Pushkar - Rajasthan

We arrived to Pushkar, a holy city that is where the mountains and deserts meet in Rajasthan. It is a real shame, but it seams that Pushkar has changed into a busy bazaar city. From what I am told, it used to be quiet and really very spiritual. But now it has been transformed into a city where the people are ruthlessly trying to scam tourists and motorcycles bus around narrow laneways without any regard for others – even for Indian standards. But there were still some great people. Our first day we arrived to a great guest house, Mayur. We sat and chatted with the owner about the monsoons that have virtually disappeared over the past 20 years. It used to rain for day without end, but now it is only a few hours a day. It was interesting to talk about environmental issues with someone from the dessert. Apparently the monsoons today have nowhere near the intensity that they did a mere decade ago.

Puja at the temple:
Being a Holy City, we were accosted daily for the Puja ceremony. This is a ceremony that is done by a “supposed” Brahman and they bless you at the holy lake. After a few days we were walking by the main temple and thought, ah, why not? We had been given an hour long tour, by a Brahman and he was offering to give us the Puja. We were pushed into doing it, but at the same time it is better to take advantage of the situation and enjoy! It was a nice ceremony, and provided a, the dude was kinda peeved that we contributed 300 Rs. Total, falling far short of the thousands that were expected. But as it has taken a few weeks to get used to, you can’t make everybody happy when it comes to donations. Especially when you are asked hundreds of times a day. This was something that was a great nuisance in the beginning, but by the third week you begin to develop calices to the continuous prodding. But to be fair it was more the pushy store owners who were continuously interrupting “the moments” We were trying to enjoy.

The topic of arranged marriages has come up quite a few times and I wonder if the secret to surviving an arranged marriage lies in the IHW (Indian Head Wobble -01.05 wiggle it the ihw) It works great, in discussions and never fails to leave both parties equally satisfied, as the wobble can mean so many different things. As an Indian newbie, I am still left scratching my bald head when ever I get the wobble, not knowing if my answer has indeed be answered, or if I have just been told that I am crazy. Hopefully with some experience I’ll be able to master this calming technique. I think that I will try it on some customs officers when they ask me what I am bringing back with me from India. HA. Or maybe I’ll practice on Ananda! Wobble Wobble Wobble…

We went to visit a Mosque in Dargah in Ashmir, it was a really scary experience. I thought that I was going to get trampled on. The crowd turned violent and just going crazy to get inside to touch the vial that covers the Sufi Saint’s Tomb. There were 72 people inside who’s sole job it was to get money from the pilgrims who visit.

While in Pushkar, I went for a shave. Getting a straight edge shave on both head and face was absolutely incredible. The trust that you need to have when someone else has a knife edge on your throat is intense. It is interesting the relationship that men have in a barber shop, hmmmm. Well after the shave, I got a head and face message. It bordered pain, but when it was all said and done I was warm for days, I guess it helped improve the circulation throughout my whole body. After the head message, he proceeded to massage my back shoulders and arms, when he went by my biceps, he said “Oh good muscles” and started asking me in broken English how I train, I tried to explain martial arts, and all he understood was wrestling, then the whole shop shouted out “WWF.” They thought I was a wrestler!!!! HA HA. (I don’t think that bald mango would be intimidating enough…)