Friday 18th November
We had an early start today from Jodhpur as we needed to get to Pushkar before Shabbat. It was a long journey and depending on traffic (read: cows) it could take us in excess of 5 hours to reach the town.
A “spice boy” joined our coach and explained the different spices to us in the hope of selling some, explaining that saffron is the king of the spices followed by the queen which was cardamom.
We travelled through the desert to reach Pushkar. We stopped at a government school where children from surrounding villages attend, some of them walking for miles to reach the school. When we entered they were attending an assembly. There were a couple of hundred children all sitting cross-legged on the ground looking spruced and clean in their school uniforms. The boys were sitting on one side, the girls on the other. The government give free education for children from 5 to 10 years, after which they can continue for a nominal fee.
What struck me at the school was the discipline. There were 3 prefects facing the rest of the children, also cross-legged on the floor. A leader shouted out a word, the whole assembly responded. They recited a prayer which was a pledge to India. This went on for a while after which a boy prefect got up and asked general knowledge questions to the assembly. I couldn’t help notice that it was the boys that answered (after of course raising their hand). One could hear a pin drop the whole time we were there. At the end, they left the room in a very orderly fashion.
However, some parents who are illiterate but carry out certain arts such as a potter or a weaver don’t understand the importance of education and want their children to follow in their footsteps. These people do not send their children to school.
We couldn’t understand how these children were wearing what looked to us like clean, starched uniforms. Our guide explained that the children have to wash their own uniforms and that they put them under their pillows to press them.
The education in India is secular. In the school we visited, the children receive a meal which is also an incentive for the parents to send the children to school.
We travelled along the Aravali mountains on our way to Pushkar. Pushkar is a completely vegetarian town. No meat, fish or alcohol is allowed to be consumed there.
On arrival at our hotel in Pushkar we were in for a surprise. The hotel looked as though it was a remnant from colonial times. It reminded me of 2 BBC series: “It ain’t half hot Mum” and the more recent “Indian Summers”. The workers in the hotel were all dressed accordingly.
The room in the hotel was a step back in time. Once we reached the outside corridor we saw that there was a padlock on the bedroom door. Once opened (with a key of course) it could be locked from the inside with a bolt. There were mothballs in the cupboard and the beds had wooden canopies.
The atmosphere in Pushkar was just as I had imagined India to be. There were cows on the road, wild boars, monkeys. Besides the amazing market/bazaar people were selling wares on the side of the road. Umpteen motorcycles were racing through the market. The roads and the traffic here – that’s another story.
There are so many Israelis in Pushkar that signs on shops and restaurants are in Hebrew. Not only that but the vendors could all speak some Hebrew.
All the time I was in Pushkar I could hear chanting and drumming coming from the various temples.
On Saturday afternoon we walked to the bottom of the Aravali mountain. We passed many Sadus on the way. Sadus are men who, at around 65 years old, decide to give up their material life. They get up and leave their family. The family accept this and don’t go looking for them. The Sadus walk around barefoot. When they feel that they have had enough of life they go to Varanasi to die.
Walking back from Chabad house on Saturday evening there were truckloads of Sikhs entering the Gudwara for a festival, followed by evening fireworks.
Saturday night we had a performance of Gypsy dancers on the hotel roof.