Pushkar Piercing

Our driver took us the 7 hours back to the Pink City. Cai and I immediately caught a bus to Ajmer along the nicest highway I’ve seen in India yet. It was a 2-way, 6 lane highway with LANES! Yes, actual LANES!!! And… the vehicles using the highway somewhat even acknowledged these lanes! Novel!

After a quick 2.5 hour bus ride, we arrived in Ajmer around 11pm…. Not quite the best hour to be 2 white women looking for transport to Pushkar. Fortunately, Caitanya’s fluent Hindi secured us a reasonably well-priced rickshaw up and over the desert mountain. We even got him to stop so we could have a sit-down dinner. Throughout some of our escalation over the mountain, I wondered if Cai and I would need to get out and push the rickshaw. Though we crawled up the mountain ever so slow, it wasn’t necessary. The funny thing about rickshaws at night is that unless the accelerator is activated, the headlight is dim to completely unenlightened… so most of the way down the mountain, we were cruising without light… but one tends to get used to these silly idiosyncrasies in India.

Pushkar is a very holy city renowned for its sacred lake (in the center of the city) dedicated to Lord Brahma. Pushkar is home to the only Brahma temple in the world. There are, as in all Indian cities, temples everywhere… but many people pilgrimage to Pushkar to visit the Brahma Temple. In addition to the sanctity of the Brahma Temple, there are two mountains dedicated to each of Lord Brahmas two wives, Sivitri and Gayatri. Legend has it that when Lord Brahma took his second wife Gayatri, his first wife Sivitri proclaimed the Pushkar Brahma Temple the only Temple where lord Brahma could be worshiped in all of the world! Go Sivitri! Way to keep that man in check!

Caitanya and I arrived in Pushkar around 1 AM, to a gate that the rickshaw could not pass. After an unsuccessful debate with some ji’s (guys) at the gate, we surrendered to our fate that the rickshaw had to drop us off there. We had reservations at a nice guesthouse overlooking the lake called Bharatpur Palace, which meant we had quite a distance to walk through the sleeping holy city with our heavy luggage. Just as the rickshaw pulled away, a man with a cart arrived, offering to roll our luggage to our guesthouse. His 3 yr. old son was fast asleep on top of the cart. We agreed to pay him 30 Rs., loaded our luggage, and were on our way.

Throughout our walk, Caitanya and the cart walla had a very lively discussion in Hindi that I wasn’t part of. Later, Cai told me that he was describing the awful changes that money (and tourism development) have inflicted on Pushkar…. And it’s true. Money has a way of corrupting the sacred sometimes.

Once we arrived at the guesthouse, Caitanya tried to pay the impoverished cart walla 50 Rs. Upset and indignant he refused to accept more money than what we agreed he would receive for rolling our things along. Cai insisted on the tip, but he refused to accept it until she convinced him that if it meant that much to him, he could help us take our belongings back to the gate when we planned to leave. With this, his stern expression broke into a crooked smile, and he was on his way.

The guesthouse was asleep, and we had to wake up the owner to be let in. The sleepy old man shuffled to the door, opened it then shuffled to his desk to hand us our keys. We climbed 2 flights of stairs and walked around to our room overlooking the Lord Brahma’s lake. Beautiful! Concrete ghats (stairs) lined the entire circumference of the lake, save for one side where a large bridge was under construction. Our room was quaint with beautiful altar alcoves inlayed in all the walls… cute little shelves for candles, altars, incense or whatever. It was late and we were tired. We each took a shower, and hopped into bed.

The next morning I crawled out of bed and immediately stepped out the door to survey my new surroundings. I squinted in the bright sunlight reflected by the water of the lake. Absolutely beautiful! Gayatri and Sivitri stood proud like two protective, towering mothers greeting their waking children with the new day. The growling hum of tractors and work trucks echoed across the waters busy with digging, hauling, and building. I was eager to explore!

Cai and I got dressed and stepped out into the busy street. There is essentially one main lane lined with 2+ story shops and restaurants that winds its way around the lake. From the lane, one cannot see the lake, as the buildings are squished together much closer than the houses in San Francisco. We spotted a rooftop restaurant, and climbed the 4 stories to the top for breakfast. We were greeted by the one host/waiter/cook with a warm smile and loads of enthusiasm. We returned the cheer and had a seat. After we ordered, we could hear the host/waiter/cook crank up the music, and sing along at the top of his lungs. Cai and I were grateful for the positive energy going into our food!

Caitanya has been coming to Pushkar for about 11 years, so she has the little city pretty dialed. She has made friends with some of the long-standing residents, which makes for great deals on some of the finer goods. We spent the day connecting with some of her friends, and orienting me to this busy little town.

One of the stops we made was to a local jeweler. His family has been in the business for many, many years. His father owns an antique store full of old silver and some of the most blingin Rajasthani jewels on the market. He opened up a store selling some of the modern pieces across the street. Anyway, we stopped in, and looked at a number of earrings and pendants. I noticed a sign in his shop, indicating that he also did piercings. I’ve been wanting a new piercing for some time now… and it seemed special to get one in the place of inspiration. Many Indian women indicate their status in life with the jewels and piercings they have. It is very common for Indian women to have many piercings in their ears, and of course their noses. I’ve been wanting to pierce the unpierced nostril in my nose, to create more balance in my life… and on my face. What better time than the present to do so?!

I asked Cai’s friend if he could do it, to which he answered affirmatively. I picked out a stud, and he got out some alcohol and a file. When I pierced the first nostril, I was 17, almost 18. I was at a friend’s house after a dinner party we were hosting when I got the bright idea. One of my friends had an ear-piercing gun, so I picked out a stud, we placed it in the gun, and just like a stapler, we pierced my right nostril. I remembered the brief sting and soreness immediately following the piercing. I remember how my eyes welled up into tears in reaction to the sting. I recall that my mom was away for the summer in her mountain cabin, and my dad was working all the time, so it was easy to disguise the piercing for a few weeks. When my dad finally noticed, it had already healed, and I was rocking it. All he could say was, “Your mother is gonna kill you when she sees that. You better take it out.”

“Well, I’m almost 18, so if she makes me take it out, I’ll just put it back in on my Birthday,” I responded. He shook his head and let the issue rest.

The jeweler began filing the end of the stud I had selected, and I asked him for a pen to mark the spot. He intended to stick the stud straight through my nose without a gun. He rubbed my nose with alcohol, and I grabbed Cai’s hand to brace myself for the coming pain. He held my face at the chin, and began to poke the stud through my left nostril. I flinched and pulled my head away once it was already through, and my eyes welled up with tears in reaction to the sting. I looked in the mirror… and “OH MY GOD!!! IT’S IN THE WRONG PLACE!!!” There was nothing balanced about this piercing at all. It looked awful! I pulled it out immediately and took a few breaths. What was he thinking? He totally missed the mark I had made!

After a few moment of catching my breath, and cooling my internal fury, I decided to let him try again. This time I very clearly specified exactly where I wanted it placed on my nose. Damnit! Now my body knew what pain was forthcoming, which always makes the anticipation more frightening. He cleaned my nose with the alcohol once more, and I braced myself once again. The drill was the same, as was my reaction… but this time, the piercing was where I wanted it. Through this process, I learned that my nose is not as symmetrical as I always thought it to be. I like the piercing, and after a few days of soreness it healed.

Caitanya liked the double piercing so much, she decided to have her other nostril pierced as well, and I held her hand for the same drill. Her friend got it right the first time for her, and we were off to see more of the shop-lined lane.