WSJ Photo Journal: Pushkar Mela

Photo © Kevin Frayer/Associated Press-All Rights Reserved
The WSJ Photo Journal with a photograph by Kevin Frayer has reminded me that the Pushkar fair (or mela) is taking place from October 30 to November 2 this year. It is one of the world's largest camel fairs, and is held in the quaint town of Pushkar. At that time, hotel rooms and other accommodations are available at a hefty premium, especially at the venerable but ideally located Pushkar Palace.

While it's famed for its camels, the fair is also a marketplace for livestock including the reputed Marawri horses. It has recently become a magnet for tourists, both local and foreign, with tour agencies setting up itineraries centered around the fair itself as the main attraction. Photo trips also abound, since the camel traders, the sand dunes of the Thar Desert and the setting sun prove irresistible to photographers hoping to capture the Rajasthani essence.

Although a one-time-must-see event, the Pushkar mela itself has become a tourist event rather than a genuine tribal camel trading occasion. The actual trading itself takes place days before the start of the event, and by the time tourists arrive, most of the trades have been competed, and only the stragglers are left.

You can read my take on Pushkar fair in an early (and acerbic) post on this blog under the title "Reheated Itineraries".

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Gateway of the Gypsies

Here is a trailer for "Jaisalmer Ayo! Gateway of the Gypsies" (2004), a 54-minute piece by documentarians Melitta Tchaicovsky and Pepe Ozan. The documentary follows nomadic castes in India. The trailer's soundtrack is of a Rebari song. I really like this type of song and music...Regrettably, I don't understand any of the words but I'd like to think that it's all about chivalry, heroism and bravery. Many wandering minstrels can be seen during the Pushkar fair, where they perform similar songs.

Melitta Tchaicovsky and Pepe Ozan spent seven months traveling with members of nomadic castes in Rajasthan, in northwest India, filming as they trekked to the capital, Jaisalmer, a 12th-century fort city on the edge of the Thar Desert. The documentary is an exploration of the challenges these people face, as well as the ethnic and cultural link between these Indian nomads and the Romany peoples of Europe and around the world.

This reminds me of Robyn Davidson, the Australian woman who lived with the nomadic Rebari tribes of Rajasthan. She wrote a book of her experiences titled "Desert Places". A brief review of the book is here

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Have you heard?

Pushkar Fair-Copyright 2002 Tewfic El-Sawy
A celebrity photographer is offering a 14 days photo 'workshop' in India in November 2007. The itinerary is expected to include a few days at the Pushkar Fair. I say 'expected' because the itinerary isn't ready yet. However, the cost of the workshop is ready at $7100 per person, and the workshop will accommodate 14 photographers. Yes, fourteen. The deposit to secure a berth on the workshop is $2000.

Being a compulsive number cruncher, here’s my back of envelope analysis. I’ve set up and led a similar itinerary before, and I know that current land costs for such a tour can be arranged for no more than $2500. If what I claim is true (and it is), this means that the celebrity photographer’s margin on the workshop is easily $4500 a head. Assuming (and it’s a fairly reasonable assumption) that the workshop will sell out, the celebrity photographer is looking at $63,000 for 14 days work. That's $4500 a day, folks. Nice work if you can get it.

There are enthusiastic people willing to pay a $4500 premium to attend such an event with a celebrity photographer, and I hope they get their money’s worth. Mind you, with 14 participants in the workshop, I'm not sure how much time each participant will get with the -hopefully accessible- celebrity, but having sharp elbows will help. As for me, “I just report and you decide”, as they say.

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"Reheated' Photo Itineraries

In my view, the majority of so-called photo tours are based on nothing more than 'reheated' tourist itineraries, and are labeled as 'photo tours' just because a photographer is leading them. Sure, let's label them whatever encourages people to take them, but these are not really photo tours.

My take on what makes a photo tour a real photo experience is much narrower. The real thing requires weeks (if not months) of research, and on site contacts, to offer enthusiatic (and demanding) photographers unusal locations and itineraries. Yes, some of these itineraries may often resemble those offered to regular tourists, but will differ in certain locations, differ in the amount of time spent at these locations, and certainly differ as to when (dates and time of day) these locations are visited.

A particular egregious example of a 'reheated' tourist itinerary is the ubiquitous photo tour which lists the popular Pushkar fair as main destination. It's absolute nonsense for serious photographers to time their stay in the town of Pushkar at the peak of the fair because it'll be full of tourists, the real camel trading occurs almost a week before the fair's announced schedule, hotels are more expensive at the height of the fair, and so on. If the idea of photographing a solitary dopey camel trader left with his final unsold scrawny camel (not to mention the gaggle of tourist-photographers who invariably will intrude in your viewfinder) excites you, go right ahead.

Another thing: photography is essentially a lonely activity, and being in a group photographing the same subject matter lemming-wise dilutes the thrill and satisfaction of photography. Many of these photo tours have participants who photograph whatever the tour leader photographs, who probably have no faith in their own visual abilities (aka 'eye) and rely on the leader to 'see' for them. I suspect these photographers return home, happy with their photographs just because they look like those of the leader!

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