Holy day. Ajay says there’s too many gods in India to know for sure who is being worshiped today. What is known for sure is that we need to get our hands on water and cigarettes [Sebastian is still working on quitting - now he figured it’s still healthier than the air we breathe in everyday] before we arrive in Pushkar, the holy city with complete prohibition and all stores closed out of respect for the holy day. We wondered yesterday why there were so many brightly orange flower offering sold at the street bazaar…
On the way Sebastian and Ajay shared some wisdom on women and life in general…
On smoking:
D: Now he will never quit, a pack is just 35 INR - looking at Sebastian
A: Smoking bad, but so good. All the girls always say don’t take drinking, don’t take smoking, just look at me. But why do we smoke first? Because of them. Every girl the same everywhere.
S: I hear you…- looking back at me
A: No, you love too much for her.
S: Yeah, we just can’t hold hands in public.
On married life:
A: I don’t know why women not like me… Wife is life. Without wife, very bad life.
S: It’s bad with women, even worst without them.
On money:
A: When you have money, life is honey.
On India:
S: Yesterday we passed a jewelry shop in the bazaar, the owner saw us with a camera and started yelling: “bangles, beads, phones, batteries, camera cards!” A little strange, right?
A: In India everything possible, possible nothing.
There’s always time for masala chai. First order was sent back by the expert - it was too light, meaning it was rushed and was missing all the right balance of spices, or so Ajay told us. Even if I learn how to make one, I know I’ll never replicate the taste. It will lack in scenery.
parantha and pickle chutney
Pepsi good for anything. STD - public phone
Our hotel in the Holy City is a really nice one and comes with a private balcony and a view of Pushkar in the valley below. With the exception of Delhi’s Blue Saffire, we’ve actually been pretty lucky with accommodations so far, if you forget to mention two nights spent next to the serving quarters and pots banging at 7am. As we had some doubts at first, it further justifies paying upfront for the whole private driver package with pre-booked hotels.
After inspecting the first room we were showed in and discovering a huge moldy spot on the wall, Sebastian walked down to the front, said he had a really bad allergy and asked for a different room. Not sure why they wouldn’t just put is in the second room to start with…the hotel seems empty for the most part. Who knows, the point is that it’s always smart to see your room first.
relaxing in our swanky suite
After settling in for the next two days, we took a stroll down main artery, Sadar Bazaar. The city, situated around Pushkar Lake, has a small town charm to it. The touristy areas are notorious for pesky shop owners, men offering camel or rickshaw rides, persistent musicians and gypsies wanting to do henna on the palm of your hand, but a quick dip into a side street paints a refreshing picture of everyday life, no hassling ringing in your ears. Wondering in the labyrinth of back streets offers a chance to peek inside peoples homes and into small courtyards within. Women cooking, cleaning, washing clothes outside their front door, man hunched over the morning paper, kids playing and waving hello to you, a lonely cow wondering from around the corner, dogs leisurely basking in the sun, everything enveloped in morning light, steam from hot plates, and combined smell of all spices one could ever think of. Enchanting, especially since the odors that can be overwhelming by nighttime are still subdued after morning street cleaning.
We can’t help ourselves and try two different sweets from a street stall, both really good. One is a cardamom color ball made with cauliflower and rose water, the other is a transparent sweetness rolled into a tiny pretzel. Both served eco-friendly way on a scrap of an old newspaper.
For dinner, aromas lure us into Surya and we dwell over one of the best falafel ever tried.
view toward the ghats
Brahma Temple
At the core of Hinduism is a belief in Brahman, the infinite, uncreated and eternal presence who’s manifested in the multitude of deities. His three main representations are the Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Photography is not always allowed in temples, but driven by curiosity I step into the Temple of Brahma, leaving my shoes and camera with Sebastian outside. Devotees and tourists alike enter up the stairs flanked by two statues of elephant gods, through an ornamental entry gate depicting a swan, Brahma’s vehicle, and into the main arcaded square courtyard with the shrine centered on a raised platform. Brightly orange superstructure known as vsikhara rises above the shrine. Worshippers bring flowers and small offerings of food, ring a huge bell suspended from the ceiling of the temple and then put their offerings on the main altar. They also take in incense smoke with their hands and run it over the face and head in a ritual of cleansing. We find out later that ringing the bell is done as a greeting gesture.
Sandra and her family. She grabbed my hand after this photo was taken and totally caught me off guard. Local boy warned us about this...
We also learn never to accept flowers or offerings from random men or those claiming to be priests. They may tell you it’s free and that it’s for a temple - it’s not and they’ll want money. In Pushkar they’ll even try to make you buy a “Pushkar Pass” for 2000 INR saying it will give you full access to take pictures at the ghats. Pictured above is Sebastian being chased by a priest because he gave a flower back to the man after initially taking it just to be nice. We were warned about these tricks, but our guard went down when the man, all dresses in white, said the flower was free and chased a gypsy away from us. The man actually got really upset, if not angry, with Sebastian and said bad karma would catch him. He then proceeded to follow Sebastian around the steps to the ghat, not letting him rest for a second to take a photo. To me, this whole scene observed from a distance was quite amusing. Sebastian was…disappointed to say the least.
40 minut wait ...
...for more dosa @ Sunset Cafe
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