Up at the Lake

Friday 14 November 2008
Jaipur – Pushkar

So I wake up fairly early as Raj keeps on nicking my sheet but I don't mind too much. I read a book and pass the time easily. I let him sleep in a bit as he'll need it given what he's been through. He's looking pretty rough, right eye full of blood and face puffy, nose slightly askew. We head off, seeing a couple of sights on the way and taking quick photographs.

We're off to Pushkar, the sight where Brahma dropped a lotus from heaven and created a lake. It's only one of two locations in India and probably the world where Brahma is worshipped as his wife, due to complications at the wedding, cursed him to never be worshipped anywhere else.
On the way we stop for a breakfast and lunch combined, and Raj is obviously suffering. He's in physical pain and hasn't said much if anything at all so far on the journey. I offer him some Vietnamese painkillers that I bought in Hoi An, and after taking them he's much more chipper and back to his usual self, though still with his wounds clear on his face.

Later we also stop in a small village where there are a bunch of fairly hot girls waiting around, with just slightly too much make-up on. Raj chats and laughs with them for a bit and then we drive off. Then I work out who they are, one of the many ladies that he was “friends” with before he was married.

We arrive in Pushkar and the town is small and beautiful, blue-painted houses surrounding the lake, and with a main market that doesn't allow cars, making it much more relaxed and chilled out than most places. As this is Brahma's gaff there's no meat, fish or eggs on the menu, or alcohol either. It's a bit of a hippy joint as it's all centred around worship, and the Brahmin priests are the Indian version of what every western hippy is aiming to be: homeless, possession-less, only washing in the lake waters and never cutting their hair, resulting in dreadlocks, and seemingly wrapped in rags. During the day they take the ash from the logs and the incense that they've burnt and cover themselves in it after washing, turning their skin from brown to grey and looking like the archetypal saddhu that they actually are.

Are they happy? I couldn't tell.

The hotel I'm staying at is on the opposite side of the lake from the main part of town, and over the water you can hear the various sounds of different performances of live music coming from various quarters. It's surprisingly non-cacophonous and actually quite pleasant. The only western music that I've heard since I've been in India has been from my iPod, and traditional and modern Indian music dominates the soundwaves here, with people often singing to themselves wherever they are, using sub-continental melodies unfamiliar to me.

Today I am wearing my Energie trousers (fashionably torn blue jeans) for the first time in India, and it seems the locals are mesmerised by them. I'm not sure why as I've seen Indians wearing fashionably torn trousers, even in Pushkar, but maybe mine are a little more out there than most.

Once at the hotel I try to sleep but it's not happening so I wander around the town for a bit. I like the relaxed atmosphere here and it's probably come at the right time. I spy a good internet café and spend the time catching up on all the web-related stuff that I didn't have the chance to do over the last few days. While I'm doing that a loud drumming procession passes in the street – the café owner tells me that it's a political rally for the upcoming elections in Rajasthan. Occasionally they let off loud firecrackers that make it sound like a bomb has gone off. I guess that helps win over voters in India.

In the evening I meet up again with Raj and we chill out, and have supper on the terrace by the lake. At night there is still music and other drumming parades going on, and still the bomb-like crackers and the odd lame-to-mediocre firework to help set the atmosphere. Again, this is the kind of thing you expect India to be.

I've discovered a new favourite dish – Dal Makhani. It's a vegetable dish that contains pineapples and altogether creates a nice sweetish taste that amounts to a party in my mouth. I'll have to see if I can get this at home.

A little while after dinner I order an Ayurvedic massage which relaxes me nicely, and a have another early night. If there's one thing that is a common theme on this trip, it's disrupted sleep and tiredness. And it's not about to get any better – I have to wake up at 5 to go on a camel safari for dawn.