Pushkar
Eternal place in rajasthan
The most eternal place in rajasthan. It has the ability to engage and inspire visitors from across the world. A visit to Pushkar is the kind that turns from one night into two, into far longer than expected. Pushkar does not have any eco/responsible travel qualifications as such, but it is a great way to experience some of the culture of Spiritual India in Rajasthan. Pushkar Lake – around which the town is formed – is said to have been formed when a lotus flower fell from the hands of Lord Brahma. It’s also the only place in India where you can find Brahma temples.
This is the land of Saraswati, patron goddess of the arts and music. This is the sacred land where the Gayatri Mantra was first recited, the Aditya Hridya Stotram was written.
Everywhere one turn, one hear music. In temple bells in the narrow lane near Varaha Ghat, where one see people turn away from the marigolds at the flower stall by a shrine to soak up the lush perfume of the roses and jasmine. Or at night returning from a late dinner. Strains of trance music are heard over the thunder of the bikes in the medieval bazaar or in the rhythms of the chanting priests by the Brahma Temple by the ghats at the newly launched The Sacred, a yoga, music and meditation festival, where nagara player Nathu Lal Solanki mesmerised one with his métier at Raj Bohra Ghat.
This is Pushkar, a mela or not, small and medieval as it is, it will sweep you off your feet, as it celebrates the riddle of life in countless ways, all year round. The everyday world of Pushkar did more than ‘inspire and encourage well-being, tranquillity and self-discovery through music, yoga, and meditation’. One could find a fresh take on everything which has become routine.
Pind daan, performed to propitiate one’s ancestors, is a time-worn ritual, even if the lake dries up and becomes a mere shadow of itself during a drought. This is the power of belief which pervades the aura of devotion and divinity here. Pigeons coo on in the shade of an ancient peepal tree where a sadhu is lost in deep meditation, mindless of the scurrying crowds heading down to the lake.
In the violet evening, as the sun slips into the lake, Varaha Ghat comes alive with the flickering of lamps during the scenic aarti accompanied by the chanting of the priests and mesmerised devotees.
Brahma set the trend here with his great yagna, even if he had to take a new wife to begin it at the auspicious time. My humble meditation and yoga session got a whole new flavour as I watched the sunrise from my bedroom window. An excellent place to start, if you haven’t already, is to join classes at the Pushkar Yoga Garden or Pushkar Meditation Temple—also a big hit with foreigners who visit Pushkar, regardless of what time of year it is.
An early morning or evening walk around town and soaking up the atmosphere by the lake will give you all the introduction needed to this place.
Pushkar is famous for its Camel Fair held each year, which depending on your love for camels , you may wish to come. The town gets incredibly full during the festivals.
HOLI,the most vivid celebrations of the festival of colours take place at Varaha Ghat near the Rangji Temple. Artists travel from a far to give performances of the traditional Ras Leela—Braj-style. Everyone—even the Radha and Krishna avatars in their finery and the chillum-smoking sadhus—jumps into the fray, dancing and playing with marigold petals and other vegetal powders, fortified, of course, by lashings of bhang lassi, for which Pushkar is famous. The jamboree doesn’t stop— Shivratri is celebrated a la-Benaras of old at the Atamataheshwar Temple, with prayers and fasting and ritual dips in the lake. This is central to so many festivals here, be it Ganesh Chaturthi or Janmashtami, when artists play out the teenage days of the naughty Krishna and the tricks he would play on the gopis with all his friends.
This is the land of Saraswati, patron goddess of the arts and music. This is the sacred land where the Gayatri Mantra was first recited, the Aditya Hridya Stotram was written.
Everywhere one turn, one hear music. In temple bells in the narrow lane near Varaha Ghat, where one see people turn away from the marigolds at the flower stall by a shrine to soak up the lush perfume of the roses and jasmine. Or at night returning from a late dinner. Strains of trance music are heard over the thunder of the bikes in the medieval bazaar or in the rhythms of the chanting priests by the Brahma Temple by the ghats at the newly launched The Sacred, a yoga, music and meditation festival, where nagara player Nathu Lal Solanki mesmerised one with his métier at Raj Bohra Ghat.
This is Pushkar, a mela or not, small and medieval as it is, it will sweep you off your feet, as it celebrates the riddle of life in countless ways, all year round. The everyday world of Pushkar did more than ‘inspire and encourage well-being, tranquillity and self-discovery through music, yoga, and meditation’. One could find a fresh take on everything which has become routine.
Pind daan, performed to propitiate one’s ancestors, is a time-worn ritual, even if the lake dries up and becomes a mere shadow of itself during a drought. This is the power of belief which pervades the aura of devotion and divinity here. Pigeons coo on in the shade of an ancient peepal tree where a sadhu is lost in deep meditation, mindless of the scurrying crowds heading down to the lake.
In the violet evening, as the sun slips into the lake, Varaha Ghat comes alive with the flickering of lamps during the scenic aarti accompanied by the chanting of the priests and mesmerised devotees.
Brahma set the trend here with his great yagna, even if he had to take a new wife to begin it at the auspicious time. My humble meditation and yoga session got a whole new flavour as I watched the sunrise from my bedroom window. An excellent place to start, if you haven’t already, is to join classes at the Pushkar Yoga Garden or Pushkar Meditation Temple—also a big hit with foreigners who visit Pushkar, regardless of what time of year it is.
An early morning or evening walk around town and soaking up the atmosphere by the lake will give you all the introduction needed to this place.
Pushkar is famous for its Camel Fair held each year, which depending on your love for camels , you may wish to come. The town gets incredibly full during the festivals.
HOLI,the most vivid celebrations of the festival of colours take place at Varaha Ghat near the Rangji Temple. Artists travel from a far to give performances of the traditional Ras Leela—Braj-style. Everyone—even the Radha and Krishna avatars in their finery and the chillum-smoking sadhus—jumps into the fray, dancing and playing with marigold petals and other vegetal powders, fortified, of course, by lashings of bhang lassi, for which Pushkar is famous. The jamboree doesn’t stop— Shivratri is celebrated a la-Benaras of old at the Atamataheshwar Temple, with prayers and fasting and ritual dips in the lake. This is central to so many festivals here, be it Ganesh Chaturthi or Janmashtami, when artists play out the teenage days of the naughty Krishna and the tricks he would play on the gopis with all his friends.