In my naivety I thought that the lane in Jodhpur was chaotic, but the experience of driving through Pushkar city and navigating towards the Pushkar lake put things in perspective. The lanes were even narrower, with shops encroaching on all sides, and a mass of humanity walking or riding around in a wanton rhythm with no regard for rules; it was absolute bedlam. There were a surprisingly high number of foreign nationals too, and from the snatches of conversations I caught, they spoke perfectly acceptable Hindi, albeit with a distinct accent. The temple by the bank of the lake, dedicated to one of Hindu folklore’s oldest deities, Lord Brahma (aka the Creator), was graceful and calming, but the searing rays of the sun put a damper on my enthusiasm. Pushkar has been a famous Hindu pilgrimage destination for eons, with some scriptures even awarding it the title of Tirth Raj or the king of pilgrimage sites. In fact, evidence of the Pushkar Lake’s existence has been found depicted on coins dating as far back as 400 BCE.
Hankering to be back in the comforting embrace of the Santa Fe, we decided to drive to the other side of the Lake and see how close we could take the car to the actual water body. Luckily, we struck upon an off-road path that led to a spot just overlooking the lake, which the Santa Fe clambered through without hesitation or hassle. After enjoying the tranquillity of the lakeside and the cool breeze wafting towards us from the direction of the placid water, we headed out again, Jaipur being the next spot to land in our crosshairs.
The Ajmer–Jaipur highway was our choice of route to get to our destination, and for the first time since we ventured into Rajasthan, there were no animals on the highway! They had been replaced by a huge population of vehicles and the continued interruptions of toll booths instead. None of that bothered me, though. I just turned up the music, scrolled through my play-list and picked out Metal messiahs Metallica’s ‘Nothing Else Matters’. I don’t know how I ever functioned without a touchscreen system that lets you pick songs so easily. To think I grew up in an age where you had to ‘fast forward’ a cassette tape in the car, the very thought sends a shudder through my spine.
