Pushkar Fair Photography Expedition

The focus of this Expedition is the celebrated Pushkar Camel Fair, the largest camel fair in the world, which takes place in the holy town of Pushkar, on the edge of the Thar Desert in Rajasthan once a year, during the Hindu month of Kartik, or November.

The fair attracts semi-nomadic camel drivers, breeders, and traders from all over the state of Rajasthan, the second largest in India, as well as pilgrims and visitors from India and beyond, swelling the population of this usually quiet town by more than 200,000.

As well as drawing the largest gathering of cattle in the world, the Pushkar Mela, as it is known, is an event of great religious significance for Hindus who believe that the lake at the heart of the town was created when a lotus blossom slipped through the hand of Lord Brahma, the Hindu God of creation, on a full moon during Kartik.

In the days that precede the start of the religious festivities, during the Cattle Fair, the traders conduct their animated transactions in encampments that seem to stretch to infinity into the surrounding desert. Then the secular festivities begin in and around the town, best known amongst them is the Pushkar Camel Race, but there are also horse races and competitions – (such as the moustache competition), alongside jugglers, acrobats, snake-charmers and folk dancers.

The celebrations reach their peak during the full moon, when thousands of pilgrims come to bathe in the waters of the pink-hued lake to be purified of their sins. Encircling the lake, the small town of Pushkar is amongst the oldest in India. It is one of the five sacred dhams, the pilgrimage sites for devout Hindus, and is often called ‘Tirth Raj’- the king of pilgrimage sites.

A chaotic, captivating, and intensely colourful event of both religious and commercial significance, the Pushkar Fair offers superb photographic opportunities. Moving on from Pushkar, we will explore the town of Jaisalmer, in the westernmost corner of Rajasthan. Famous for its amber-coloured sandstone bastions, and intricately carved merchants havelis – or mansions, the “Golden City” owed its wealth to the taxation of goods that passed through here on camel back.

Our journey will then take us through Jodhpur, and Jaipur, the modern-day capital of Rajasthan, for a chance to photograph the life and architecture of these vibrant centres known respectively as the Blue City and the Pink City. Kipling described Meherangarh Fort that dominates Jodhpur, as “the work of angels, fairies, and giants, built by Titans and colored by the morning sun”, adding that : “he who walks through it loses sense of being among buildings. It is as though he walked through mountain gorges (…)”.

This is an intense Expedition marked by extremes; the journey will take us from photographing the animals and enormous crowds of the Pushkar Mela, to the emptiness of the Thar Desert, and the bustling atmosphere of its fortified towns. It is a trip that takes us face to face with one of the largest gatherings of people and animals in the world, and provides outstanding opportunities for photographing people and their rituals in what is broadly considered the most colorful state in India.

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