Camels Camels Everywhere

We had timed our stay in Puskar to coincide with the annual camel market and festival, the largest of its kind. The week leading up to the big event saw the participants arrive in large herds, slowly traipsing across the tundra of the desert and providing a more novel form of road obstacle as we zipped to and from the TOLFA clinic on scooters. The trip to the petrol station provided a glimpse as to the size of the newly erected tented village but as darkness came on early we could not explore further in the evenings after work. It was not till the day before the official first day, Sunday and our day off, that we could roam the Mella ground at our leisure. The sight that greeted us was impressive, the number of animals vast. Camels of all ages had arrived from far and wide along with large numbers of both horses and cattle to be sold to dealers that themselves had traveled considerably. What a week before had been nothing but dusty, sandy scrub land was now packed tight with the beasts leaving barely enough space for their current owners to unroll a blanket and brew a much needed chai. This activity is what the event was all about but now it plays just a part. Rusty, ancient fairground rides were being unpacked and put together like giant mechano sets and a plethora of stalls and canteens had created an entirely knew high street in the desert. Quickly stepping from this tourist route we could wind our way through the livestock with no hastle save a few jewelry hawkers from Fatepur Sikri, and witness the preparations as the camels had stray hairs closely trimmed, inspections were made and gossip was exchanged. The activity only increased towards sunset as fires dotted the camp and smoke drifted across the plain with the sun slowly sinking into the horizon.

That was our tourist experience, next was the veterinary one! For one day, by rota, each of the volunteers at TOLFA was sent with a couple of staff members to lend a hand at the Veterinary Camp run by the Jaipur charity Help in Suffering. Despite having little specific knowledge (I must have slept through our camel lecture) what was presented was first aid. Plenty of rub wounds from ill fitting saddles and bridles, infected noses from splintered control pegs, sliced foot pads, maggots and the big one...inappentance. Wounds were cleaned, disinfected, dressed if needed and injections dispensed. Maggots were removed and abscesses flushed. Those with inappetence (usually presented with a mouth full of food!) were dispatched with wormer and a curry powder appetite stimulant. The hardest part of the process was grabbing one of the local staff to act as translater of the problem and then finding them again to explain the treatment to the owner.