Another Dry Lake

There are about 24 people here in Jaipur on the same scholarship that I am on, and we are studying at a language school called AIIS. In addition to us, there are about 25 more students at AIIS independently. Yesterday AIIS loaded all 50ish of us onto two unsightly tour-buses and carried us away on our first overnight field trip. Our destination: Pushkar, a small Rajasthani city known for a Brahma Temple, an annual camel fair, Israeli tourists, and a big beautiful lake. As was the case in Udaipur last weekend, Pushkar's lake is currently dried up, these being the last moments of drought before monsoon season. Another result of the oncoming monsoon is the current unbearable climate in Pushkar which is that step-out-of-the-shower-and-never-dry-off kind of heat and humidity.
The bad thing about traveling in a group of 50 students and several teachers is that it sucks. It's crowded and disorganized and there's no freedom to explore or have fun. The good thing about these kinds of situations is that you get to do and see some things you might not otherwise get to experience. Our first such activity was camel decorating.

My New Favorite Animal
In my mind's eye, a camel is about the size of a horse or a llama, but in actuality they're bigger than your average SUV. This gross underestimation of size leaves me utterly astonished every time I see a camel (which is often, in the state of Rajasthan). They're huge creatures. They also have long eyelashes, floppy lips, knobby knees, a gutteral groan that sounds like gargling, and hilariously nonchalant personalities. To me, they seem like an evolutionary joke. And for that reason I really really like them.

Upon our arrival to our hotel in Pushkar, AIIS organized for a camel named Raja and his turban-wearing care-taker to pay us a visit. We stood in the heat watching as Raja was adorned in every kind of tapestry, sequin, bell, and puff-ball. I was entertained by the spectacle perhaps more than appropriate for someone of my age...my only disappointment was that I didn't get to go for a ride. I did, however, get picture with him (note for this picture: you know it's really humid when even my hair starts getting curly)
Around Town
There's not a lot to see or do in Pushkar. There is a Brahma temple, which is extremely rare--as most Hindu temples are dedicated to either Shiva or Vishnu, but once you've circumambulated, rung the bell, performed the pooja, you're done with the temple and you've got some time to kill. I filled my remaining time with ice cream consumption and wandering.

Kalbelia Dance
Our second "cultural activity" for the evening was a performance of Kalbelia dance, the traditional Rajasthani folk dance. Kalbelia dance involves a lot of spinning, a lot of coy hip-shaking, a lot of impossible hand-gestures and a few very acrobatic moves. I tried to take a VIDEO, which you can watch, but it was a little too dark in there for my camera. (If you turn up the brightness of your screen all the way you may be able to see just a little bit, if nothing else, you can hear the music.) Video problems aside, the performance was lovely. As you may know, I have a particular fondness for folk dance. There was live music, to which several dancers performed solos. This was followed by a fire breather who made everyone nervous defying both common sense and general notions of fire safety. In the end the dancers insisted we join them in a dance on stage, a display which was likely only entertaining for the Indians in the room.

Second Day Disorganization
Today, on the way back to Jaipur we were scheduled for a stop in Ajmer, a historic city known for an especially famous mosque. The informational brochure AIIS gave to us reads, "Ajmer: The Mecca of Islam." I am still trying to figure out who to contact to explain that this is a mildly problematic statement.

Because of some "security threat" alarming enough to make the front page of newspapers, AIIS decided it was best not to take 50 American kids to the Mecca of Islam today--neither the real one nor Ajmer.

Instead, we loaded the bus and visited Tilonia, a school for Rajasthani villagers to learn various arts, trades, skills, and other useful things. There, we got to see another puppet and music demonstration before being left in the handicrafts shop for an annoyingly short amount of time. There were a lot of really beautiful things to see in the craft shop and I really had to restrain myself from purchasing a lifetime supply of handmade quilts (this is not to suggest I walked away empty-handed).

Now we have returned. While I was gone for two days, several crickets came into my room at the Gem to die. And now a pigeon is trying to get into my window.