Linda: Pushkar, April 5

Pushkar

This is probably our final stop in Rajasthan. It is getting quite hot now, and we are spending more time in our hotel room here in Pushkar than out of it. But, our little room overlooks the sacred waters which are the reason for Pushkar. The fan whines and only a few people can be seen on the ghats that surround this small lake.

Pushkar, like Varanasi, is one of India’s oldest and most sacred cities. It, too, rose from mythology. We lost our guide books when Eleanor’s suitcase “fell” off the back of a rickshaw ( an revealing lesson in keeping one’s essentials on you and detachment), so I will have to relate the first part of the story from memory, which means that some of the details will be incorrect. Long, long ago, there was a being who had acquired much strength. He was, in fact, unable to be defeated and was taking over all the worlds: subtle, human, and the heavenly abodes of the gods. Even Shiva and Vishnu could not stop this being in taking over and destroying the worlds. Alas, Brahma, the third god, the Creator, had never chosen a place for an abode in the human world. (There are, in fact, only three temples in all of India to Brahma. The one here is the most significant.) In choosing a place on earth and performing certain ceremonies, enough power would come to defeat this malevolent being. A search was made for such a place. It is said that five drops of the elixir of life, held in the hand of Brahma the Creator, fell to earth. Those drops formed the lake, and thus, the site for the ceremony was providentially decided. It seems, however, that all was not well! A significant preparation for the ceremony was to be the marriage of Brahma to Savitri the river goddess and consort to Brahma. A wife was needed to do part of the necessary ceremonies which had to be performed at a specific, astrologically auspicious time. Alas, Savitri was taking too long getting ready for the occasion and was late! Brahma, needing to perform the ceremony immediately, had to take another consort. The only unmarried woman available was a shepherdess, an untouchable named Gayitri whom the gods purified by having her be reborn through the mouth of the cow (sacred, thus purifying). Savitri was furious and pronounced that Brahma would only be worshipped at Pushkar and that caste from which Gayitri comes could only go to heaven if their ashes are sprinkled on the waters of Pushkar Lake. Savitri goes off to the highest hill in town. To placate her, it was decided that a temple would be built for Savitri on this high hill and the one to Gayitri would be opposite and lower down. Pilgrims would go first to Savitri’s temple and then Gayitri’s. Thus, it is to this day.

Pushkar Lake is now undergoing a major renovation. Years and years of sand blown off the desert and neighboring mountains have filled her waters. Major dredging projects are underway, so part of the view from the guest house is of bulldozers plying their way across embankments. Part of the project has already been completed and some day soon (in Indian time that could still be several years), the waters may once again shimmer up to the steps of the ghats.
The city is small and the sides of the lake are surrounded by 500 whitewashed temples interspersed amongst homes. Wandering the banks of the lake is a little like wandering the banks of the Ganges in Varansi, though can walk the entire lake in less than an hour. There are 52 ghats, one for each of Rajasthan’s maharajas who built separate guesthouses in which to stay, named for a specific person or event. Three are particularly significant: Gau Ghat where the ashes of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri were sprinkled; Brahma Ghat which marks the place where Brahma himself worshipped; Varaha Ghat where Vishnu appeared in the form of a boar, the third of this nine earthly incarnations. People gather inside shrines along the lake, obtaining advice from the Brahmin priests, men and women gather to purify themselves in the sacred waters, ashes are seen floating on a nearby ghat, clothes are washed, games are played. It is all familiar, and yet, not as alive as Varanasi. Perhaps that is due to the heat. I, too, have been inside! On the other side of the line of temples is a little street, strewn with shops that cater to Westerners. Here, one can find a wide array of Rajasthani finery for reasonable prices. And! It is very rather serene for an Indian market. No one barks at you to come to their shop. Few try to strum up conversation in the hopes of showing you something. Everyone is quiet, walking slowly up and down the street, looking or not.

Pushkar. It is a peaceful place. Even after a few short hours, one settles into its calm beauty, staring across the waters to the ring of mountains. After the cities and movement across Rajasthan, doing nothing sounds quite good! A heavy inertia sets in. Will we even visit the temples famous throughout India? Maybe – when it is cooler.

***

Three days have now passed and we will leave Pushkar tomorrow afternoon. All in all, I must admit that Pushkar has been a disappointment, though I did need the rest. I think my expectations of a sacred lake did not quite match our experience. The temple to Brahma, one of the most important in the country, was small. Though the doors and ornamentation around three-headed Brahma were of gleaming silver, somehow, the whole effect seemed a little sad. People streamed in, but no one stayed to pray. I was the only exception, at least when I was there. The streets were full of shops with many westerners and Indians shopping and meandering, restaurants played new age or modern music (a strange juxtaposition next to a peaceful, sacred lake, but the ghats remained empty except during the earlier part of the morning. There were many Sadhu looking men, but few that inspired. And the influence of the west was rampant amongst the young, both men and women - more than anywhere I’ve seen in India outside of the big cities. And, unlike the big cities, it was from copying the dress of the backpacker tourists and not from exposure through a western education. Here, the influx of tourism has not been kind, despite government edicts to keep cars, alcohol, meat, and drugs out of the precincts of Pushkar.

It is not fair to judge a city in a few short days. As in every part of India, there is much beneath its surface – here, perhaps, more than in many other places. Certainly, others have found Pushkar to be a haven, and there is something peaceful about it. We met two women on the bus to Rishikesh. They had planned on staying in Pushkar for 3 days, and ended up being there for two weeks. They had met an Babaji 8 km away in the mountains amidst a cascading stream and fresh air. They had found a deeper layer. And, in the early morning, one could find people chanting scriptures and singing. The peace is along the banks of the lake and up the sides of the mountains. A few steps away, and that peace is at war with modern music, modern dress, and modern ideas. And that is where most of the people are. The peace is there. But few are seeking it.

Still, some Hari Krishna’s chant at various ghats and the bells toll as someone’s ashes are placed in the holy waters. Prayers are heard drifting across the water from time to time and here, in our little room above the lake, we can forget the streets and be at peace.