Pushkar Fair (Camel Fair) Part 1

This past Friday (23 Nov) I (Aaron) had the chance to spend the day at the famous Pushkar Camel Fair. I left our home at 05:30 and arrived in Pushkar at 07:30. It was already busy as people were gearing up for the day. Since I was there so early, I was able to drive through the roadblocks and maneuver through the sandy back alleys, eventually reaching the camel section of the fair grounds.

Pushkar is a town of approximately 10,000-14,000 people and you can drive through it in less than 10 minutes. During the Pushkar Fair, the number of people in the town increases to a massive 200,000-250,000 people! Not only is there a massive influx of people, there are also about 50,000 animals brought in to show, buy, trade and sell. The vast majority (about 90%) are camels and the rest are mostly horses. The event is one week long and is held the second half of November each year. It is famous throughout the world and is the largest event of its kind to be found anywhere on the globe; google "Pushkar Fair" and see what pops up.

Here is a view looking one direction. This was early in the morning so it was not in full swing but as far as you could see, there were camels, cart and camel drivers.


At about 09:00 the crew from Help In Suffering (HIS) (see past articles on HIS 1 and 2) arrived and were ready for the days work. HIS was able to provide all treatment and medications free of charge thanks to the central governments financial backing as well as donations from around the world. I was there to not only partake of the days activities but also to lend a hand with the medical care of the camels. It was exciting to be able to work on such a large animal, one which most vets in the U.S. have never been able to treat. I assisted with injections for mange treatment (one man came in with his whole herd of about 14 being affected), antibiotics via I.V. for infection, wounds which needed cleaning, dressing and medication (as well as removal of maggots in some wounds), replacement of nose-pegs (see picture below) and replacement with longer plastic (provided free of charge by HIS). Camels are so large and powerful. We would have to have them kneel to reach their heads; a full grown male is so tall that I could not jump and touch the top of his hump and their heads just tower over everything. It was an awesome experience to work on such a neat and unusual (outside of India) animal.


Here is a picture of our vehicle (silver SUV) next to the HIS trucks. The HIS tent is in front of the vehicle. Notice the camels on every side of the truck as well as in the background.


Since I arrived early, I was able to walk through most of the fair and get a lot of good photos of camels and the camel wallahs (drivers/ owners). Not only were your senses bombarded with the sights of thousands of camels, many which were brightly decorated with saddles, bells, ribbons and fur shaving in interesting designs, there was the smell of so many animals, fodder, poop, food cooking on dried dung fires, ringing of bells, and the many noises which camels make. It was a truly unforgettable experience. There were food vendors, ferris wheels, but more than anything, there were vendors selling all the accessories needed to customize your camel.

This is one stand selling camel accessories. You could buy bells for the ankles, head, saddle and neck. You could also buy harnesses, saddles (riding as well as for pulling a cart), pads, nose pegs (for steering the camel, see picture below), and furry balls for placing on the nose of the camel.


Here is a picture of a camel with his nosepegs in, bells and decorations on his neck and also the furry balls on his nose. The camel in the background had a large flower on his nose. The males are very powerful and are dangerous and difficult to control when in rut. The drivers put a wooden peg in each nostril (the most sensitive area on the camel) and attach the reigns to the pegs in order to steer and control the animal.


At noon, I went with the HIS office manager and two of the Doctors to visit with one of the Doctors friends who was in Pushkar for the fair. This man and his colleagues run horse, jeep and ATV safaris throughout Rajasthan. We drank chai and then they took us through the fair and into the desert on ATVs. There were three 330 cc Polaris 4wd ATVs which the man had imported from the U.S. It was a blast and all of us had a chance to drive and be crazy. I was the only one other than the owner who had ever been on an ATV let alone drive one. When we stopped at the fairgrounds when we were through, there was a huge crowd surrounding the vehicles, nobody had ever seen one. I thought that it was ironic that the westerners came to look at camels and the locals thought the most amazing thing was an ATV.

This is a picture of me on one of the ATVs. The vehicles in the back right side are camel drawn carts with white covers to keep the tourists from getting burned.


I will post the second half of pictures as well as more details on the Pushkar Fair and animals tomorrow.