Swimming, Eating, Sleeping, Dreaming

Pushkar is located in the hills, about 15km North West of Ajmer and is a Hindu pilgrimage site. It sits on the edge of a lake, in Hindu mythology, formed from the tears of Lord Shiva. It is lush and cool and the air is very clean. My hotel is about 15 minute’s walk from the centre. I have been here for 4 full days. I have only walked to the town 3 times. I have not entered any of the many temples. The town is quite quiet compared with some, with access to the lake via Ghats, or small, marble stepped walkways down to the water. Shoes are removed and placed in a pile or into oblong wooden boxes divided into sections, which the monkeys then raid and remove, distributing various odd shoes around about. It is a Euro-hippy magnet, where young (and old) folks from Europe become ‘authentically’ ethnic. Tradition has it that Brahma the creator came here, smoked some weed and had visions. Well, what do you expect? There is dope readily available and I’m sure that here it is very good, but somehow I’m not tempted. In a place that forbids alcohol, meat and eggs, it seems like something that would just get in the way.

Instead, I have mainly woken early (6am) to the sound of singing from the temples nestled in the hills, sat, swam and eaten - hot, spicy aloo palak with potatoes and lots of fresh, chopped green chillies, vegetable curries with cauliflower and peas, fried tarka daal, lots of plain boiled rice and naan, with mango and banana lassi and water.  I have listened to the birds and cicadas, watched the flight of innumerable species of birds swifting through the trees; green and yellow red billed parrots, with stunning crimson under-sided wings, a large red beaked kingfisher with bright azure blue and shiny blue metallic plumage, peacocks pecking an area of recently cut grass. I have swum twice each day, once before breakfast when the water is breathtakingly cold and then later in the day, when the red and orange dragonflies are flirting in zig-zags across the surface of the water. The landscape has changed each day, from a crisp, early morning freshness, through sharp mid-day intensity, to evenings of kinder, softer shapes and merged colours, to the darkness of night, star filled skies and the sight of bats, hunting in a swinging arc, as though on a giant pendulum.

After the frenetic pace of the last few weeks, it is really nice to just sit, relax, dream and be.

Pushkar High Street

Getting ready to wash in the sacred lake

I know the shoes are smelly, but they are worth a lot of money so pull your socks up and let's get on with it!

Pushkar Lake from one of the many Ghats

View from hotel room balcony

Deep breath and........relax