Blog – Page 146 – Anuj Tikku

The Eden Garden – On my way to Paradise

March 13, 2016

Weeks have passed by without me writing a post & well what can I say I have been busier than usual & I finally took some time to watch a cricket match! I thought it was needed to pep up things. I realised that the T-20 World Cup had started and Calcutta’s famous Eden Garden stadium was hosting an India West Indies match & although just a warm up game , I decided to go watch it . It was easy to book the match tickets on bookmyshow.com , priced at Rs 550. I had a some mileage points from jet airways which I used to buy the round ticket from Delhi to Calcutta. It cost me 19000 jet points & I was on the internet agin to book a room for two nights through OYO rooms. Two nights at a service apartment near Park Street cost me Rs 3500.

I was looking forward to this trip as I had never seen a live international match that too at the famous Eden Garden’s. I also have a lot of memories attached to Calcutta the city where I’d started my career in the late 1990s. I was happy and waiting to see how the city had transformed after almost a decade, since I was last there. I was to realise that Calcutta is one place where nothing changes, yes off course the traffic was more organised and the shopping windows displayed many new brand’s. But the authenticity of the city was intact. It’s bustling markets, the Bengali Thali at the Peerless Inn Hotel served in Aaheli . The mutton biryani with a boiled egg in it, typical bengali style. The Chelow Kabab at Peter Cat, the mishti dhoi, Jhaal Muri in the stall’s at the cricket ground. Yellow Ambassador Taxi’s racing through the streets. I almost had tears in my eyes walking through Rafi Kidwai Road and on the footpath’s of Dharmotola & Esplanade. I started speaking in the Bengali dialect , waving , smiling and chatting to strangers” ki holo dada , ki bolbo!.My days in the city came back to me in a flash. As a young executive i had started my work life in this city. I was with Modi Xerox & later with ABN Amro bank .

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“ You see sir my place is no less then a five star hotel “ said Keshto the manager of the Service apartment where i was staying. Indeed the room was spacious with T.V , A.C Kitchen and all the other facilities like internet and fridge etc. I settled in with a quick shower and called up a few old friends I had in the city. My lunch date was fixed with Mr. Dasgupta, he was heading Tinni Advertising when I was in ABN AMRO and I gave his company a lot of business in those days. We had lunch at Peter Cat at chatted about old times “But I always knew that you were a womaniser and also realised that you will change many job’s in the future but the death of your father was a big shock. I really think you need to introspect bit and realise that you had a narrow escape. Try and get a partner and settle down into a normal life.”

I had heard so much of this gyaan (general knowledge) so many times before that I just took his advice and kept nodding. It’s amazing that we were meeting after 12 years but it’s as if nothing had changed, we were in a time warp.”But good you came enjoy the match .” After lunch I walked down the city lanes for a while and then went back to my hotel for a snooze. I was up at 6:00 pm and walked towards the stadium. It was all lights, Lasers & RazzmaTazz . Lucky for me Yuvraj and Rohit Sharma tore the West Indies bowling apart & I got to watch.The atmosphere was electric especially when four or a six was hit. It was sweaty though. I started taking pictures and had access to the net through Reliance Jio , who provided internet facilities inside the stadium.

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I watched India’s innings and then I trudged back to my room thinking i would have enjoyed the match more if had company. But nonetheless it was a exciting experience . I took a cab on the way “ So sir new in Calcutta want a girl , full sex , naked dance you can do everything with her .” The cabbie barked at me .” No no me – just not interested , i had done all this around the world and i am too tired after the match , just take me to Rippon Street.”

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Riding the Desert Storm

December 1, 2015

Woke up late as usual and the luxury of the Gobardhan Palace Hotel most certainly was holding me back from starting the day and getting on with it. I enjoyed the Lal Maas and champagne which I had for my lunch having started the day around afternoon. I hit the road after that and headed for the Desert Safari a few miles from the hotel.

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An adventure camp had been built in the desert for tourists to come and enjoy camel rides, folk dance and finish with a dinner. All this for Rs 2000 which I thought was reasonable. I walked unto my camel man called Saleem and he took me for on a ride on his camel.

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A beautiful beast ” What is his name ?” I asked Saleem. “Hrithik Roshan” he said proudly! I was pleased about this celebrity namesake camel and that too a pretty big deal at Bollywood, a great dancer and actor – Hrithik Roshan. “ Does he do break dance like Hrithik, can he jump from one building to another like Krishh.” The Boy said “ Sir baitho tho is par , yeh kamal ka hei .” I was looking forward to this. I sat on top of the camel and we went into the desert. I took my pictures and enjoyed the view of the sand dunes and the evening sunset , which was a lurid pink in colour!

I drank some soda and then handed the camera to Saleem to take my pictures in the backdrop and after a few takes he got it right.The sun was about to set and we headed back to our camp , where a treat of samosa and pakodas awaited us .

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I enjoyed it to the hilt sat down to watch the traditional Rajasthani folk dance and music .The women with their painted faces and shiny ghagra’s danced to traditional folk tunes. It reminded me of Aishwarya Rai dancing in the epic Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam to Nibuda Nibuda. All the while I clicked away as some one stroked a bon fire , as it was getting cold after the sunset .

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After a traditional vegetarian meal of vegetables , dal , kachori and paneer the show was over . I drove back into the comfort of my room, carrying back fond memories of the Desert Beast Hrithik Roshan.

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Pushkar to Jaisalmer a Road Trip

November 30, 2015

Raja; my aide de travel through Rajasthan was good about it and came and woke me up at 9:00 am, early by my standards and late by his. He’d just had a fight with the hired car chappie about the rates and he felt it would perhaps be better if I come down to also negotiate. Perhaps there is a whole arrangement in all this I thought at that time. The car that was to take me to Jaisalmer was a shiny new Nissan and it was silver in colour. The guy renting out the car gave me his mathematics and it would be $ 500. “See sir Pushkar to Jaisalmer is 480 km then you stay for three day’s there that is 300km per day .Then you goto Mount Abu that is 280 km you stay two days that is 300km per day and you have to pay for the trip back as my car will be coming empty which is another 420 km.That is 2680 km multiplied by Rs 12 , so the total cost will be Rs 32160 plus toll extra.“. I did not have the energy nor did I want to argue; but felt a little tinge of being cheated and I mean why should I pay for the car’s trip back to Pushkar? But they that is the way they do the math here and it was not that bad either nor was I in any mood to negotiate and nodded to confirm that I was good and wanted to get the show on the road. Raja didn’t seem to mind too much either!

After a little breakfast of kachori, samosa and jalebi, the eternal favourites here at Rajasthan it seemed, we started our journey towards Jaisalmer – a princely town with hoary tradition behind it. I went to sleep for a few hours during the journey but then woke up and stopped over to photograph the countryside a bit .

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The small village huts and houses each having it’s own well and animal’s. I spotted many peacock, deer and wild sheep grazing the sparse desert vegetation. A meal at a local eatery pit stop of paneer and chapati with lassi got us energized for the evening and as we continued towards the city of Jaisalmer . It had been a nine hour long journey all through finally. This time I had planned on living it up and needed luxury and so I booked myself into The Gorbandh Palace, Jaisalmer . It is an old palace property converted into a splendid hotel at Rs. 9000 a night and it looked equal to many 5 stars in the city.

Dog tiered and had a bath and decided not to be experimental and ordered a meal of fish and chip’s. Need to relax before I hit the town tomorrow.

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The Green Sea at the Ajmer Sharif Mazaar

November 27, 2015

Raja my friend, philosopher and guide over the last few days was determined to get me to Ajmer and it is of course a place to be at and as the Lonely Planet had advised I thought of making a day trip of it from Pushkar. I got up ‘early’ at 10:00 am we were on our way to the City of Ajmer by 10:30 am on Ram’s dusty Royal Enfield Motorcycle.

Raja my guide with his mum near his house !!

It was a steep road carved between rocks that we meandered through to reach the city. I captured the city from the road and got a panoramic view of Ajmer and the Anasagar Lake – an artificial formation built it is said by Prithviraj Chauhan’s (1149-1192 AD and a great Indian ruler and warrior from these regions) grandad Anangpal ‘Anaji’ Tomar in 1135 AD, nearly 900 years back.

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The first stop was of course the lake and we took a boat ride to the island and the coffee shop in between the lake. The coffee shop however served nothing but stale vegetable pattice some ice cream and coffee. They took their time finding their change to return to me. I ignored the trouble and strolled through with out a fuss . Capturing the people and the view of the lake. A lady approached me and asked me to take a photograph of her son. I had to say no and told her that I do this for fun and am not a professional photographer.

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We dove further though the lanes and past the Ajmer Railway Station. Muslim sweet meat shops and fake jewellery shops were all over. I stopped to take a peak at a Minar and a Christian church and then asked Ram to drive towards the Dargha – the mausoleum .

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I had heard so much about the dargha , which has also been immortalised in Bollywood films. People say it has magical powers and can cure the sick, revive the dying and also facilitate the birth of a child. We drove past the narrow lane , overcrowded with people , beggar’s , shopkeepers and rickshaw pullers. In Islam holy men are allied Fakir’s or Peer’s.They are not unlike the Sadhus and beg for alms and food and in return shower their blessings and wisdom. The drive through this crowd was slow and tiring .

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By now I had worked up an appetite and after a few and more days of vegetarianism I new this was the place to find some good non-veg food especially lamb in all it’s glory. We took are place at the Jannat Restaurant and had two plates of mutton , Fry dal , nan and roti . All this with cold drinks for Rs 400 . Then i decided to hit the Ajmer Sharif and walked in after buying a chadar and flowers ,i was ushered into the mosque area through the people who were about to pray . I reached at the front of the Mazaar and took the blessings of the Islamic saint . Never saw so much green in my life , i was wearing a green skull cap also ,so immersed into the crowd .

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Then it was to the Dhai din ka Jhopda a monument made in those many day’s by a ruler called Quttubadin , who also made the Qutub Minar in New Delhi .I was amazed to see men and women stroll freely through this monument made mostly of sandstone .

Our last stop was a rocky climb right at the top of a mountain overseeing the entire city called Taragrah . It was the seat of the great Rajput King Prithvi Raj Chauhan. He had fought the great Mohammad Gazni seventeen times at defeated him every time. This was his fort and he could oversees his subjects from the top. Also the quila, fort was built at such an height so as to keep away invaders who come to invade the city. I walked through the Kwaja Sahib Dargha which was situated nearby. All the while Raja was telling me about the bravery of Prithviraj “ Sir he was finally killed by Gazni but they cheated otherwise it was impossible for them to defeat him . Then these people built a mosque here .” As i approached the mosque a Muslim gent clad in a black shalwar approached me. He said his name was Shabir Khan and he said he’d seen my movies and recognised me. He decided to take me through the dargha and made sure I got my blessings and also to pray for my fathers soul .” You see Anuj sir; never keep faith on human beings, you are bound to be cheated, only keep faith in the Upaarwala, the almighty!!”

I kind of agreed, he then went on “ You see here was the stone that fell when the pir baba was praying he fought the shaitan here and the stone stopped in mid air .” he was very enthusiastic about these myths and folklore . I guess that is the only means of earning their living especially near the mosque area .

Raja grew a bit uncomfortable and nudged me to move on “ arrey sir they just want you to spend more money . They are not following our Dharam and i do not believe in their dharam and after all they defeated Prithvi Raj Chauhan by cheating .” I realised there were historical wounds here unhealed as he dragged me out. But not before Shabbir dragged me back to his shop for a cup of tea with his brother and a photograph with him. I was becoming the bone of contention between Hindu’s and Muslims I thought just a tad worried! It was a very active day where I saw the Sufi Islamic faith up close and experienced the same peace here that I got at any other holy shrines and temples in my travels.

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The one who knows himself need not know anything else.

November 27, 2015

These were the words that I had heard from a holy man in Pushkar and they where reverberating in my mind. I had seen so much colour in the last few days in this town that I felt exhausted by all the walking and thinking. I stopped in front of a dry sarovar, a lake with not much water in it and it was a quiet place. Were the sadhus that I spoke to the other day at the Hanuman Temple right? I had asked them “I have done everything that the society considers bad. Whether alcohol or women. I can never say I have led a righteous life and I don’t hold a regular job or for that matter have a family.Then why the death that was to come to me came to my father? He was always upright, honest and a hard working family man that provided more than enough for his family?”

One young sadhu took a sip of his chai and said” That death was not for you the entire plan was for him . You have to see it like that . This is the cycle of karma , maybe your father owed a debt to you which he had come to repay in this life. So now it is unto you to enjoy the fruit’s of his labour . See that as your purpose in life , enjoy what he left you and be happy alway’s that is all a father can ever ask from his son.” So what that mean’s is that Karma is a cycle of debt that we carry with us and keep repaying back through the our circle of life. That also means karma is not swayed by behaviour of someone of the social standing of some one , it is not a religious concept more a give and take concept, like an account book. Things are becoming clearer to me and I felt lighter in my head. I had one of the guys I met drive me around the city in the evening and looked for a taxi that I could rent to Ranthambore, Mount Abu etc. I had dropped the plan to go to Ajmer for now as I felt rather tired.

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I walked into jalebi and kachori stall to have a snack and some lassi and pondered. So the proverb “ One who knows himself need not know anything else.” , it perhaps means that the self is all that there is. If one can understand the self he is all knowing , because the self inside me is what is also inside everything else. Inner knowledge is all knowledge and when one can tap into the inner whirlpool of wisdom all questions start finding the right answers. I felt like I was on a roll and I love to travel and it gives me feeling of some much freedom and also momentum. One is alone to analyse ones thoughts and derive new meaning from every day experience. I was beginning to see goodness in all in this pace. Maybe because people here where so much simple in their manner and content with their ritual’s, tradition and religion .

Rajasthan is unique with it’s arid and sandy desert that changes to a rocky green landscape. The night’s here can get chilly, people are all vegetarian. At the fair which was a pretty large event I did see some discipline maintained by the local police, private guards and the local administration. The streets and bazaar’s are crowded and full of colour and vitality. I realised I had a need and desire to explore more of this unique land!

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The Laughing Buddha with Brahma at Pushkar

November 25, 2015

“ He who binds himself a joy does the winged life destroy . He who kisses the joy as it flies lives in eternities sunrise . “

These were the word’s that greeted me as i entered The Laughing Buddha Cafe in the heat of the crowded baazaar’s of Pushkar and this looked exactly like a hippie cafe place. It was cramped on the first floor of a local garment shop. On the Menu was Mango Lassi, Pizza , Sandwiches , Cakes and lemonade. You could also feast on pie and coffee surprisingly close to what I had just tasted last week at McLeodGanj. The cafe was run by a resident there called Teja and he had two foreigner European girls as his helpers!! One was Patrice and the other one was a girl from Germany whose name I could not catch. I had hired a local boy Raja as my guide and I was soon rip roaring past the dusty by lanes, forest’s, bazaars, ghat’s and eateries on his bike. The whole day Raja and his bike were my companions .

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Raja and I sipped a lassi or two at the Cafe and smoked what was possibly smuggled Camel cigarettes and what was anyway in huge supply here. The markets were littered with foreigners all looking to strike a bargain or two at kachori shop’s and hanuman temples as they mingled with each other. I looked down from the roof of The Laughing Buddha Cafe and then chatted to Patrice about my days in England .” So how did you like studying in the UK” she asked stroking her golden hair. She was pleasant on the eyes and what could I say “ You know i have been travelling for over a year now , I guess what I understand is that one should explore a place and then move on without getting attached to it . Otherwise you want to settle down, but then again how will you explore so many other places and destinations in the world if you do.” I remarked rather philosophically I thought. I was beginning to understand the proverb that was scribbled on the wall of the Cafe. I totally enjoyed this little place with it’s signs and painted images of Brahma who actually sat like a Buddha and had three head’s like he was supposed to but was painted blue in the colour’s of the Lord Shiva, with lotus and chakra in hand like Vishnu. An amalgamation of all thing’s spiritual .

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Folk’s here believe in karma , that wrong comes back to haunt ua and that we must alway’s strive to do good . I then ventured out into the dusty by lanes of this ancient desert city. Kid’s played cricket in the street and dog’s and pig’s littered on the footpath . Old men sat on the veranda of their homes starring at the sky , passer’s by looked towards the sunset through the mountain’s which surrounded this dusty bowl.

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The aarti bell’s began to ring in the air as I headed past the temples towards the Rainbow Cafe which was right on the terrace. I got perhaps the best view of the Sarovar and Ghat’s from this cafe . I ate a dish of Paneer with Chapati and Lemonade all for Rs 300. Then I started taking photos of the ghat’s as the sunset in. I used double zoom to catch the glimpse of aarti and the pilgrims. The view from this terrace was immense and I thought I could capture the essence and the feel of the cities spiritual side from here. The food was all vegetarian though but they did a less than adequate interpretation of the brownie sundae with vanilla ice cream and it sucked.

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Raja finally waved and said let’s go back to the hotel as it was getting late . I was kind of lost in the midst of this city and it’s bustling ways. I asked Raja to make arrangements to head to Ajmer tomorrow since the fair was done and dusted today and we could be off together to explore the Dargah there.

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Exploring the colours and sound’s of Pushkar

November 25, 2015

The day started bright and sunny though I got up at noon. I found some photography advice in my early morning emails “ You need to frame each picture before you click it.” That kind of made sense and so I was determined to get my photography right today. I headed out in the dusty heat of the town’s by lanes and headed straight for the fair grounds. I passed a sugar cane juice shop and felt in urgent need of some sugar cane juice, to fuel me up. At Rs 20 a glass it was a steal and I then headed to the jalebi, samosa and kachori shops. I ate a bit and got myself photographed using the locals to assist me at that time.

Some distance away I noticed that he main stage was being set up for a concert. I looked round and realised it was being performed by the Midival Punditz (the musicians Gaurav & Tapan) and I had heard them before and I knew I liked what they did fusing the Indian with electronica. The band had begun in 1997 and the show today at Pushkar was going to be free and open to all, I knew my evening was sorted .

The band begun at 7:30 in the evening and the stage lit up with Red , Violet and Purple light’s with the Punditz performing in full flight. There was Flute, keyboards, guitar, percussion and two shiny Apple laptops to generate the rhythmic fusion sound which amplified the Rajasthani Folk lyric’s producing an intoxicating sound. It was a blend of the traditional and the enchanting all dancing in tandem.The flute play was specially very powerful. I managed to slip right in front of the stage , where people enjoyed the music sitting on cushion’s. I used both the lenses of my camera to try capture the moments on the stage.

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The Punditz are India’s most prolific Electronica act and have worked with the greats of our generation like Shankar Ehsaan Loy, Kailash Kher, Anushka Shankar and Ustad Sultan Khan. Their performance with the electronic keyboard was mind blowing. The lighting and background was gothic Rajisthan. The Mela was full of foreign travellers who were enjoying the show. There were thousand’s of local’s sitting, enjoying the folk and fusion sound . The evening wind was now blowing fast and the concert soon came to an end with a flurry of sound and light .

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There was ovation all around and the crowd started to disperse as the show had ended. Men in traditional Indian rural attire dhoti kurta and glorious head gear, the pagri and women with huge nose ring’s in colourful ghagra choli. Kid’s sitting on their fathers shoulder’s ,every one slowly trudging out of the Pushkar Fair Grounds. I halted for a while to see the Fire Lanter’s being light up and sent upward’s to the sky.

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I had been posting on my social media and a friend called up “ why didn’t you get an interview with the band?” he asked and I thought it was noble idea. I looked them up on Facebook for their page and gave a call to the number listed.It was late but I was told that the band would be leaving for Delhi but I could do a telephonic interview with them tomorrow. So fingers crossed I may just get an interview with this talented band.

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Kacchi Ghodi – the diaper mare, an unique performance

November 24, 2015

The mela, fair drew me back to watch in full colour the explosion of rural India buying for it self. I recall reading in my business school days about the haat and the mandi where rural India -a huge market comes to buy. Like a market place the Pushkar Fair – Camel Fair was energetic, raucous and lively. This was Rajasthan and the colours all around where enough to blow one’s mind, standing sober. It drew me back and what was unique was the eclectic mixture of culture, religion, spirituality, commerce all at one place.

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At one end there were people buying livestock at fantastic prices – $200,000 horses and camels and at the other end there was this huge music and dance festival that seemed to be always on. I think I heard it in passing that it is Kartik Purnima tomorrow the 25th November 2015. It would be a full moon night and there is bound to be a musical soiree someplace for sure?

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Wandering I came upon a troupe performing something interesting and I had seen bits and pieces in other places. It was a sort of a horse dance where the dancers were dressed up as horses. I jumped in wholeheartedly and danced with them and learnt about the Kacchi Ghodi dance. A kaccha in Hindi is a diaper of sorts, a jock strap and a ghodi is a mare. It is essentially where the dancers wear elaborate horse costumes hung around their waists slung across their shoulders.

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I watched them dance away in gay abandon and what can I say and I did see the odd transvestite walking around and who do in Indian culture do occupy a bit of renown and are more than circus sideshow freaks. The dance was unique to this part of the world but I knew I had seen it adapted at several other places and there were other similar performers and gigs across India I recall seeing.

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Before long I knew that it was a photo opportunity that I needed to be a part of and do something with and I got myself a diaper and waltzed straight in.

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It felt energizing, enervating and a whole lot of fun and as if it were like letting go at a new kind of a level. I hadn’t had a drink in like 3 days and nothing stronger than water and I was running on empty here and yet this place created it’s own buzz and you did not need anything more except just the atmosphere!!

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I heard there could be a rock band performing here and I need to find that out like now and wil get back soon if I find them !!

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Honesty and Simplicity The Real India at The Pushkar Sarovar and Horse Fair

November 24, 2015

After several months on varied trails I took some time out the last few months to visit my India, the country of my birth and the country on my passport. After a few weeks in the hills I stumbled up to this small town in Rajasthan that has an annual camel fair. It is here at Pushkar I realised that I got the smell, taste and feel of the India. A proud nation holding it’s head high and happy to flaunt it’s rural root’s. I eat in the local shop’s three times a day and I forgot often to take back change often more than a hundred rupees each time. Every time I forget the waiter or the shopkeeper rushes behind me to return my money. I was amazed and overwhelmed with the honesty of these people. They were not as educated or rich or well versed with the way’s of the modern world, but they were honest people and took pride in the fact .

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The urban Indian existence has gotten too corrupted with the razzmatazz of material thing’s driving people’s desires and actions. Killing people for financial gain seems now to be a all too common thing in urban offices and homes. In that strident march to get ahead and show off their latest gadgets, cars, girlfriends and material goods, we do not mind hurting one another. But out here in the middle of the desert a different sense of India is thriving in all it’s glory. There may be material poverty here, yet there is a wealth of spiritually from inside. Cost of living is not high either and they know how to have as much fun as we do in our urban den’s. No pubs, discos, foreign liquor or denim jean’s here. They take pride in made in India things. Folk’s here enjoy a jalebi and lassi with kachori and dal like it were caviar perhaps. They smoke their hookah’s in the evening instead of fancy cigar’s and you could not tell if they wish it otherwise!

The women dance with their flowing ghagras and sing folk song’s. No luxury sedan’s here and they enjoy the camel ride and take pride in their horses. I walked into the camel fair in the afternoon and was told their was a horse called Bhura whose selling price was more then one crore (just a shade less than $200,000). So much for the latest BMW 7 series. All dressed up in his green orange and red head gear Surat the horse trader told me about the intricacies of buying a horse “ This one is for 10 lakh’s (about $15000) , he is white and has ear’s that are open , his face is long which mean’s he is very good looking , of course he is from Punjab.” . he said with pride patting the nose of the horse. “ This one is 25 lakh’s (about $38,000), he has slim long leg’s and large hoof’s , his upper body is more muscular then the rest . He is a race horse and thus command’s such a high price.” It is all genetics then in the horse trade I thought as I strolled around the stable and saw the horses enjoying their dinner of grain and straw.

Ambling around as the day led to dusk I walked upto the Pushkar Sarovar, a holy lake and a place of peace and tranquility with bright Diwali light’s glittering it’s bank’s in the evening. I walked down to the Pepal tree and prayed beside the Tulsi Tree. On the bank’s of the lake sat sadhu’s feasting on the Bhandara (free feast as far as I could tell) that was arranged. I asked one sadhu who was wearing a very fancy and colourful headgear if I could photograph him “ No way give me five hundred rupees then only will I let you photograph me.” I was amused and remarked in Hindi (my mother tongue) “Baba ho car paise ki batein .” A sadhu (someone who has renounced) and yet you ask for money? He glared at me angrily “ Kyon baba ko bhook nahi lagti, paise ke bina khana kaise khayen ge. why? don’t sadhus get hungry, without money where will we find food” Homespun wisdom perhaps and a sign of the times, we all need money and I need a monetisation plan the way I am living. The lake side was a site of great peace and I stopped there for a while to soak in the atmosphere and wonder.

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The Pushkar Fair

November 22, 2015

Tired of the hills and the snow I thought – perhaps it might be time to do a view of the deserts and the fairs they have there and some one mentioned in passing Pushkar and there I was headed – took me a huge road drive and I finally got here. Checked into the Hillview – a less than the best possible kind of a place but really close to where the action was and some reviews are here on a third party site that I have nothing to do except point to !! Travelling in India is of course easier for me as I am an Indian but this definitely is not a place to be missed !

https://www.facebook.com/anujtikku1974/videos/787691908024059/

At the Mela

https://www.facebook.com/anujtikku1974/posts/787691868024063

At the Brahma Temple at Pushkar

https://www.facebook.com/anujtikku1974/posts/787687774691139

A musician in the desert

https://www.facebook.com/anujtikku1974/videos/vb.622491291210789/787650194694897/