Earlier I stumbled upon a couple interesting camel photos on my Pinterest account where the beasts of burden were completely engulfed in brightly coloured tassels, jewellery and other adornments. Since then I researched a little further and found that many of the images originate from the Pushkar Camel Fair, an event that takes place in a highly religious lakeside settlement in the Rajasthan state of India. With a very vague estimate of 20,000-60,000 camels exchanged, this event is likely to be the largest of its kind though I'm slightly dubious of a certain tourism website and this statement: 'The camel which succeeds in accommodating the maximum number of people on its back, wins the competition' and 'Though spectators take pleasure in the festivity and fervor, it is the animal that enjoys the most. The camels are seen preening before the crowd, seeming to enjoy every bit of attention that they receive during these five days'. This being said, I'm still captivated by the imagery as for one I am fond of ungulates such as camels but also this aspect of a human imprint on another species is interesting! The event has been described as a melting pot of 'colour, spectacle and carnival of one of the last great traditional melas, which brings livestock, farmers, traders and villagers from all over Rajasthan'. Overall a perfect demonstration of a preserved tradition, with records of over 100,000 participants before the 1900s. As I said, not all the images are from Pushkar but also other destinations worldwide where the lives of humans and camels intertwine so intimately.
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