The Hindu Festival is Celebrated in Pushkar for a Week and
Ends on the Same day as the Last day of the Camel Fair. Pushkar's Small Town is
Spread around a Holy Lake which has been Pilgrimage for Centuries. Devout from
Rajasthan and Neighboring States Travel to Immerse themselves in the holy water
throughout the whole Year, but in the days of Reaching Kartik Poornima, one of
the Most Sacred Days in the Hindu lunar calendar, there has been a Considerable
Increase in the Number.
Pushkar Camel Fair also known as Pushkar ka Mela, Pushkar
Cattle Fair, It is the world's Largest Camel Fair held in the holy town of
Pushkar in Rajasthan. Competitions such as the "Matka Phod", "moustache",
and "bridal competition" are the main Attractions of the Pushkar
Camel Fair which Attracts Thousands of Tourists. A Spotlight of One's Holiday
in India, the Festival Hosts around 50,000 Camels which are Sold, Decorated,
Shaved and Raced.
Camel Fair:- The Pushkar
Camel Fair takes Place at the Same Time. It is a Fascinating Spectacle that
occurs once a year in the Small Town of Pushkar, Rajasthan. It is a visitor’s
Finest Opportunity to Experience Rural India in its Organic Form; you can
Interact with Villagers that have never seen a Tourist in their Lives and have
Traveled for weeks to bring their Cattle to the Fair.
The Pushkar Camel Fair Scheduled between October and
November (determined by the Lunar Calendar), and Villagers bring about 50,000
Cattle (Majority of them Camels, but also a Lot of Horses) to Trade & Sell.
It also Includes a Plethora of Activities such as Processions, Horse Shows,
Camel Races, Camel and Cow Beauty Contests, Acrobatics, Camel Safaris and Much
More.
The Pushkar Camel Festival is arguably the most colorful
Gathering of Humanity and Livestock on this Planet, and attracts Large Numbers
of International and Indian Tourists.
- It is the world's largest Camel Fair.
- You’ll visit the only Brahma Temple in the world.
- You’ll see the Holy Pushkar Lake with 52 Ghats(Rivers) Surrounding it.
- Pushkar Offers around 400 Temples to See.
- You can participate in Numerous Cultural Activities
- Ethnic Shopping Items from all over the State are on Sale.
- It’s a Rare Combination of Religious Forever and Cultural Vibrancy in Rajasthan.
- You can Interact with Tribal Folks and Understand their Cultures.
Population of Pushkar:
14,000
Population of Pushkar
(During the fair): 200,000
No. of Camels in the
Pushkar fair: Around 50,000
Best Time to Visit:
October to March
Highlights: Camel
Trading, Folk Performances, Body Tattooing, Ethnic Shopping, Puppet Shows,
Acrobatics, Best Breed Contest, Moustache Competition, Bridal Competition Etc.
TYPE: Cultural
LOCATION: Pushkar
Pushkar Camel Fair
2017 Date: 28 October to 04 November.
As part of the great gathering, an Official Programme of
events is arranged by Rajasthan Tourism and Pushkar Mela Vikas Samiti. People
arrive from all over Rajasthan to make the pilgrimage, visit the temples and
attend the fair; it's the year's biggest festival for surrounding rural
communities, and everyone enjoys the fun. More and more people arrive each day.
The fair is busiest during the last three days.
MELA GROUND:-
Most official events take place at the Mela Ground, a large stadium. There are
races, traditional rural sports, turban and moustache competitions and displays
during the day, and cultural programmes and concerts each evening. There's
always plenty going on.
EXHIBITION GROUND:-
Agricultural events usually take place at the nearby Cattle Exhibition Ground
(just across from the Mela Ground). This is an important part of the mela, and
local farmers take a keen interest.
ADVENTURE ACTIVITIES:-There are Hot Air Balloon flights daily at 06.30am and 16.30pm, as well as
adventure activities such as paragliding in the Adventure Zone.
SHILP GRAM:-
Rajasthan Tourism run a crafts bazaar.
AROUND THE MELAGROUND:- You will find the fairground and bazaars, a sea of colour with
street vendors and stalls selling chaas, nimbu pani, paan, ice creams,
household articles, agricultural implements, jewellery, devotional items and
festival decorations. Men gather at chai (tea) stalls which spring up along the
roads.
For authentic camel souvenirs, don't miss a visit to Camel
Charisma. At their stand you can find camel dung paper and notebooks, camel
wool shawls and other products made by the people of the Raika and Rabari
communities who have traded their camels at Pushkar mela for centuries. This
year Camel Charisma are launching camel cheeses and cheesecakes from the
Kumbhalgarh Camel Dairy near Ranakpur (all made with camel milk, of course!). See
more about Camel Charisma >
SAROVAR:- As Kartik
Purnima is an important religious festival, the programme includes spiritual
events around the Sarovar (sacred lake) and ghats at the heart of the town;
Deep Dan is celebrated with candle lanterns floated on the lake and there are
spiritual walks, evening Maha Aarthi ceremonies and Vedic chants, classical
music performances and bhajans (hymns).
TEMPLES:- Temples
such as the atmospheric Old Rangji Temple in the town are the venue for some
folk and classical dance performances.
CONCERTS:- Concerts
featuring leading fusion bands, including Advaita and Prem Joshua, and
performances by some of Rajasthan's finest folk musicians will take place
alongside the Mela.
Camp Bliss at Pushkar runs from 23 October to 1 November
2017, and offers you luxury camping and the ultimate way to experience the more
traditional aspects of Pushkar Fair, one of Rajasthan's most spectacular
events.
The Pushkar Fair official programme events and fairground
will run from 29 October to 4 November. The full moon night, Kartik Purnima
2017, the focus of the religious and pilgrimage activities, is on 4 November.
From Tuesday 31 October to 7 November we will be in the
Hadoti region with some of our guests for the authentic local mela and Kartik
Purnima celebrations at Chandrabhaga Fair, near Jhalawar; a chance to capture
the atmosphere of the trading fairs of earlier times, and explore a
less-visited area of Rajasthan
23 October:-
Groups of camels, herders, horses and traders begin to appear from out of the
desert and set up camp in the dunes around Pushkar.
24 October:- More
camels, nomads, herders, horses, farmers and traders are arriving. Some groups
walk to the fair. Others arrive with camel or bullock carts or come by truck.
The gathering is rapidly growing to immense proportions. This is the best time
for photography and the time when you may move around and observe the scene
most freely.
25 October:- Arrivals
continue. The numbers of horses is increasingly rapidly. Camels are being
inspected and thoroughbred Merwari horses put through their paces for
purchasers. Trading is already taking place, although a deal may take several
days to conclude as vendors hold out for the best price.
26 October:- On
the dunes, the gathering of camels is reaching maximum size. There are lively
discussions as groups of vendors and purchasers meet around their animals and
negotiators help to arrange deals. The best prices are achieved in a year when
the monsoon has been good.
27 October:- By
now the tented bazaars are a hive of activity and the fairground is being set
up. The scene on the dunes is at its most crowded. Some of the camel herds
begin to leave as they conclude their business, but many camel carts are
arriving bringing people with business at the fair. Holy men and religious
groups are more numerous in the town each day.
28 October:- By
now a great horse trading area has been established. In some years there have
been around four thousand horses; yearlings, horses used by farmers, the white
horses which are auspicious for weddings, and fine Marwari horses from stud
farms all over Rajasthan and the Punjab. Buyers and onlookers gather round as
owners show them off.
29 October:- More
and more people are arriving.The fair is traditionally a great meeting place
where even marriages may be arranged. In the stadium the Official Program of
camel races, displays and competitions begins.
30 October:- The
scene on the dunes is increasingly busy and chaotic, with camel cart rides, itinerant
musicians and vendors. Around the stadium there are cultural activities,
competitions and bazaars. Camels and traders will disappear back into the
desert as the week progresses and their business is concluded.
31 October(1):-
Pushkar Fair The Town, Temples and
Bazaars are becoming more Crowded. The Colourful Fairground Attracts huge
Crowds with Stalls, Street Vendors, Sideshows and Ferris Wheels. Stadium Events
Continue.
31 October(2):-
Chandrabhaga Fair:- This auspicious Ekadashi day is the first night of our 2017
visit to Chandrabhaga Fair, a popular day for initiating rituals and customs
relating to marriage as the ancient walled city of Jhalarapatan begins its week
of festivities. The first groups of camels, cattle and sheep arrive with farmers
and villagers from all over the region for the fair.
1 November(1):- Pushkar
Fair Great numbers of
colourfully-dressed villagers are arriving from all over the region to bathe in
the holy lake. The fairground is going full swing. A craft fair is set up with
handicraft stalls.
1 November(2):- Chandrabhaga Fair– At Chandrabhaga Fair, the vast mela ground is
seeing more arrivals and animal trading is beginning. In the town celebrations
are centred around the 1,000 year-old Sun temple. Perfect mornings have a sense
of the old days with a very traditional scene.
2 November(1):- Pushkar
Fair Pilgrims throng the streets of
Pushkar and shop in the fairground bazaars as the town prepares for the Kartik
Purnima religious festival. In the mela stadium competitions and events are in
full swing.
2 November(2):- At
Chandrabhaga Fair the gathering is still
growing as herders arrive from across the river with their animals to set up
camp. For local farming communities, this is one of the best shopping
opportunities of the year, a place to find old-style utensils and implements.
3 November(1):- Pushkar
Fair The temples, ashrams and
dharamshalas (pilgrim rest houses) of the holy town are busy with pilgrims.
There are bhajans (devotional hymns) and ceremonies in the temples, and
fairground rides and stalls to be enjoyed at the mela.
3 November(2):- At
Chandrabhaga Fair official events now begin with cultural programmes and Deep Daan
on the river. A huge temporary bazaar springs up close to the fortified city.
Old wooden ferris wheels are turned by hand and acrobats, storytellers and
performers gather crowds.
4 November(1):- Kartik
Purnima Today thousands of devotees will
bathe in the holy lake, believed to have been created when the god Brahma
dropped a sacred lotus flower to earth.
4 November(2):- Chandrabhaga
Fair– Kartik Purnima Today is the most
religious day. Residents offer free water and help to pilgrims on the streets
and the Sun temple is a focus for colourful activities. Ceremonies and diyas
(lamps) on the sacred Chandrabhaga river.
4 November is the Last
day of the Pushkar Fair Official Programme and is the day of the Kartik Purnima
Religious Festival, when many thousands of devotees throng the town to visit
the temples and circumambulate the holy lake. At Chandrabhaga there is
pilgrimage activity and holy bathing at Chandravati as Kartik Purnima is
celebrated in a simpler style, an opportunity to experience the age-old
devotions and rituals of the auspicious day.
5 November to 7 November:- Chandrabagha and Hadoti
Guests travelling with us to Chandrabagha Fair can explore
Hadoti, one of Rajasthan's least-visited and most rewarding regions.
5 November:- Chandrabhaga
Fair:- Kartik Purnima Pilgrims are
leaving but the number of animals is till increasing and the mela ground is a
beautiful scene for photographers and observers.
6 November:- Chandrabhaga
Fair:- Another great day to see animal trading, with camels being taken to
the riverside to drink then brought back to the mela ground. The
beautifully-attired Raika men huddle in groups around their campfires at dusk,
when hundreds of cooking fires billowing smoke can be seen from a single spot.
Animals can now be seen being taken back by their new owners.
7 November:- ChandrabhagaFair:- A day to watch the herds of animals departing from the ground. The
Raika control large herds of camels by voice with extraordinary skill. Very few
animals remain by night.
