Over the hump

With its rounded hills and dun-coloured sand dunes, the Rajasthani town of Pushkar, in India, seems custom made for the world's largest gathering of camels. For two weeks in October or November each year, life imitates landscape as 50,000 camels (and untold numbers of cattle and horses) are brought to the edge of town to be traded, decorated, celebrated and raced at the Pushkar camel fair.

It's at once the most colourless and colourful scene on Earth, a light-brown blur of dust, smoke and animals enlivened by a continuous flow of firefly-bright saris and turbans. Vendors hawk jewellery that looks almost edible; Ferris wheels turn in a smear of colours; stalls sell an assortment of vibrant tassels and decorations designed to tart up even the dreariest of camels. It is a contrast that says much about modern times at the fair, where the camels are all but outshone by the pageantry.

Today, the animals are little more than a warm-up act, with most of the trading - the fair's raison d'etre - taking place in the week preceding the revelry. By the time the week-long festivities begin, many of the camel traders are heading home, their beasts crowding the highway out of town as hordes of visitors pour in.

The majority of the trading may be over but the 'ship of the desert' isn't forgotten. Camel-pulled carts lead tourists through the grounds and there are camel rides, races and even a dance competition.

Those still trading inspect the camels noisily, with the animals bawling in complaint as men wrench open their jaws to inspect their mouth. If they try to bite (and who wouldn't when your lips are forced apart?), they're considered aggressive and difficult to sell.

One of the traders still hard at work is 50-year-old Umrao, who has walked for two days from his village to Pushkar in the hope of selling three camels and three horses. He has been here six days but has succeeded only in buying another camel. A Pushkar veteran, he's journeyed to the fair every year for two decades, during which time he has seen it transformed from a sandy yard sale into a major tourist attraction.