell from the divine hands of Brahma, is said to be a rather peaceful pilgrim town, except when in the Hindu month of "Kartik" (October/November) comes alive with the annual cattle fair, which is precisely when we visited it.

The Pushkar Fair is one of Asia's largest cattle fairs, despite the fact that the village has always been the region's central cattle market for local herdsmen and farmers  who buy and sell camels and indigenous breeds of cattle.

Tents and camp-sites could be seen almost everywhere to accommodate the thousands of livestock traders who had come to participate in the event. I must say it was quite impressive, once it stretched as far as our eyes could reach.

People huddled around a variety of food stalls and improvised shops selling  a whole variety of goods.

(To be continued)

"The Lighthouse" and other books ...

Just half an hour into the New Year I finished the last of four books I had been reading throughout November and December - the awarded Man Booker Prize 2012, "The Lighthouse", whose loneliness and sense of rejection tone touched me immensely.

Some books do sometimes fall into your hands when you most need them ... or maybe you are drawn to them simply because of your frame of mind at a particular moment in time.

The other three books were biographies, which I have always been drawn to. None could have been so different from the other and although I enjoyed reading each and everyone of them Paul Auster's Winter Journal is the one I liked most.

 

All of them have been highly praised and all I can say is that any of them is worth being read.

Cape Verde - updated news regarding the Calheta project

Though I have not yet updated all the events regarding the year that has just finished I feel I should start with the updating of projects for this New Year, particularly the one of Cape Verde, as children in Calheta will only get their Christmas presents when João de Barros, Rui Neves and their respective wives set foot on the island together with me.

I am very happy with the fact that a few more children have found themselves caring "godparents" and those whose previous godparents have forgotten about them will also be "taken care of" by people who have recently joined the project. 

 

 

Several reasons might not allow me to travel to Cape Verde as often as I have in the past or as often as I would like to, but at least the school fees will be ensured by bank transfer, which I feel particularly happy about.

Dulce, who will also become a "godmother" has recently handed me out some second-hand clothes for the children at the Emergency Centre in Praia, which on their behalf I am very grateful about.

 

I have already been putting aside and packing the Christmas presents for some of the children due to the eternal problem of last minute time constraints.

 

Dresses for Tarine (left) and Eveline Natalina (right).

A dress for Jessica Joceane (left) and some leggings for Elcy (right).

A pair of shorts for Melissa (left) and a pair of trousers for Eduardo (right).

A T-shirt with a head band for Josefine (left) and a T-shirt for Carla Veronica (right).

A skirt for Juliza (left) and a hooded coat for Leidina (right).

The more I give the little I have to bring some happiness to these unprivileged children the more I am convinced my own happiness is closely tied to making others happy.