Camel Fair

The camel dancing was just one of the many sights that awaited me as I made my way to Pushkar  for the annual camel fair, the oldest continual animal fair in the world. Along with the dancing there were camels "dressed up" with patterns shaved in their fur, flowers on their noses, necklaces and garlands looped around their necks and at times dyed tuft of fur at the top of their humps. Those were clearly the fancy camels. The ones meant to pull tourists around in a cart or give them a ride on their back. If you made it to the back of the fair grounds, that is where you could find the serious camel traders. Close to 50,000 camels I would guess, scattered across the desert hillside. When I climbed up on a wall I couldn't believe just how many had converged on Pushkar for the five day festival. There were camels everywhere! Standing and sitting in groups, outside of their owner's tents. Waiting impatiently as a buyer pulled open its mouth to check the teeth. Smacking its jaws as it ate from a pile of feed. Nuzzling a baby camel by its side. Bowing spit bubbles and drooling on unsuspecting tourists that wandered too close.  These are the sights of the Pushkar camel fair that will forever be imprinted on my mind.