Pushkar - The Holy Lake

Our next stop after spending a few days in Jaipur was the (relatively) small city of Pushkar. Most of the cities we’ve visited in India thus far have populations of several million people, so the town of Pushkar with its 14,000 people was a welcome change. Although, if cows, monkeys, and tourists were included in the census count, I’m sure the city’s population would grow exponentially.



The view of the city was spectacular; from our balcony, we saw beautiful archways, temples, and a sprawling market contained on nearly all sides by mountains.



The sunset, seen from the top of our building.



"So many monkeys playing on the roofs,
Making so much noise you'd think they had hooves,
But how many monkeys could there be?
Click on the photo and count - one, two, three..."



More monkeys!



Many Hindus make a pilgrimage to Pushkar. Sacred ghats, or bathing areas, surround the holy lake, whose shores are also lined with temples. Not only were Gandhi's ashes scattered at one of the ghats, but all the ghats have a special significance to those who come there: certain gods have bathed at some of the ghats, and even the Beatles made a brief appearance during a trip to India.



Women, dressed in jewel-toned sarees, at one of the ghats. A few cows also take the opportunity to relax by the holy waters.



This is the market outside one of the only Brahma temples in the world. Brahma is a Hindu god who is worshipped as the creator in a work called the Trimurti. Apparently, as the story goes, Brahma came to Pushkar to perform a ceremony at the lake and his wife didn't come to see the ceremony. So, he did the logical thing and remarried. His first wife, Savitri, understandably annoyed, vowed that Brahma would not be worshipped anywhere else. One of the greater consequences of marital strife...