Following breakfast, the members of the team followed Bani out the gate, first to be assaulted by the locals selling the very best genuine fake jewelry. After successfully fending off the hookers ( really, that is the local's term for these entrepreneurs) we turned left and suddenly I realized that the lowing of the cattle the previous night had emanated from several head of cattle, right outside our gate. What I did NOT expect was the blustering and the coughing of the next beasts we saw.
The Nagaur Agricultural Fair is an annual event where "farmers" bring their horses, cows, bulls and yes, of course, their camels for enter of the largest trade shows of its type in the world! I have never seen so many camels, but my guesstimate was roughly 20,000 of these creatures, which appear to have been assembled by a committee. Everywhere we looked, there were camels and their handlers. There were blackish ones, tan ones, coffee brown ones, tall ones, really tall ones, baby calls, bulls, cows and you name it. There were plain ones and fancy ones with tattoos, there were those who were literally festooned in pompoms and there were ones that had been shaved on their sides leaving rather elaborate and intricate patterns to attract one's eye. There were even some that one could swear had mascara and their eye lashes curled! I am not joking. This gathering of even-toed ungulates was something straight out of central casting from a Cecil B. deMille extravaganza. We watched as buyers and sellers bartered, or is a better term haggled... The wads of cash were plentiful and the barking taking place, as a price was agreed to, only to change when the actual stack of the 500 rupee notes were counted off, and came up a few short. We watched as one owner had his camel performing for the crowd. A couple of jockeys galloped their "steeds" up and down the fairways. I was informed that a good buy on an exceptional camel was $20,000 and there would be several such sales. We wandered through the tents and observed the booths where camel saddles were being sold, as well as bridles and blankets.
I was also informed that during the ten days of this agricultural fair, that between 75,000 and 80,000 camels will be brought, bought and sold. Pretty impressive number!
We moved into the cattle sections and then tried to find the dancing horse! Seriously!
It was time to head back to our tent village located on the periphery of the fair, to have some lunch and then be prepared to board our bus for the next destination - the Golden City of Jaisalmer.
The Nagaur Agricultural Fair is an annual event where "farmers" bring their horses, cows, bulls and yes, of course, their camels for enter of the largest trade shows of its type in the world! I have never seen so many camels, but my guesstimate was roughly 20,000 of these creatures, which appear to have been assembled by a committee. Everywhere we looked, there were camels and their handlers. There were blackish ones, tan ones, coffee brown ones, tall ones, really tall ones, baby calls, bulls, cows and you name it. There were plain ones and fancy ones with tattoos, there were those who were literally festooned in pompoms and there were ones that had been shaved on their sides leaving rather elaborate and intricate patterns to attract one's eye. There were even some that one could swear had mascara and their eye lashes curled! I am not joking. This gathering of even-toed ungulates was something straight out of central casting from a Cecil B. deMille extravaganza. We watched as buyers and sellers bartered, or is a better term haggled... The wads of cash were plentiful and the barking taking place, as a price was agreed to, only to change when the actual stack of the 500 rupee notes were counted off, and came up a few short. We watched as one owner had his camel performing for the crowd. A couple of jockeys galloped their "steeds" up and down the fairways. I was informed that a good buy on an exceptional camel was $20,000 and there would be several such sales. We wandered through the tents and observed the booths where camel saddles were being sold, as well as bridles and blankets.
I was also informed that during the ten days of this agricultural fair, that between 75,000 and 80,000 camels will be brought, bought and sold. Pretty impressive number!
We moved into the cattle sections and then tried to find the dancing horse! Seriously!
It was time to head back to our tent village located on the periphery of the fair, to have some lunch and then be prepared to board our bus for the next destination - the Golden City of Jaisalmer.
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