‘Exhilarating and marvellously mad’

The camels were very reasonable. At about £350 each, they were a fraction of the price of horses. A bargain, said a splendidly moustached herder, nodding over to his two dromedaries loosely tethered a few yards away. Garlanded with plastic flowers, they were munching millet chaff but briefly stopped chewing to stare back at us disdainfully, as if contemptuous of cost considerations. Their long, spindly legs looked surreal in the glow of the setting sun, which, turning increasingly pink, added an ethereal quality to the Chandrabhaga livestock fair.

The herder explained that tractors are gradually replacing camel carts and other camel transport. The dwindling value of the animals reflects the surge of modernisation Bundi, above, ‘a gem of an old town’; and camels for sale at the Chandrabhaga fair, right across Rajasthan. I looked across open market grounds the size of several football pitches and saw nothing to suggest modernity as I understand it. Instead, through a haze of wood smoke, I marvelled at a host of timeless scenes: meals were being prepared at open fires; animals were feeding from straw bales; and turbaned traders were sitting on the ground by chai stalls, cups of spicy tea in hand. Groups of camels mooched nearby and, in the distance, by the tents and shelters of the extensive equine section, I caught sight of a couple of riders cantering their horses into the sunset.

During the full moon of November, thousands gather to trade buffaloes, cows, camels and horses at Jhalrapatan, by the Chandrabhaga river in south-eastern Rajasthan. The Chandrabhaga fair is held over four days, but the encampments of people and animals usually remain for a week or more before negotiations are finally clinched. As I entered the market area by a line of brutish-looking buffaloes, I felt I might have wandered into a chapter of Kipling’s Kim. Beneath the genial hubbub of owners staking out their turf on the eve of the opening, a sense of wheeler-dealing was already palpable.

Many traders had arrived from the Pushkar camel fair, which takes place about a week before the Chandrabhaga market. About 260km (160 miles) north, in the heart of Rajasthan, the Pushkar event is a fixture on the tourist calendar. Organisers claim the event last year attracted more than 60,000 visitors, with the same number of animals traded – horses and bovines quite as much as camels. What a contrast at the Chandrabhaga fair. This slightly smaller market is barely on the tourist radar. We saw no other Western visitors on the first day; in fact, our presence was considered so remarkable that the local newspaper sent a couple of photographers to take pictures of us taking pictures of camels. Photo-op over, we were encouraged to visit the horse section, where we were invited into the judges’ ring to present ribbons to the winners.

The Chandrabhaga fair was a highlight of the small-group tour I had joined. I was with 11 others on a twoweek trip across little-visited parts of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Adventure company Wild Frontiers specialises in itineraries that take travellers to obscure places in comfort, and its India in Slow Motion holiday is a foray beyond the remit of most guide books. You enter an old-time world of colourful villages, fabulous temples, ancient forts and romantic palaces – some of which you stay in. Schoolchildren sang to us; herds of goats skipped down streets; cows rummaged for food around shrines and, in some places, casually stepped into shops. Much of the time I felt I was moving through an engaging pageant of classic Indian scenes, one swiftly following on from another.

We had started from Delhi, catching a night train that rattled us down to Chittorgarh, an industrial city that historically was the seat of the valiant Mewar kingdom. Somewhat blearily, we took in its amazing hilltop fort, which is said to be the biggest such structure in Asia. However, size seemed less remarkable than detail: its brilliantly carved triumphal tower is resplendent with assorted gods, elephants and horses; and there is

Harriet O’Brien steps into a rarely visited world of camel fairs, romantic palaces and colourful festivals on a trip through Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh

Livestock fairs in India Sonepur, November Coinciding with November full moon celebrations, this huge fair, held near Patna in the eastern state of Bihar, is a market for everything from elephants to songbirds. This month-long event can be reached by road, but the most romantic way to arrive is by boat: Assam Bengal Navigation’s cruises on the River Hugli take in the event (assambengal navigation.com).

Pushkar, November Full moon celebrations were also the genesis for this most famous of India’s animal markets. Set in central Rajasthan, it is as much about wacky entertainment as animal trading. Expect moustache competitions, camel dances and laughter shows (pushkarcamel fair.com).

Nagaur, January/February The largest of Rajasthan’s livestock fairs takes place in the Thar desert between Jodhpur and Bikaner. Even the Pushkar camel fair looks small by Kunda, February The festival of Shivrati coincides with this week-long fair near Ranchi in Jharkhand, a little-visited forested

This five-day event in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh is largely a cattle-trading market – complete with beautifully adorned beasts. It also has a growing reputation for its wrestling and athletics contests (himachalresorts.com/ fairs-and-festivals).