Pushkar wows the world with wedding vows

They met at a restaurant in Pushkar. She, a globe-trotter, through with university in France. And he, who had never set eyes on a classroom...

They met at a restaurant in Pushkar. She, a globe-trotter, through with university in France. And he, who had never set eyes on a classroom, busy trying to set up business. Over the counter, at the Sai Baba restaurant, Lola fell in love with Fateh Singh Rawat.

Much to the horror of the priests of Pushkar, they entered into wedlock and settled down in this little town. She learnt Hindi, dressed Indian and talked Karma.

Married for six years, Lola, suitably rechristened L Singh, is happy in Pushkar. ‘‘It was my Karma,’’ she says, switching between halting Hindi and English. ‘‘I wanted peace and I got it here.’’

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Foreigners clean up the mess
Lining the dirty streets of Pushkar are a set of gleaming dustbins. A group of foreign tourists, including those who now call Pushkar their home, made a New Year resolution to ‘‘get the crap off Pushkar’s streets.’’
Says Lola Singh, founder of La Planette Mette (A Clean World): ‘‘There’s so much plastic here. But Pushkar is a small place, it will not be too difficult cleaning it.’’
And they are using the cow as a mascot. Boards depict the cow eating plastic, choking and dying. Accompanying messages talk about how cows are going to be the first casualty of the polythene litter. Coordinating with the Pushkar municipal authorities, La Planette Mette is sweeping through the bylanes, hoping the campaign becomes a habit.

The Lola-Rawat love story is one of many in this holy town. In its narrow bylanes, on the ghats around the lake, young priests are falling in love with ‘‘pretty madams’’ and flying overseas, leaving behind aging parents and a clutter of wagging tongues. In the last six years, there have been at least 12 much-talked-about weddings in Pushkar.

Everyone here has his or her version of how Cupid struck. ‘‘It’s all because of drugs. Our young boys get taken in by their looks, way of life and, in any case, they are all such a confused bunch,’’ grumbles priest S N Garg. ‘‘It’s sex,’’ snorts another priest. A third quips: ‘‘This is Kalyug, what else do you expect.’’

Rawat says most marry for money. ‘‘And they all go abroad. In fact, I am the only man whose foreign wife lives with him. Others have all left and settled abroad. We rarely see them here anymore. When I go holidaying to France, I get in touch with some there and they seem to be doing okay.’’

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The only other couple living in Pushkar is Canadian Jean Marc and his wife Padma. In fact, they probably started it all, way back in 1986. Ever since, Germany’s Yula Smith married local boy Shravan Kumar and British citizen Penelope tied the knot with Sukhvinder on the ghats of Pushkar.

Practising priest Manmohan Parashar married Spain’s Maria Dolores, Haridatt Bhatt moved to Sweden with his wife Barbara and Rajesh migrated to Britain with wife Susan.

The numbers are not large, considering the tourist arrivals in Pushkar. Last year, some 28,800 foreign tourists touched down in Pushkar, way below the 45,800 arrivals in 2001 and nearly 52,000 in 2000.

Yet, the old priests are not happy. ‘‘It is appalling. These young men are purohits, they are supposed to lead a certain kind of life. They are definitely not supposed to drop religion at the drop of a hat and adopt western ways. People look upto priests, but these boys are ruining our reputation,’’ says Shravan Parashar, member of the Shri Tirathguru Pushkar Purohit Sangh Trust.

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Lola is unperturbed. ‘‘I belong here. I always knew I would never live in France. But I visit my grandmother every year and my son and daughter can speak French. I love our little dal-bati picnics, the harmonium and, of course, teaching French. The one thing I miss most is French cheese.’’