Pushkar Lake in Rajasthan

What do you expect when on a pilgrim, something more than you always imagined – peace, spirituality, the feeling of having touched a piece of heaven and maybe somewhere somehow impressed god that you exist to and need his attention.

But what if all this does not happen and what you see and feel leaves you mentally shocked and fatigued. You may not be able to express it but somewhere you comeback feeling dejected and disappointed except for the fact that you succeeded in completing the prayers you went for and got to see the one and only Brahma temple and idol in the world. No other such temple exists.

The place to be, to wash away your existing and non-existing sins, but here you will find no water pool just small tanks of water filled with water to complete any ceremony that you have come for. Men, monkeys and foreigners surround you. The water smells bad and its takes more than just guts to pour some on your head for ceremonial purposes.
The coconuts, flowers offered here are with a slight of the hand placed in another plate besides the pandya’s who perform the ceremonies. These coconuts make their way back to the shops after the jajman (prayeree) has gone from the ghat. They are then washed and resold in the to other tourists.

As you walk the market you are surprised at the handicrafts sold, but what will shock you are the prices that skyrocket and if challenged you get treated rudely and badly. Even though you are an Indian buying from an Indian in an Indian market, this place is just meant for the foreigners. Try asking the price of silver bangles as a case – the prompt reply you get is 4000 $. Hey this is India – if you want to sell in dollars go somewhere else! I hope the government is not deaf and dumb and certainly comes down hard on these. Pushkar is in India and is not I a foreign land that foreigners are ruling the roost here. If you want to live here then accept Indians and India…

Photo: Rajasthan Pushkar Mela

Foul-mouthed policemen and women, who barely talk in a civil manner with you, guard the Brahma temple like a treasure house. Anyhow as you go past them, you climb the stairs up to see Brahmaji – the god of creation and there he is sitting besides his consort Gayatri, whom he is said to have married to complete the yagya. The idols are in pure silver. The temple of his other two wives Saraswati and Laxmi are located on the steep hill behind this temple. Small and big temples and over a couple of hundred exists here, but you will have to search for the important ones with a teeth and comb, the rest can be easily seen.

The Brahmin in the temple certainly acts rude and pushes crowds away with the flurry of his hands and takes offerings and places them as he wishes on a table behind him. You are offered prasad and then you move out. But besides other temples within the premises there are two centuries old Shiv temples located belowground. These are ancient sites and worth a dekho, and your visit is incomplete without a visit simultaneously to a Shiva shrine which will always and have to be located within the premises.

But Pushkar is not the only problem there exists so much chaos even in Ajmer too. It seems more like a regular Sunday bazaar than the shrine of the holiest saint’s in India. Make your way through the crowded bazaar right up to the Buland Darwaza and get stopped by the security guards who refuse to listen to you till ultimately a shop keeper just inside the gate offers to keep your camera and phone in a box under his shop giving you a token for it.

Nothing remains the same, the crowd is standing out cause there is a minister who is being given special darshan. The rest of us will be treated like cattle for slaughter amidst shouts of take care of your belongings, and you get pushed in from one door and out the other with just a few seconds to catch a glimpse of the dargah of the great saint. The money you want to offer to the saint is pocketed openly by the khadim at the door, in return he hits you with a bunch of peacock feathers, rather have the saint hit us on the head with an iron rod. Your offerings are abruptly handled by the khadims inside the katera and could get thrown out for heaven sakes and not get placed where you meant it to be placed. Their clothes and style will leave you stunned.

The tombs besides the main shrine in the open air were those of his four friends have now been covered over and holds shops that sells flowers and attars. The dargah of Bibi hafiz Jamal just outside the main shrine was completely screened which no person could touch, but now has a doorway cut at the ground level and has two khadims sitting here asking people to bow their heads and put money in their hands.

It is the same with the tomb in the ahat-e-noor which was once completely covered by a screens, which is no longer seen. The degs have become a place to mint money too.  The tomb site of the wives of Hazrat was also completely shut has been opened in one corner to catch their glimpse and to drink water and put money.

The whole place seems like a one big shop where blessings of gods and saints are being sold for a few rupees to the worshippers.

Where have the gods gone too, can’t he hit these people with his stick and bring them on the right path. Or has he also become deaf and dumb like the rest of us who are not bothered as to what happens here and just want to finish are work and come away as quick as possible.

Check out these stories also:

1. Exploring Temple of Ranakpur
2. Inaccessible, Sai!!!
3. Jaisalmer – the golden city
4. Saving Sonar Qila – Jaisalmer
5. My Name Is Khan-Left me Disabled

Custom Search