My Second Earthquake.....ehhh....I admit it, I was freaked. And it really wasn't bad- 4.3 on the Richter scale, but the epicenter was right here in New Delhi at 4:45am.
While in Pushkar, I learned that I am an incredibly sound sleeper.... temple bells rang and thousands of people made their pilgrimage all the while chanting and chatting on the streets right outside our hotel window ALL night long....I slept like a baby. Well, my new revelation may have to take a back seat...that little quake had me shooting straight up out of bed within milliseconds.
All is well. No injuries. No damage. Just enough of a rumble to have many of our students (and me) talking about it all day....
Monday, November 26, 2007
Sunday, November 25, 2007
The Pushkar Camel Fair
It's official....our move to India has been christened... by the Pushkar Camel Fair. We can now say with assurance that we do indeed live in India. Of course, the trip began as many do.....haggling for a taxi. Taxi drivers actually try to push a $40 taxi ride on what is really a $10 ride ($10 during this camel festival, that is....normally $2.50, i bet). Now, this taxi ride can not even take us to our hotel as the streets are closed and jam packed full of pilgrims, tourists, vendors, motorcycle drivers and carnies of all colors (monkey man, long mustache boy, and a cow with an extra hoof protruding out of its back). So, we walk....and we walk....and we finally arrive at the Navratan hotel, which is located right next to the one and only existing Brahman temple in the world. Cool. Yeah, we think it's cool just like hundreds of thousands of Indians who are making their pilgrimage to this holy town and temple over the next 2 days.
Speaking of the town of Pushkar....population 15,000. During the camel fair...population 200,000 plus 50,000 camels and cattle. It is considered to be a holy city with a holy lake, the holy Brahman temple, only veg food and no alcohol. People come from all over to pray in the temple and bathe in the lake. Announcements are made over the loud speaker during the fair asking that no one take pictures of the holy ghats (bathing areas around the lake) and that men and women not hold hands in this holy place.
We arrived on a Thursday, dropped our stuff off at the hotel just in time to catch my first camel ride....into the sunset. Ahhh, beautiful....um, beautifully hazy that is. Out in the sandy Rajastani desert with hazy skies, camels and their excretions of all sorts.
What stands out the most in Pushkar are the sounds and the colors. Fantastic colors everywhere! Bright Sikh turbans, vibrant sarees....in fact, as I crossed one of the "holy bridges" (by the way, you have to take your shoes off when you walk across this bridge because of its holiness), a large group of Rajastani young women passed by singing songs all the while wearing extraordinary shades of red and burgundy. It's really just so different. How often does this happen to you in the states? Large groups of young ladies wearing bright, vibrant dresses, singing folk songs....just for fun? By 5am Friday morning, the street outside of our window was filled with children and adults setting up shop, bartering, buying their Masala Chai, playing their drums, tambourines and recorders.
By the time the sun rises, there is a man bathing on his rooftop directly across the street from our hotel room. The tourists are out and everyone is taking tons of pictures....pictures of the "monkey-men" (men dressed and acting like monkeys), the man escorting his cow with the extra hoof, the snake charmers, the standing baba (who has vowed to stand for at least 20 years)... You can't just start snapping pictures all over the place, though. You better be prepared to hand over at least 10 rupees (25 cents). But what about me? Frequently, I catch Indian men whipping out their camera phones to take a picture of me. I quickly hold my hand up and say "10 rupees! 10 rupees!" They are beyond baffled.
Friday night happened to be the eve of the most important day of the Festival. Apparently the sun never set that night because that street was non-stop from 6pm until....well....I don't know when. We left the next afternoon, and the madness was still in full force. As I said above, Pushkar is the home of the only standing Brahman temple in the world, and the Camel Fair is the time of all times to visit it. Masses upon masses of people poured into that temple chanting, ringing bells, praying, singing, chatting all (let me emphasize ALL) night long. It was really quite amazing to see. The street only got more crowded. So much so that when Jon went out early Saturday morning, he got caught in the crowd, lifted off his feet and was carried through with no control over his pace or direction (he did make it back safely, however, via another route).
Despite the sensory overload of the Camel Festival, Pushkar is a lovely town with great rooftop restaurants overlooking the lake, fabulous architecture, cute shops....overall, good times. We'd go back....definitely.
Check out the pictures by clicking on the Photos link at the top right:)
Speaking of the town of Pushkar....population 15,000. During the camel fair...population 200,000 plus 50,000 camels and cattle. It is considered to be a holy city with a holy lake, the holy Brahman temple, only veg food and no alcohol. People come from all over to pray in the temple and bathe in the lake. Announcements are made over the loud speaker during the fair asking that no one take pictures of the holy ghats (bathing areas around the lake) and that men and women not hold hands in this holy place.
We arrived on a Thursday, dropped our stuff off at the hotel just in time to catch my first camel ride....into the sunset. Ahhh, beautiful....um, beautifully hazy that is. Out in the sandy Rajastani desert with hazy skies, camels and their excretions of all sorts.
What stands out the most in Pushkar are the sounds and the colors. Fantastic colors everywhere! Bright Sikh turbans, vibrant sarees....in fact, as I crossed one of the "holy bridges" (by the way, you have to take your shoes off when you walk across this bridge because of its holiness), a large group of Rajastani young women passed by singing songs all the while wearing extraordinary shades of red and burgundy. It's really just so different. How often does this happen to you in the states? Large groups of young ladies wearing bright, vibrant dresses, singing folk songs....just for fun? By 5am Friday morning, the street outside of our window was filled with children and adults setting up shop, bartering, buying their Masala Chai, playing their drums, tambourines and recorders.
By the time the sun rises, there is a man bathing on his rooftop directly across the street from our hotel room. The tourists are out and everyone is taking tons of pictures....pictures of the "monkey-men" (men dressed and acting like monkeys), the man escorting his cow with the extra hoof, the snake charmers, the standing baba (who has vowed to stand for at least 20 years)... You can't just start snapping pictures all over the place, though. You better be prepared to hand over at least 10 rupees (25 cents). But what about me? Frequently, I catch Indian men whipping out their camera phones to take a picture of me. I quickly hold my hand up and say "10 rupees! 10 rupees!" They are beyond baffled.
Friday night happened to be the eve of the most important day of the Festival. Apparently the sun never set that night because that street was non-stop from 6pm until....well....I don't know when. We left the next afternoon, and the madness was still in full force. As I said above, Pushkar is the home of the only standing Brahman temple in the world, and the Camel Fair is the time of all times to visit it. Masses upon masses of people poured into that temple chanting, ringing bells, praying, singing, chatting all (let me emphasize ALL) night long. It was really quite amazing to see. The street only got more crowded. So much so that when Jon went out early Saturday morning, he got caught in the crowd, lifted off his feet and was carried through with no control over his pace or direction (he did make it back safely, however, via another route).
Despite the sensory overload of the Camel Festival, Pushkar is a lovely town with great rooftop restaurants overlooking the lake, fabulous architecture, cute shops....overall, good times. We'd go back....definitely.
Check out the pictures by clicking on the Photos link at the top right:)
Monday, November 19, 2007
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