The Gaths of Pushkar
- August 31, 2000
- Rated 3 of 5 by
Joel from Hasselt, Limburg, Belgium
India's most sacred lake is believed to mark the spot where a lotus thrown by Brahma, landed. Pushkar has become a pilgrim's place. All around the lake, ghats (steps) lead down to the water to enable pilgrims to bathe. You can hear noisy religious celebrations the whole night long in this once so famous hippy town so you may need your ear plugs here.
We wander through this lively, tourist village with its crowded bazaar and many temples. One of the most striking sights is that of the saffron clad sadhus - religious, mendicant, holy men - seeking gifts of food and money to support themselves in the final stage of life. Most of them have given up material possessions, carrying only a strip of cloth, a staff, prayer beads, a water pot and a begging bowl. Some of them are accompanied by cows. And what's so special about a cow when you see plenty of them everywhere you go? Well, these cows have five legs; one on their back or one just beside their tail, and I must say it looks weird... And than there's the annoying story about the brahmins (priests) who want tourists to go with them to offer flowers and coconuts to the holy lake. They start to ask all kinds of silly questions and finally all they want is money or a donation. I had to stay calm all the time so that I didn't push the man into the lake. And if that isn't enough already I also meet a begging badly physically handicapped woman on my way back to the hotel. It can be very distressing.
From journal Pushkar, a pilgrim's place