Depending on how you are inclined, there are some things which instantly get on to our �gotta do it sometime this lifetime� list. Going to Pushkar for the camel fair was one such on mine. Pushkar is in Rajasthan with Ajmer as its closest town. And though I have been to Ajmer twice before, it wasn�t at Pushkar Mela time. Once, aeons ago, it was to visit the famous Dargah Sharif, the holy Muslim shrine of the great Sufi saint, Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti. The second time, also an age ago, was to attend a typical Marwari wedding. At this time the closest I got to the holy town of Pushkar was to go pray at the only Brahma temple of India, which effectively means the only one of its kind in the world.

My third visit to the region was only and specifically to attend the fair, which is not just about camels but cattle in general. This was one wintry morning in Delhi last November when I got into a smooth, purring Toyota Qualis and made my way to the �mela�. In my bag was the colourful ghagra-kurta I had specially bought and carefully packed to wear at the fair! It�s a mood thing, you understand? The drive from Delhi to Pushkar is a jolly long one, 404 km, but worth it. Takes the whole day, but the landscape is interesting, and if you are a road person you�ll enjoy it. By the time I reached my �hotel�, the Royal Desert Camp, with its stylish tents � no humble desert abode this, it was nightfall.

A hot dinner, a hot bath, a good night�s sleep was all that I wanted. And got. The meal that the Rajasthani chef dished out in the large dining tent was to die for. However, there was one factor that kind of got in the way, kept me from a hearty indulgence, a factor that made me pick delicately at my garam-garam rotis... the daunting presence of my dinner companion, His Highness, the Maharaja of Jodhpur! And bossman of the unique concept of these �hotel tents� in the desert, with emblem complete. Not luxurious and make believe like at Oberoi�s Vanyavilas at Ranthambore, but very classy in its rusticity, like how a genuine tent should be. Baapji, as the Maharaja is respectfully addressed, lends his support to the Pushkar tradition and culture which is ongoing for hundreds of years. He comes here every alternate year and has memories which go back in time when he used to visit every year. For the mela, for shikars. He nostalgically recalled the time when the ferris wheels were wooden, hand painted and hand franked! When I asked him how come this tent idea came about, how did this concept evolve, I learned that in the late 80s and early 90s, he used to make a camp for his children, Baijilal Shivrani Rajye and Yuvraj Shivraj Singh, as part of their growing up, fun and games, and it used to work very well. From there the seed germinated and he set up his first commercial camp at Pushkar.

The President of Singapore was his first guest. The camp contained fences and barricades, lights, the works and these important guests were gutsy enough even to ride the camels, but they were allowed to do so only inside the compound wall! Now these tents have become so popular they are set up on various other locations. Like in Jaisalmer and Nagaur. But the good news is, small camps with a minimum of 15 tents and two nights can be set up anywhere in Rajasthan, depending upon the time of the year. The person to contact is Sunil Sikka, Corporate Head, Marketing and Business Development of WelcomHeritage Group of Hotels. Sunil, who accompanied me on this excursion, I observed is rather efficient and very dedicated to Indian tourism. This group seems to specialise in converting old havelis and palaces all over India, into good hotels. The Maharaja of Jodhpur, its Chairman and Rakesh Mathur, the Managing Director, ought to take a bow for the good job being done.

But coming back to my Royal Camp. To begin with, it is most strategically situated. Close enough to the cattle grounds to wake up early morning to camel calls, but not so close that you can smell them! There are rows of these white canvas tents, 100 in all, pitched next to each other like at a grand army cantonment. Privacy though at a premium is not really a constraint, which in any case if you are special enough in your choice to make a trip of this nature ought not to be on top of your mind. Camaraderie should be more it, like you discover sitting around the camp fire at night watching a local dance. I found the tents most charming and the interior so romantic. The bathroom was cute with a small, old fashioned can painted blue, placed on a wooden table to hold the water that I would be using to brush my teeth, wash my face. It is hand filled as required, by your bell boy, or in this case your �shout boy� (�Suno, koi hai?�). There is some one always around in ushering distance and this contributes greatly to the feeling that takes you back in time. But the bath, hmm... hot water is got in a bucket, placed in your bathroom which is a flap of a curtain away from your bedside. You stand on a tiny dhurrie � a coarse mat and have a bucket bath, the waste water just sinking, disappearing away in the sand. No plumbing involved. I was so sure there would be huge flooding but no it didn�t happen. The desert is a thirsty place. Only you better not get that way, for this is a strictly no drinking zone. Also, no meat eating. Pushkar Mela, is a solemn, religious occasion too, remember.

So what gives? The religious fair starts on Ekadashi day in the month of Kartika, ten days after Diwali, which is when the tiny peaceful town comes alive. The women fast for a month then bathe twice in the Pushkar Sarovar, once on �gyaras� and the second time on �poornima� day. You will find thousands of devotees taking a dip starting at mid-night. But mostly people start gathering from dawn at the 52 ghats surrounding the lake and walk down the steps to bathe in the waters. Makes a pretty picture. The time I was there, over four hundred thousand people had reached Pushkar by Kartik Poornima day, which is the fifth day from Ekadashi. While all these rituals are happening at the ghats, the fair grounds not far away are filling up with animals and their caretakers and owners. Camels, horses, goats, sheep. One thousand, five thousand, ten, twenty, twenty-three thousand! That was the animal head count estimate given by the Assistant Director, Animal Husbandry Department. Where do all these camels come from, I wondered. Well, from all around Rajasthan, its hundreds of villages. It�s an annual gathering and these folks start walking towards Pushkar from weeks before, to reach the town in time. And the people, just as many come to sell, many come to buy.

This year the highest quoted price for a camel was Rs. 35,000 and the lowest, 800. For horses it was Rs. 65,000 and lowest Rs. 2,000. With all the happy chaos, the heat and dust, blurred figures of man and beast in the sandy winds, it could be a scene straight out of The Far Pavilions. Except it�s an unscripted, unrehearsed, continuous scene that goes on for eight whole days. And nights, for all these thousands of people camp right out there, cooking, eating, sleeping, even bathing. I believe when the day is done, they sing and dance around camp fires, make merry. Though I didn�t get to witness that, I can very well visualise it... bejeweled women, with tattooed arms full of bone carved bangles, twirling away in their colourful flared skirts, lustily singing their folk songs in throaty voices, perhaps luring the men folk who are squatted a little away, turbans now removed, too busy to notice, tearing away at the wood grilled rotis, like I would have liked to have done, were it not for my Royal company.

But the mela is more than buying and selling cattle. Its also a venue for �mate-watching�. Many a glad eye is caught here. Proposals are sent and the engagements take place right there and then, with a marriage date set for later in the home village! Then there are other social activities that take place, cultural shows and craft exhibitions, temple dances and even a football match! Each day is spent indulging in some competition or the other. Like a matka race for women, camel decoration, and song and dance competitions. But the interesting ones are the turban tying and tilak applying competition, a moustache competition, the �matka phod� competition and milking competition! However it�s the horse and camel dance competition that attracts the maximum crowds.

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