Brahma’s Holy City

The demon Vajra Nabha lived in the hills of Rajsthan, feared for killing Brahma’s children. Brahma —the Creator— on a chariot pulled by seven swans descends from the heavens and with a simple lotus stalk slays the monster in revenge. It is at this moment that three petals fell from Brahma’s lotus. On their impact, three springs of water which over time filled in as lakes; and as such was the founding of Pushkar.

Getting to Pushkar

The train came rolling in to Ajmer Station and once again it seemed like I was a drop in a wave of Indian locals. Even in the tourist hotspots, the sheer enormity of the Indian population diminishes the possibility of ever feeling like you are stuck in a tourist trap (except for the Taj Mahal of course).

If you are planning on heading to Pushkar, there are several ways to do it: by tourist busses from nearby cities like Jaipur and Udaipur or as far away from Delhi; or take a train to Ajmer which is then a 30 minute local bus or tuk-tuk ride away. When I got to the bus station from the train I was promised that a bus would leave every 30 minutes by my tuk-tuk driver which was confirmed in my guide book and online. Just a heads up, I don’t know how the bus system works but I was waiting there for a full 2 hours. I don’t know if other travelers get that anxious feeling about buses: ”What if it never shows up?” but this was definitely one of those moments.

Though on my way back I only was at the bus stop for a minute before getting directed onto a bus to Ajmer to catch a train onwards. So it may just be up to luck.

India but Without the Honking

The town of Pushkar is small: about 22,000 people but no doubt the number is constantly swelled by the number of pilgrims and tourists along the banks of the lakes. Amongst them are austere Hindus, Indian national tourists, hippies who have overstayed their sojourn, westerners looking for enlightenment, backpackers and tourists; the lines between these tend to get pretty blurry but the point remains that it’s a diverse crowd.

What everyone comes here for is the sense of peace in the town that is desirable after any amount of time in India. Pushkar is idyllically situated amongst three lakes with one main one that the town encircles and cars are generally not allowed within a certain vicinity.

What to See and Do?

Ghats are the steps to wading pools found in many Indian cities especially where there is a holy body of water. The entirety of Pushkar’s main lake is surrounded with them but most interesting are the Brahma ghat and Gandhi ghat which is where Mahatma Gandhi’s ashes were spread. I especially recommend watching the sunset from the east side of the lake. In addition to the actual sunset there will be many puja ceremonies. Over loudspeakers, Hindu chants echo on the lake while fires and candles sway in the reflections while believers bathe in the waters and cows & monkeys walk along the shores.

The Temple to Brahma is the only one of its type. According to multiple legends the Hindu gods Vishnu and Brahma got into an argument that resulted in Shiva cursing Brahma not to be worshiped. This is very significant because Brahma is the creator god — kind of a big deal. The only temple to India for Brahma lies on the west end of the lake. No electronics are allowed but it is not that different from other temples except for the paint job which is blue and red (I think. By the Way, I’m colorblind).

People Watching - as I indicated earlier, just watching the scenes especially at sunset was my favorite activity in Pushkar. The devotion of Hindu followers is on full display while not being as overwhelming as Varanasi. The evening puja ceremonies, cows, monkeys and people bathing in sacred waters: it’s all here too albeit on a smaller scale.

One surprising thing on this list, Cafes! Due to the growth of tourism in this town, a decent amount of western-style cafes have popped up around this city. Some are rooftop cafes that make for a scenic cup of coffee or chai and others are on the street but both are worth visiting.

What You Should Know Beforehand

The reason why though I enjoyed Pushkar well enough, it is not my favorite place is the scams. In particular the Lotus Scam. This entails a “priest” offering the traveler a lotus flower to place in the lake and then a blessing which leads to a compulsory offering of a decent amount of money. A good rule for any traveler to follow is not to accept any gifts from strangers and usually that is easy enough however here it is a bit more intense. My first few minutes in the city greeted me with this scam. A man approached me with the flower and after my initial, “No thank you” he tried to force it in my hand but the final strategy was a string of insults. I believe the language directed at me was: “Why don’t you want to do this? You are disrespecting our culture! What is wrong with you?!” And this was by two people who ganged up at the same time to get in my face. So not the best first impression.I’ve also heard this also done with bracelets and necklaces here but just remember no blessing from any charm or priest is needed to visit the lake, just walking around barefoot with your shoes in hand is good enough.

Specific to the Brahma Temple is the throng of people trying to sell similar lotus petals near the lockers out in the front of the temple. These aren’t the problem, what is pretty rough are the salespeople and beggars inside the temple itself. What is meant to be an austere place, these really subtract from its atmosphere. Especially because they get really aggressive here to the point where enjoying the temple itself becomes a task in of itself.

The exposure of Pushkar in guidebooks and tour itineraries has led to its commercialization. The main Pushkar ring road is a large tourist bazaar for the majority of its length with cheap textiles and souvenirs. If you want to buy something, this is definitely the place but the ratio of tourists to locals here is different than most of India. Instead of Hindi, most signs are in English, Spanish and even Hebrew with TripAdvisor and Lonely Planet logos on the many hotel and restaurant advertisements draped overhead. Some of this is helpful as the tourist infrastructure is well developed but the bazaar feels entirely for foreign tourists which is something anyone should know in case they are looking for something more local.

Finally, since this is a sacred town to Hindus: no alcohol and no meat. This is ironic because weed seems to be offered all over the place but alcohol is prohibited and meat as well, so prepared to go vegetarian for the stay. I struggle way more with the latter than the former by the way.

Final Thoughts

The town of Pushkar is excellent to spend a day at to kick back and relax rather than running between monuments which is a nice change of pace for visiting north India. The religious ceremonies and well-developed infrastructure means that the religiosity of somewhere like Varanasi can be experienced in a more relaxed environment. Even though I recommend spending a night in town I think visitors need to be informed of the scams which soured my first impression of Pushkar. I met and have heard of people who spend weeks here and praise Pushkar as their favorite city in India and though it wasn’t mine, I encourage anyone in Rajasthan to give it a chance.

Just people watching at sunset along the ghats of the holy lake or watching life go by from a cafe is an ideal way to spend time in Pushkar. Go and see for yourself why many people place this holy city amongst their favorite places in India!