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Tourists
get footloose at Pushkar desert fair
by Lokendra Singh
Pushkar (Rajasthan): The town of Pushkar in Rajasthan is famous for its annual camel fair, and this year too as in the past, the event is a huge hit with tourists for its brilliantly lit up artefact and traditional clothing selling stalls, besides ferris wheels and merry-go-rounds. Pushkar has a famous temple dedicated to Lord Brahma -- the Hindu God of Creation -- and is popular with foreign tourists who come for its desert ambience and camel safaris. For most tourists, being footloose in Pushkar during the night is an experience worth waiting for the whole day. "Especially in the night, it creates a great ambience you know and see the tourists who come from all over the world. They really enjoy the things. It's become very glittery and the places whatever they have...the huts and villages, especially the mela (fair) ground that is very exciting," said Sharma, a domestic tourist.
A
large number of tourists throng Pushkar for the annual cattle fair, touted
as the one of the world's biggest fair of camels, horses and cattle sale.
Hundreds of traders and buyers from neighbouring states also take part
in the fair selling anything from dolls to clothes, adding to the glitter
of the neon lights. "At night it's absolutely wonderful. You've got all
the shops totally lit, the colours are also very, very bright and very
interesting. There is a lot of noise also which I guess is part of the
city I suppose and part of the mela," said Jewang, a foreign tourist.
Over the years, the Pushkar Fair has become a big draw internationally
for the state of Rajasthan. At least 12,000 foreign tourists reached Pushkar
for the fair this year, which ended on Tuesday. Rajasthan Government promotes
the fair by adding colourful folk dances, musical events and other cultural
events. The World Travel and Tourism Council expects India to be among
three boom areas for tourism, even though it now accounts for barely 0.4
percent of the global tourism market. Analysts say Indian tourism suffers
mainly from poor marketing, with the sector unable to exploit the potential
of the country's snow-clad Himalayas, jungles, palaces and sun-soaked
beaches. India spends just 10.5 million dollars a year promoting itself
globally.
-Nov 17, 2005
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