The Pushkar camel fair in the Ajmer district of Rajasthan comes to a close today. Though Pushkar hosts the largest cattle fair in the world, the fair itself is not restricted to camels. Horses, cows and bulls too vie for space in the fair. Many who visit the fair return without the slightest idea about this. The reason why this happens is, they are tucked away in the backyard of the fair.

The fair begins a week before Kartik Purnima. This year it began on November 6 and will close on November 13. November 13 is the full moon night (or, the fifteenth day of the waxing phase of moon) in the month of Kartik according to the Hindu calendar. Purnima means full moon night.

The Brahma temple in Pushkar is believed to be the only temple dedicated to Lord Brahma, the creator among of the Hindu trinity of gods. The other two gods in the Hindu trinity are Lord Vishnu who assumes the role of the preserver and Lord Shiva is believed to be the destroyer.

While there are thousands and thousands temples dedicated to Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva, the Brahma temple in Pushkar seems to be the only temple dedicated to Lord Brahma.

Legend has it that Lord Brahma wanted to offer a fire sacrifice (yagya) after creating the universe. Any married person performing yagya is supposed to have his wife by his side during this sacred ritual. Since Brahma’s consort Savitri was not around at that time, he took a local gujjar girl called Gayatri to complete this ritual. When Savitri learnt about this, she was agitated. Savitri cursed her husband, Brahma, that since he performed the most important holy ritual without her in Pushkar, he would be worshipped only in Pushkar. That is why this is the only temple dedicated to Lord Brahma.

Though there is a steady flow of devotees of Lord Brahma to Pushkar all round the year, their arrivals multiply manifold on ekadasi (the eleventh day), triodasi (the thirteenth day) and Purnima (the fifteenth day or the full moon day) in the month of Kartik. They cleanse themselves by taking a holy dip in Pushkar lake which is believed to be the site where the great yagya of Lord Brahma took place. And, then they proceed to the Brahma temple to pay their obeisance and make their offerings.

Though the camel fair officially opened on November 6, the camel sellers and buyers started arriving from the beginning of the month. However, even if they strike a deal, they do not have the permission to take away the camels until ekadasi when the official permission for ravangi is issued. By triodasi most of the camels were gone.

About 50,000 camels were recorded at the Pushkar camel fair in 2004. This time the camels were much fewer in number. This low turnout of camels could be attributed to the fact that the population of camels in Rajasthan has reduced by 50% during the last few years.

The other reason is, Rajasthan had a good monsoon this year. So, there is no dearth of food and fodder for camels. It is easy on the pockets of the farmers to maintain their camels since they do not have to buy food for the camels from the market. So, they do not sell their camels in years which have a good monsoon.

The tourist arrivals were also far from satisfactory. Foreign tourists were far too few compared to previous years. Has the global economic meltdown hit them? That could be one reason. But, that may not be the only reason. The series of blasts in India might have unnerved some of them.

The government had deployed thousands of paramilitary personnel to beef up the security. But, that hardly seems to have infused confidence in foreign tourists. Hundreds of hotels in Pushkar and Ajmer which were counting on brisk business during the camel fair were disappointed to say the least. The occupancy rate at the hotels was so poor that many of them let out their rooms at half the tariff to attract visitors.

This year hundred of fishes died in the Pushkar lake just before the camel fair and it raised a huge stink. The fishes are indicators of water quality. The dead fishes have been removed but the water quality of the lake is still a matter of concern. The water in the catchment area which is released into the lake is said to have been diverted for irrigation purposes this year.

Minstrels, snake charmers, monkeys, magicians, fashion shows, circus, camel race, moustache competition, turban competition and a whole lot of other gimmicks failed to attract tourists to Pushkar this year. The shopkeepers who pay a higher rent for their shops during this season found it difficult to recover their investments. The lathi sellers from Madhya Pradesh said their sales were low. But, that was true of all other vends as well.

What does all this mean…that the creator (Lord Brahma) is displeased with this world?