A Man At the Fair

I’m at the Pushkar Camel Fair or Pushkar ka Mela. Never thought I’d be saying those words. But I’m at the fair watching the goings-on with amazement. It m...
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I’m at the Pushkar Camel Fair or Pushkar ka Mela. Never thought I’d be saying those words. But I’m at the fair watching the goings-on with amazement. It may be called a camel fair, and that’s what it used to be long ago. Today it’s a camel/horse/cattle/water buffalo fair. And market. And carnival. And food. And color. And noise. And motion. Huge wow. It’s a crazy 2 weeks in November every year that keeps the town of Pushkar, India, alive, as well as many other towns and villages in the area. For the rest of the year, this entire fairgrounds revert to acres of sand dunes. Stay tuned for lots more pictures from this incredible event that I experienced for a couple of days recently.

This handsome gentleman is at the fair to buy a horse or 10. He had just concluded a deal for a beautiful black Indian Mawari horse.

People bring their horses around, show them off. There’s a lot of bargaining and small-group-talking and drinking of tea. Money changes hands. Deals are made. I’m sure there’s etiquette to it all. How to make your horse known, how much to offer, how much to accept, who to noodle up to in order to make the best deal. So very fun to watch, but it’s serious business here.

Pushkar is in northwestern India in the desert state of Rajasthan.

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