About Pushkar Fair
The Pushkar Fair of Ajmer is one of the popular fairs that are held in Rajasthan. The Pushkar Fair or Pushkar Festival is a five-day festival which takes place in the sacred town of Pushkar, which is located at a distance of 14 km to the northwest of Ajmer.
Significance of Pushkar Festival
There are different reasons why Pushkar ka Mela is observed. Since this is one of the major cattle fairs in India, cattle merchants across the nation find it as an ideal venue to trade cattle and make some money. Pushkar is one of the five dhams or sacred places for the Hindus and devotees come to bathe at the holy Pushkar Lake and show respect to Lord Brahma at Shri Brahma Mandir. This is the only Brahma Temple in the world.
Time of Celebration of the Pushkar Festival
The Pushkar Fair begins on Kartik Shukla Ekadasi and ends at Kartik Purnima in the month of October-November. The celebrations usually continue for five days.
How to celebrate Pushkar Festival
The observations of the Pushkar Festival can be broadly categorized into two parts. The first part involves the buying and selling of camels and cattle like cow, goat, horse, and sheep. More than 50,000 camels and other types of livestock are traded in the area. The second part deals with the rituals and ceremonies. Other than livestock trading, a number of fun-filled events also take place during the fair which include bridal contest, matka phod, longest moustache contest, deepdan, and Laadoo oonth. The festivities end as pilgrims take a holy dip at the renowned Pushkar Lake. Adventure sports and camel safari add to the festivities of this holy occasion. The markets become full of life as different varieties of ornaments, clothing, and handicraft items are sold.
Last Updated on 01 December 2011
