Our Day in Pushkar

The rakishly handsome camel driver Ram Chandra.

Pushkar is an interesting city. A mix of Old Delhi and Varanasi. Meaning it has the old city Indian charm of classic Indian architecture, narrow streets and friendly people. But it has a feel of Varanasi with the bathing ghats around the lake, the sadhus roaming the streets and a plethora of Westerns trying to “find themselves” in Hindu mysticism.

A guardian of the Ghats.

We decided to act like tourist and take a camel “safari” yesterday afternoon. Maybe not the best use of three hours. However, if you keep your expectations low or  better put – realistic, you will enjoy it. Calling this a safari is a stretch of the imagination. It is just a three hour walk around some desert scrubs and one sand dune. One of the highlights the walk was our camel guide Ram Chandra. We couldn’t have used a model agency and picked out a better looking guide. Frankly, I think he liked the camera as much as the camera liked him.[1. To be fair to Ram Chandra, the only image above that he posed for was the one with Johnny. The other two were candid shots of him at a chai shop we stopped at.]

Ram Chandra

Ram Chandra and “Johnny”.

This morning we push on to Ajmer. This is one of the most holy cities in Indian Sufism. I have always had an interest in Sufism. I think it come with living in Kashmir for 13 years. I explain Sufis to my Christian friends, as the charismatics of Islam. Sufis are mystic that sing and pray and even dance till they enter a state of ecstasy. Ajmer is the heart of Indian Sufism.

Night falls and we say goodbye to Pushkar.