/BULLETIN OF RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS 03/ INDIA: Centre For Hindu Pilgrimage Turns To Tourists For Salvation

By Neena Bhandari Reprint | | Print |

Neena Bhandari

PUSHKAR, INDIA, Jun 23 1996 (IPS) - Legend has it that Brahma, the Creator in the Hindu divine pantheon, let fall a lotus from his hand. At the place where it fell, originated the dusty western Indian town of Pushkar.

The erstwhile pilgrim spot is today a tourism success story. At the height of the season as many as 2,000 foreigners and 500,000 Indians flock to it everyday.

It hosts one of the largest camel and cattle fairs in the country every November and tourism officials have capitalised on the local colour of the event to promote it as a major international destination.

Traditional songs, dances, camel safaris and handicrafts of the state of Rajasthan where Pushkar is located, are added attractions for people who decide to pay a visit.

But in its very success may lie the seeds of imminent disaster, environmentalists and locals here warn.

“Almost every person who comes here offers prayers and takes a holy dip in the Pushkar lake, encircled by 52 bathing ghats (platforms). The water near each ghat is supposed to have special powers,” says Kamal Parashar, a local priest.

One of them is supposed to endow fertility, the other enhance beauty, a third cure leprosy and yet another is supposed to grant the boon of wisdom.

The result is that the serene lake is today inundated with offerings of milk, clarified butter, curd and honey. They float on the surface along with discarded cigarette butts and food packets thrown by tourists living in the hotels situated around the lake.

Besides, ashes immersed by pious Hindus and silt from hill slopes denuded to build hotels are drained into the lake everyday.

“This obstructs free flow of fresh water from the three feeders, making water scarce. Ground water levels are sinking and tube- wells are deeper every year…,” says Kedar Sharma, another local priest.

Despite this, the town continues to provide brisk business for the thousand-odd hereditary priests it houses. At sunrise, dressed in crisp white local garments, they await both local and foreign pilgrims.

The foreign pilgrims are more sought after “because they pay in dollars,” says Sharma as he escorts an English couple to make yet more offerings at the lake.

Around the lake that is surrounded by a thousand-odd temples, newer ones are coming up. Open drains run along pathways where young boys importune tourists to stay at their hotels.

The hotel industry is a booming business and even agriculturists are switching professions to reap in the profits. Jeevan Chand, a hotelier says, “There is a lot of scope and good financial returns in this line…even during peak summer, I have 70 percent occupancy.”

The environmental degradation caused by the mushrooming hotels is justified with the plea that they provide jobs to local people and boost the Pushkar economy.

Many residents have even started letting out a room or two in their homes to accommodate tourists.

“This is having an adverse effect on our culture. When foreigners come and live in our homes, the younger generation is tempted to wear skimpy clothes like them. They kiss and hug openly and walk hand in hand in public places,” says a disgruntled old man sitting under a tree in the town square.

“The result of this cultural pollution is that six of our boys have married white women,” says Pradeep Sharma. “They do it all for money…the locals do not approve of these international marriages although the youngsters say their foreign wives have adapted totally to our customs,” he adds.

The women, in fact are so totally absorbed in their new lives that they wear the traditional skirt and roam around with their faces fully covered with veils. Their children are studying in local schools.

However, not all contacts with the West are frowned upon.

For small time businessmen in this sleepy town, contacts with the outside world have proved to be an unexpected bonanza. Says Heeralal, who runs a textile shop in Pushkar, “Because of the annual fair, I got the opportunity to make contacts abroad. Today I export garments worth thousands of dollars to the U.K and U.S.”

Says 19-year-old Rakesh Parashar who owns a handicraft shop, “I make a profit of over a 1000 dollars annually thanks to a German friend who visited Pushkar some years ago.”

It is still boomtime in the town where a hotel owner says real estate prices have multiplied 500 times over the past decade. But the wheel might just turn full circle if measures are not taken to remedy the damage caused by the tourist influx.

The Rajasthan government has already sanctioned an 11 million dollar project for the beautification of Pushkar. Since May, desiltation work has begun in the lake. To check falling water levels, the digging of tubewells has been banned.

The project is also expected to treat denuded slopes, plant trees, build check dams, control construction, repair temples, cover drains and construct sanitary public toilets. Parking space, public gardens and a green stretch in the fair grounds are also planned.

If the project succeeds, Brahma’s lotus will not have fallen in vain.