Story and pic by Maggie,
Pushkar
Monday. November 14
Pilgrims fill the streets of Pushkar at this, the holy festival. Early each morning they crowd the food stalls, eating vegetables and rice from little bowls. The traditional bowls are made of molded banana leaves and are discarded on the ground when the meal is done, where they disintegrate. Chai is served traditionally in unfired clay cups that smash when dropped, to be ground back into earth. Modern equivalents are abundant now, banana leaves replaced with styrofoam or tinfoil, and clay cups with waxed paper cups. What still prevails is the custom of dropping them on the ground once used.
Western tourists don’t begin to compete in numbers with Indian visitors to Pushkar. But while the Indians take their meals at food stalls, westerners are treated to a seemingly endless choice of beautiful rooftop restaurants where the breeze blows (when it blows) and the street noise fades a little (though you might be lucky enough to find the place next to a loudspeaker on the next building that blares Hari Krishna chants from dawn till dark).
These rooftops are all pretty much the same: a life-threatening climb up five steep and flights of stairs to a shaded roof with pots of greenery and a dozen or so big tables with cane chairs. The menus are also the same: twelve or fifteen pages of heavy laminated card, everything in English. Breakfast choices fill several pages, and include porridge, muesli, toast, lassis (yoghurt drinks), pancakes (which are actually crepes in most cases). Each of these is offered in many varieties, and every variety is listed on the menu. I’ve found a standard breakfast that suits me well: porridge with mixed fruit, a plain lassi, a couple of cups of chai. All this costs me 250 rupees (the equivalent of about $5.00 Canadian) and holds me until supper time. Dave seems to lean towards pancakes or crepes for breakfast, and Anne tends to choose something savoury such as this morning's hash browns, which consisted not just of potatoes, but a variety of vegetables.
In the heat of the day, we seek out a garden café, also in abundance here, usually attached to a simple hotel. We sip fresh lemon soda (a squeezed lemon and a bottle of soda water) and have maybe a plate of pakoras.
Again at supper, we find another rooftop. Dinner menus (everywhere) include pizza, pasta, Israeli food, Mexican food, and oh yes, a small selection of Indian food. Mostly I’ve been eating Indian food, and it’s been delicious. A thali (a platter with rice, chapatis, and several steel bowls of curries) will run from 150 to 300 rupees, depending on the place, but the quality and quantity doesn’t seem to vary much.
I thought food in India would be over spiced for me, but here it’s been perfect, if anything on the mild side. It could be that these places tailor their food to Western tastes (ya think?). One night the thali had no spice at all, very disappointing.
Pushkar is supposed to be strictly vegetarian, but some of our rooftops serve egg frittatas. There is no alcohol allowed in the town. We are slipped cocktail menus at a couple of places, but it wouldn’t feel right to drink here. We’ll leave that to the hoards of young Indian men who were carousing in the streets all night last night.
Pushkar
Monday. November 14
Pilgrims fill the streets of Pushkar at this, the holy festival. Early each morning they crowd the food stalls, eating vegetables and rice from little bowls. The traditional bowls are made of molded banana leaves and are discarded on the ground when the meal is done, where they disintegrate. Chai is served traditionally in unfired clay cups that smash when dropped, to be ground back into earth. Modern equivalents are abundant now, banana leaves replaced with styrofoam or tinfoil, and clay cups with waxed paper cups. What still prevails is the custom of dropping them on the ground once used.
 |
| Discarded banana-leaf bowls, mostly |
Western tourists don’t begin to compete in numbers with Indian visitors to Pushkar. But while the Indians take their meals at food stalls, westerners are treated to a seemingly endless choice of beautiful rooftop restaurants where the breeze blows (when it blows) and the street noise fades a little (though you might be lucky enough to find the place next to a loudspeaker on the next building that blares Hari Krishna chants from dawn till dark).
These rooftops are all pretty much the same: a life-threatening climb up five steep and flights of stairs to a shaded roof with pots of greenery and a dozen or so big tables with cane chairs. The menus are also the same: twelve or fifteen pages of heavy laminated card, everything in English. Breakfast choices fill several pages, and include porridge, muesli, toast, lassis (yoghurt drinks), pancakes (which are actually crepes in most cases). Each of these is offered in many varieties, and every variety is listed on the menu. I’ve found a standard breakfast that suits me well: porridge with mixed fruit, a plain lassi, a couple of cups of chai. All this costs me 250 rupees (the equivalent of about $5.00 Canadian) and holds me until supper time. Dave seems to lean towards pancakes or crepes for breakfast, and Anne tends to choose something savoury such as this morning's hash browns, which consisted not just of potatoes, but a variety of vegetables.
In the heat of the day, we seek out a garden café, also in abundance here, usually attached to a simple hotel. We sip fresh lemon soda (a squeezed lemon and a bottle of soda water) and have maybe a plate of pakoras.
Again at supper, we find another rooftop. Dinner menus (everywhere) include pizza, pasta, Israeli food, Mexican food, and oh yes, a small selection of Indian food. Mostly I’ve been eating Indian food, and it’s been delicious. A thali (a platter with rice, chapatis, and several steel bowls of curries) will run from 150 to 300 rupees, depending on the place, but the quality and quantity doesn’t seem to vary much.
I thought food in India would be over spiced for me, but here it’s been perfect, if anything on the mild side. It could be that these places tailor their food to Western tastes (ya think?). One night the thali had no spice at all, very disappointing.
Pushkar is supposed to be strictly vegetarian, but some of our rooftops serve egg frittatas. There is no alcohol allowed in the town. We are slipped cocktail menus at a couple of places, but it wouldn’t feel right to drink here. We’ll leave that to the hoards of young Indian men who were carousing in the streets all night last night.
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