Sita at the Nagaur Cattle Fair
BUT THAT SAID, the Nagaur Cattle Fair is rustic and just like an animal for farmers should be - devoid of any frills. It is not made up for tourist and definitely lesser known.
LOCATION:
The arid and dry Nagaur- between Jodhpur and Bikaner (or vice versa). Farmers from Punjab, Haryana and other parts Rajasthan come to the Nagaur Fair every year to buy Bullocks, Horses and Camels. While Bullocks and Camels are bought for the purpose of agriculture. Horses mostly find their way to vendors who would supply them to marriages for the groom to ride on his way to the bride’s home.
WHAT TO ACCEPT:
Villagers with their makeshift tents and animals for sale spread themselves out in three different sections right next to the highway – one section is exclusively for camels and the other two for horses and bulls. The camel section is located in a colony. Imagine the empty spaces of your gated complex being taken over by camels and their owners. Concrete houses, people, camels, makeshift tents all together. Late afternoon smoke trails billow out of these sections whilst dinner is being cooked to be had before sunset. The villagers collect around the fire rubbing their palms to keep themselves warm. It gets freezing cold here after sunset (dropping to single digit in centigrade).
ADMIRE AND ACCEPT THINGS THE WAY IT IS - As I mentioned earlier the Nagaur cattle fair doesn’t have the vivaciousness or energy of the Pushkar Fair. If the Nagaur cattle fair has to be enjoyed one got to first admire and accept things the way it is – that this is what it is and there is nothing more. And the more time one spends at the fair, the more likely one starts noticing its myriad faces. The best way to go about is to keep on moving from one place to the other in the fair. There is always something exciting waiting to happen. Mind you it happens very quickly and dies down even quicker – it could be a camel herder decorating his camel or giving it a trim, a horse owner racing his horse kicking up dust all over the field to impress a prospective buyer, a bull being offered fodder and the owner coaxing and cajoling it to eat as if it is his own child, a hectic noisy negotiation between a buyer and a seller, a pair of bulls on the loose with its owner in hot pursuit, a family getting ready to cook dinner or a woman from the Puri community of Ujjain decorating the bamboo sticks (I bought one for 100 Rs) which they have been making for the Rajasthan herders for centuries. It is in these fleeting moments that you witness the true essence of the Nagaur Cattle Fair and the life & times of the people who come here to buy and sell.
LIFE IS HARD HERE - On my first day at the fair I was returning to my camp (located very near to the camel section) and saw an exasperated father trying to console 3 wailing kids. The mother had tears in her eyes. I asked the father what happened. He told me he is yet to sell a camel so didn’t have money to buy oil, spices or vegetables. He was asking the kids to have the super thick Bajra Rotis (bread made out of millet flour) with salt and water. The kids were refusing to do so having done it for the past two to three days. “Tell me what can I do? We have millet flour and salt from home. But I have no money to buy the rest and they are hungry”. I gave him 100 Rs and he immediately left. The mother smiled and blessed me. And then it dawned on me. Almost everyone I noticed was cooking onions with chillies to go with their Bajra Rotis. I also saw an elderly couple gulping down their Bajra Rotis with water and salt. Everyone was saving on their resources till they made their first sale. Meals are twice a day for the villagers who come to the fair with their animals– a bruch late in the morning and dinner before sunset.
For Accommodation, Challenges, Itinerary, Insider Tips, Recommended number of Nights etc write to your relationship manager in Sita for the full report on the Nagaur Cattle Fair.
