On the last weekend we, the content team of the company, planned to visit a secluded spot. The aim was to recharge the mind, body and soul, which were exhausted after being engaged in repetitive tasks of creating blogs, web reviews, descriptions, and articles writing. Various travel websites were browsed and newspapers were searched in order to decide the destination. After several rounds of internal dialogue and negotiations, the team decided to go to Pushkar, a tranquil tiny town, settled in a valley of Aravali range in Ajmer district of Rajasthan. The Aravali range is considered as one of the oldest fold of mountains that run from Punjab to Gujrat, crossing Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and even spreads to (Sindh and Punjab province of) Pakistan.
The nearest operational airport is about 140 km (in Jaipur) so we preferred to travel via rail as we felt it to be more convenient and economical. We boarded Ajmer Satabdi that departed from New Delhi railway station at 06:05 am. This is the fastest train we could find that took us to Ajmer in just 6.40 hours. Though there are several other train, most of the regular trains took about 9 hours in the journey except Ajmer Rajdhani and Chetak. However, Chetak would drop us in Ajmer at 2 am, and we have to wait for sunrise to get transportation to go to Pukar. The private taxis do go to Pushkar during the night but it is a risky affair which we tried to avoid.
It is always preferable to reach any unknown destination during the daytime, as we might be alien to that place and could find difficulty in getting boarding and lodging facilities or assistance during the night hours. In the due course of getting acquainted with our destination, we came to know that Pushkar is also called Tirthraj or the Param Tirathstan, as no pilgrimage is complete unless one bath in the lake at Puskar. This place has several references to various Hindu scriptures like Mahabharata and Puranas.
We reached Pushkar at about 3 pm and we were amazed to see the colorful rural atmosphere of the place. We hired rooms in an ancient haveli that was converted into a hotel. The ambiance was clean and calm though the place was quite spacious. One will find all type of hotels, guest houses and lodges as per the respective budget. Food severed in various Indian kitchens can be found in several restaurants and snack stalls on the streets. Our groups decided to take launch and some rest; however, most of us were enthusiast to see the lake.
In the evening, we came out into the city and saw lots of foreign tourist who visit Puskar all the year round (with a little decrease during the months of April to July.) Most of them are from Europe, US, and Israel. I saw various signboards in Hebrew and easy availability of vegetarian Jewish food. The consumption of alcohol and meat is forbidden in Pushkar in line with Hindu religion and there are no shops selling them either.
The lake was not clean and the water looked muddy. It might be because of bathing plus rituals that took place all over the day. There are 52 ghats, each devoted to a deity, circumference around the holy lake. This town is the Gayatri dham, the home of ‘Gayatri Mantra’, the supreme spirituality. After cremation, the ashes of Hindus are immersed in this lake to give moksha, the eternal bliss and salvation of the deceased soul. The Panda (the man who performed Puja at the shore of the lake) informed us that there are about 500 temples of diverse sizes built over several centuries, by various kings, zamindars, royals, rulers, barons, businessmen (seths), sieges, saints, communities with varied architectural and sculptural styles in accordance with their respective era.
There is much more to see and write about this fascinating place; however, we have to leave to continue our journey back home. With acute nostalgia, we return to our native place with a resolution to revisit Pushkar during its annual cattle fair.
The nearest operational airport is about 140 km (in Jaipur) so we preferred to travel via rail as we felt it to be more convenient and economical. We boarded Ajmer Satabdi that departed from New Delhi railway station at 06:05 am. This is the fastest train we could find that took us to Ajmer in just 6.40 hours. Though there are several other train, most of the regular trains took about 9 hours in the journey except Ajmer Rajdhani and Chetak. However, Chetak would drop us in Ajmer at 2 am, and we have to wait for sunrise to get transportation to go to Pukar. The private taxis do go to Pushkar during the night but it is a risky affair which we tried to avoid.
It is always preferable to reach any unknown destination during the daytime, as we might be alien to that place and could find difficulty in getting boarding and lodging facilities or assistance during the night hours. In the due course of getting acquainted with our destination, we came to know that Pushkar is also called Tirthraj or the Param Tirathstan, as no pilgrimage is complete unless one bath in the lake at Puskar. This place has several references to various Hindu scriptures like Mahabharata and Puranas.
We reached Pushkar at about 3 pm and we were amazed to see the colorful rural atmosphere of the place. We hired rooms in an ancient haveli that was converted into a hotel. The ambiance was clean and calm though the place was quite spacious. One will find all type of hotels, guest houses and lodges as per the respective budget. Food severed in various Indian kitchens can be found in several restaurants and snack stalls on the streets. Our groups decided to take launch and some rest; however, most of us were enthusiast to see the lake.
In the evening, we came out into the city and saw lots of foreign tourist who visit Puskar all the year round (with a little decrease during the months of April to July.) Most of them are from Europe, US, and Israel. I saw various signboards in Hebrew and easy availability of vegetarian Jewish food. The consumption of alcohol and meat is forbidden in Pushkar in line with Hindu religion and there are no shops selling them either.
The lake was not clean and the water looked muddy. It might be because of bathing plus rituals that took place all over the day. There are 52 ghats, each devoted to a deity, circumference around the holy lake. This town is the Gayatri dham, the home of ‘Gayatri Mantra’, the supreme spirituality. After cremation, the ashes of Hindus are immersed in this lake to give moksha, the eternal bliss and salvation of the deceased soul. The Panda (the man who performed Puja at the shore of the lake) informed us that there are about 500 temples of diverse sizes built over several centuries, by various kings, zamindars, royals, rulers, barons, businessmen (seths), sieges, saints, communities with varied architectural and sculptural styles in accordance with their respective era.
There is much more to see and write about this fascinating place; however, we have to leave to continue our journey back home. With acute nostalgia, we return to our native place with a resolution to revisit Pushkar during its annual cattle fair.
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