Pushkar Festival

Pushkar is a sacred town for the Hindus, situated 11 kms to the North-West of Ajmer. The charm of this sleepy, lakeside settlement so captivated the great Indian poet, Kalidas, that it found a place in his classic, Abhigyan Sakuntalam.

 The Great Hindu epics of Mahabharat and Ramayana make references to this religious place regarded to be Adi Tiratha. Evidence points to its having existed since the Fourth century B.C. Lake in the inhospitable surroundings of a desert is no less than a miracle.

Braham Temple (the only temple of Lord Brahma), Savitri Temple, Varah Temple, Pushkar Lake, Ghats, Apteshwar Temple, Rangnath Temple, Anasagar Lake, Rose Gardens, etc are prime attractions of Pushkar It also provides vacationers wonderful opportunity to indulge in exciting activities like camel safari ride on sand dunes of Thar Desert, trekking on picturesque hills, etc.

Pushkar is also famous for its annual Pushkar Camel Fair. During this festival entire Pushkar comes alive. Visitors have wonderful opportunity to see trading of cattle/animals in the oldest form as barter system and several cultural shows depicting Rajasthani culture & tradition.

According to Hindus faith, gods releases a swan with a lotus in its beak (mouth) and let it fall on the earth where the Lord Brahma would perform a grand Yagna. Lord Brahma performed penance here for 60,000 years to have glimpse of Radha Krishna. The place where the flower of lotus fell was called Pushkar.

The Badrinath temple

Badrinath temple is the most accessible and thus most popular of the Char Dham. You'll find this temple, dedicated to Lord Vishnu, surrounded by a rather untidy village and overshadowed by the towering, snow-topped, Nilkantha peak





Badrinath temple is commonly visited as a day trip from the unappealing town of Joshimath, reached by a precarious mountain road from Rishikesh. The route is Haridwar-Rishikesh-Devprayag-Srinagar (not the one in Kashmir!)-Rudraprayag-Joshimath. To get to Joshimath, you can either get a bus from Rishikesh or Haridwar. The journey will take around 10-12 hours, and buses leave around every half hour early in the mornings from 4 a.m. to 7 a.m.

From Joshimath, it's another two or so hours to reach Badrinath. The traffic is highly regulated as a couple of parts of the road are so narrow that only one-way traffic is possible. Traffic is allowed to depart from Joshimath and Badrinath only at certain times of the day, and it's again stopped at the half-way point of Pandukeshwar. The fixed departure times are 6-7 a.m., 9-10 a.m., 11-12 a.m., 2-3 p.m., and 4.30-5.30 p.m. You can take a bus or shared jeep.

The last 11 kilometers to Badrinath is the most spectacular part of the journey. The rise is steep, and a view of the entire Badrinath valley is laid out below.

If you feel that you want to take some time to appreciate Badrinath temple and its surroundings, there are plenty of accommodations on offer. The Sarovar Portico is the best, and costliest, option. Otherwise, the GMVN Tourist Bungalow is the preferred option for those on a budget.

The Govardhan Puja

The fourth day of Diwali celebrations is 'Padwa' or 'Varshapratipada'. In the North India, it is called as Govardhan Puja. This pooja is performed with great zeal and enthusiasm and in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. In this pooja, there is a tradition of building cow dung hillocks, which symbolize the Mount Govardhan, the mountain which was once lifted by Lord Krishna.


 After making such hillocks people decorate them with flowers and then worship them. They move in a circle all round the cow dung hillocks and offer prayers to Lord Govardhan. Read on this article to explore more about the Govardhan Puja.

Govardhan Puja Legends

'Govardhan' is a small hillock situated at 'Braj', near Mathura. The legends in 'Vishnu Puraan' have it that the people of Gokul used to worship and offer prayer to Lord Indra for the rains because they believed that it was he who sent rains for their welfare but Lord Krishna told them that it was Mount Govardhan (Govardhan Paevat) and not Lord Indra who caused rains therefore they should worship the former and not the latter.

 People did the same and it made Lord Indra so furious that the people of Gokul had to face very heavy rains as a result of his anger. Then Lord Krishna came forward to ensure their security and after performing worship and offering prayers to Mount Govardhan lifted it as an umbrella on the little finger of his right hand so that everyone could take shelter under it. After this event Lord Krishna was also known as Giridhari or Govardhandhari.