Pushkar

Pushkar is one of the holy cities in India, a place where many pilgrims come to perform religious ceremonies on the banks of a small lake. The Hindu story says thar Brahma dropped a lotus flower on the earth and Pushkar floated to the surface. The highlights of Pushkar were supposed to include a hike up to the Savitri temple at sunrise but since I hate going up....I skipped that part, slept in and met the rest of the group for breakfast when they were done. In the morning, we went to the holy lake to participate in a Puja.... a religious ritual performed by Hindus as an offering to various deities. According to Wikipedia, Puja is modeled on the idea of giving a gift or offering to a deity or important person and receiving their blessing. In our puja the priest asked to clear our bad Karma from past lives and grant us safe passage in India. Here are some photos of the ceremony and the holy lake.




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The rest of my time in Pushkar was spent shopping! Although I didn't buy much, I had a great time walking through all the little shops looking at the stuff!



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