Rajasthan Camel Festival
13-14 January 2006
Camel Festival Information - Bikaner
The Camel Festival is an event organized in Bikaner by the Department of Tourism, Art and Culture, Government of Rajasthan, every year in the month of January. Desert region's Folk dances and Music, add on to what is otherwise an exclusive camel affair. A festival when the ships of the desert are seen at their best. Camels fascinate tourists from all over the world with their movements, charm and grace. A spectacle of unusual camel performances: camel races, camel dances, and the bumpy, neck shaking camel rides.
Activities
The festival starts with the procession of beautifully decorated camels. The procession heads towards the open sand grounds. Here, the festivities begin in earnest. The Camel Pageant is held on the first day wherein the camel owners show off their Camels' decorations and jewellery. Camel dance performances are also held. A competition for best decorated camel, fur cutting design, camel milking and the best camel hair cut is organized The camels display amazing footwork, dancing gracefully to the slightest direction of their drivers. Colourful bridles, bejewelled necks, jingling anklets and long, lanky camel shadows on dusky sands, cast a magical spell.
In this festival tea and sweets prepared by camel milk are made available to the visitors interested in enjoying them.
On the second day, the fleetest camels of the region take part in the camel races. The competition is fierce as the best camels vie for the honors. Thousands of excited tourists and locals cheer the favorites.
On both days, the evening ends with a rendezvous with the renowned folk artists of Rajasthan. The jubilant, skirt swirling dances, the awe inspiring fire dances and many other equally interesting performances entertain the visitors. The grand finale is a magnificent display of fireworks which illuminates the desert city of Bikaner.
History & Places to see
Situated in the heart of the desert belt, Bikaner was always an inaccessible land. Before the advent of modern motor vehicles, the survival of the people of this region depended on the 'Ship of the desert' - the Camel. The camels of this region were famous for their endurance as well as their strength and beauty.
In fact, the Bikaner army had an elite camel corps called the Ganga Risala which took active part in both the World Wars. The Ganga Risala was a Camel unit in the army even after the independence and it took part in Indo-Pak wars. Bikaner also boasts of the only Camel breeding center in India.
Camel can still be seen pulling heavy loads on carts in this region. With such a long association with Camels, it is but natural that the Department of Tourism, Art and Culture chose to hold the Camel festival in Bikaner.
Country: Rajasthan
Location: Bikaner
Climate: 45C - 9C
Reach There: Train/Road
Nearest Airport: Jodhpur Airport
Tourist Reception Centre:RTDC Hotel Dhola Maru, Bikaner.
Tel No.:+91-151-2544125
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Pushkar Camel Fair
12-15 November 2005
Pushkar Fair Information - India
The peaceful lakeside town of Pushkar is filled to bursting once a year during this unmissable event. Originally intended to attract local camel and cattle traders to do business during the three days of the Katrik Purnima festival, the Pushkar Camel Fair has grown into a major tourist attraction.
Indians flock with their camels to the small town on the edge of the Thar Desert a week in advance of the festival, which officially lasts for the three days of the full moon. The highlight of the fair is undoubtedly the camel racing, which takes place amidst singing and folkdancing in the amphitheatre. In addition, camels, sporting ornamental saddles and headresses and adorned with ribbons, are bought and sold. Although the fair is traditionally a sideline to the main Hindu festival, the carnival atmosphere makes the event accessible to all.
As well as being able to ride on camels or in carts, it is also possible to arrange camel treks into the surrounding desert with, well, just about anyone that you meet in Pushkar. At festival time the streets are overrun with tourists, travellers, hawkers, painted and bizarrely contorted sadhus (holy men), children, animals and bicycles - all of Indian life concentrated in one mass, funnelled through the narrow streets to the showground on the outskirts. All manner of delicious foods are available from countless vendors, and there's even a funfair of sorts.
For a break from the madness, visit either of the hill-top temples which guard the town and give a stunning view of the sunset. Each is only a short walk away. Alternatively, Pushkar's holy lake is beautiful, especially at night as you dine in a lakeside restaurant - visiting during the day allows you to view ritual pujas, or fall prey to the rent-a-gurus who line the ghats (steps).
Once the festival is over, life in Pushkar returns to normal. The town is peaceful and, without hordes of people, a very beautiful place to stay - countless hotels have rooftops on which to soak up the sun and enjoy the sight of locals flying kites high over the town and surrounding hills, vying for supremacy.
Pushkar, therefore, offers the best of both worlds. During the festival it is a vibrant, energetic, utterly absorbing example of everything that India can offer. Afterwards, if it has all been too much, just stay where you are!
Country: India
State: Rajasthan
Town: Pushkar
Contact Details:India Tourist Office
Ministry of Tourism, Transport Bhavan, 1 Parliament St, New Delhi 110 001, India.
Phone: +91 (0) 11 371 8379
Fax: +91 (0) 11 371 0518
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Home at last, child camel jockeys are scarred for life
27 June 2005
KARACHI: Eight-year-old Mohamed Irfan still remembers how one of his friends fell from a camel and was crushed beneath the feet of another galloping animal during a race in the United Arab Emirates.
“The race was not stopped. Later, I found out the child had died. He was four or five years old,” Irfan says as he plays with a mobile phone at a human rights group’s office in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi.
Irfan’s case is not isolated. He returned to his homeland with 11 other young camel jockeys in early June and another batch of 22 arrived in Pakistan from the oil-rich Arab sheikhdom on Tuesday.
Stung by criticism from the US and human rights groups, a number of Gulf states have recently pledged to crack down on the problem of children being smuggled in from poorer countries to take part in the popular “sport”.
The UAE signed a repatriation agreement with the UN Childrens’ Fund (UNICEF) in May and now plans to use robots instead of children to take part in the still-popular sport.
Officials said another 270 children, some sold off by their poverty-stricken families, were in camps set up by the UAE government and will be repatriated once their travel documents are ready.
“But some 3,000 innocent jockeys are still missing in the UAE and could have been shifted to some other Arab countries for the same purpose,” says Ansar.
Burney, a rights activist in Karachi whose group is looking after Irfan and many others.
The scars the children bear are both physical and mental. Irfan and three others still have marks of injuries on their ankles and other parts of their bodies.
Strapped on top of camels three times their height, the children’s terrified screams make the beasts run faster, while they risk injury from being thrown off or merely from the violent motion of the animals.
“One day in very hot weather I started bleeding from my nose at the end of the race” because of the heavy helmets the children were forced to wear, says Zubaid Ali, also aged eight.
“Another time my younger brother Babar’s leg broke when he fell off a camel,” he adds.
Zubaid says some children were also sexually abused by caretakers who preyed on the youngsters in their camps at night.
Then there was the hardship of their daily lives, with children often being starved to keep them light and increasing their racing potential.
“My brother and I were in a camp with six or seven other children. They gave us very small meals and forced us to wake very early in the morning,” says Zubaid.
For many of the children, however, their ordeal has continued on their return to Pakistan, as their families have failed to collect them and they are placed in protective custody.
Many parents are afraid of trouble from the authorities. Poor parents have been known to sell their children to human traffickers for as little as just $2,100.
But other children are kidnapped or their parents fall victims to conmen.
As Zubaid recounts his story, a man enters the welfare group’s office and identifies himself as Hakim Ali. He says he is Zubaid and Babar’s father.
“They are my children, they were fraudulently taken by two people in my neighbourhood. I have come to take them back,” Hakim, from Rahim Yar Khan, a desert town in Pakistan’s central Punjab province, says.
“Three years back these people came to me with a job for me and my wife to be a guard and maid in Dubai. I paid them some Rs150,000 ($2,500) for visa and documentation,” adds Hakim.
“They asked me to send my wife and two children first, which I did. But it was my biggest mistake.”
Aid worker Burney listens to his story but says he will not hand over the children until he has had confirmation from police and local officials. He will also try to arrange a DNA test, he adds.
Other children are not even this lucky. Twelve-year-old Zubair from Gujrat says his father was murdered after the boy escaped from an agent who was about to sell him in Dubai in 2003.
“I was kidnapped by three persons while I was going to school. They made me sniff something and I fell unconsious. When I opened my eyes I found myself in another country, which I later came to know was Dubai,” Zubair says.
“I don’t know what happened but while we were going somewhere in a car I saw a policeman and I started shouting.”
His abductors dumped him in the street and he remained in a police lock-up for several months until October, when Burney arranged his release.
But a few days after his return to Pakistan, his father was killed in Gujrat, allegedly by the kidnap gang.
“Some of these children from poor families in Africa and South Asia were sold by their parents for cash, but most were cheated in the name of better jobs in the UAE,” Burney says angrily.
“This human trafficking is not possible without the involvement of police, immigration officials of their home countries and the UAE officials.”
In most cases, Burney adds, no one is ever punished.
“It’s the worst kind of slavery,” he says. - AFP
Source: Gulf Times
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Virginia City Camel Races
September 9-11, 2005
Virginia City Camel Races Information
The Virginia City International Camel Races feature riders atop camels, ostriches, emus, bulls, and who knows what else. The weekend event, scheduled for September 9-11, 2005, began as a hoax in 1959 but now attracts competitors from Australia, Africa, and the Middle East. Set at a historic mining quarry in Virginia City, the camel races combine entertainment of all sorts with Virginia City's Old West history. Your pass entitles you to admission to the races on September 9 -- opening day.
Races consist of a 100-yard dash on a straight dirt track at the Camel Dome Amphitheater. Since the camels are not trained (and not particularly eager racers to begin with), reaching the finish line is often the key to victory. For those camels that follow the lead of their jockeys, a spot awaits in Sunday's final. Other unlikely racing events have been added over the years involving ostriches, emus, and bulls.
Most important, the races are conducted in a spirit of fun that spills over into the streets of Virginia City throughout the weekend. Spectators are come not just for the races, but to stroll the historic wooden sidewalks of Virginia City and relax in the town's many 19th century saloons and restaurants.
The annual event started in 1959 when the editor of a Virginia City newspaper printed the results of a fictitious camel race. Although locals paid little heed to the practical joke, the editors of the San Francisco Chronicle passed on the race results to their readers as fact. The next year, the Chronicle wasn't going to be fooled again. When the race was announced, the newspaper rented a pair of camels and issued a race challenge. Other newspapers and business groups took up the call to camels, and a real competition emerged.
The first race was won by film director John Huston, was in the area shooting "The Misfits". Since then, the Virginia City Camel Races have become an annual event in early September. In recent years, as many as 50,000 visitors have joined the fun.
Contact Details:Virginia City
P.O. Box 464
Nevada 89440
Phone:+702 847-0311
Camel Races in Dubai
Oct 2005 - Apr 2006
Nad Al Sheba Camel Race Information
Camel racing is taken very seriously in this neck of the woods, and Dubai's race track fills to the brim every Thursday and Friday during their winter months.
Camels tend to be owned by sheikhs and jockeys can be very young - sometimes only six years old.
Contact Details: Nad Al Sheba Racecourse
Phone:+971 4 322 277
Fax:+971 4 322 288
Website:Nad Al Sheba Racecourse
http://www.nadalshebaclub.com/
Voyages Camel Cup 2005 Australia
9th July, 2005
Voyages Camel Cup 2005 Information
If you’re looking for a fun event not just for your family and friends, this is it.
Not only do you get a good laugh just by watching the races (guaranteed that no two races are the same) you will also be entertained by fun and interaction between races, with lots of great local stalls.
Camels are not as they seem: the dedicated ships of the desert destined to serve their master.
These magnificent beasts can easily spit over three metres, have been known to bite, snarl and generally prefer to do things at their own pace.
The riders are either heroes or crazy! Either way, all of these bridled passions make for dynamic viewing, with the camels easily conquering the riders during the day!
The start of the race, with up to 15 camels, is confusing ... some off in good stride, others still grounded, some going backwards; it's a nightmare for riders and handlers, but spectacular for spectators - a camel in full stride needs the rider to hang on for dear life!
Contact Details: Alice Springs Lions Camel Cup Inc.
Phone: (02) 8296 8055
Fax: (02) 8296 8052
Website:Voyages Camel Cup 2005
http://www.camelcup.com
Voyages Camel Cup 2005 History
The first Camel Race was run in 1970 in the dry Todd River bed as a bet between two mates, Noel Fullerton and Keith Mooney-Smith, and was an added attraction at the Alice Springs Centenary Year celebrations.
The Camel race proved so popular and hilarious that plans were made by the Lions Clubs to hold the event on an annual basis.
The first permanent venue was at Traeger Park, but low fences and a grass track were thought to be too dangerous, so in 1975 the event was moved to Arunga Park Speedway, with some success.
Since 1979 the Camel Cup has been held on its own arena at Blatherskite Park, a section of the Central Australian Show Society grounds, with a commentary and judges' tower being erected, for telephone contact to the ‘pits’ and ‘centre arena’ to keep the crowd informed.
Boulia Desert Sands Australia
15 - 17 Jul 2005
Boulia Desert Sands Camel Race Information
This must-see event at the Racecourse and Rodeo Grounds in Boulia consists of three nights and days packed with thrilling entertainment, including camel races - the most prominent being the 1/4 Mile Flyer and the Boulia Desert Sands.
The fun starts on the Thursday night, as people gather in the camping area and have a street party in town with live music. Camel trials, skydiving, and the wild camel catching competition take place on the Friday, with the main events taking place at the weekend.
After Saturday's ten camel races, there are the finals on Sunday morning, as well as fun races, not only for camels but also celebrities, honeymooners and donkeys!
But expect more than just the racing; there is usually a great concert as well as a huge fireworks display. Sunday's two main races are followed by closing speeches and prize presentations in the early afternoon, while food and drink are served until 8pm.
Contact Details: Tourism Queensland
Address Level 36, 123 Eagle St, Brisbane QLD 4001
Phone: +61 (0) 7 3874 2800
Fax: +61 (0) 7 3406 5329
Email: tqinfo@tq.com.au
Camel Festival in Morocco
1-31 July 2005
Camel Festival Goulimine Information
The people of Goulimine hold an annual Camel Festival on top of their weekly Camel Fair (every Saturday). Don't come expecting a recreation of Lawrence of Arabia or you might be sorely disappointed - the event is more of a tourist attraction than an actual market, but fascinating all the same.
Once known as the "gateway to the Sahara", Goulimine is now less of a border town - due mainly to the decline of the camel as a mode of transport. In an era when the 4X4 truck is a faster option (and, unlike the camel, doesn't growl or spit constantly), the traditional art of camel trading is now fading away.
The festival also offers the opportunity to witness the ancient dance ritual known as the Guedra, which is associated with Goulimine. The dance is performed by a woman to the beat of a drum made of a kitchen pot (guedra) and the chanting and clapping of onlookers. The dance often induces a hypnotic state and is carried out to serve as a blessing or to submit oneself to God.
Country: Morocco
Town: Rabat
Contact Details: Morocco Tourist Office
Address: Angle 31 rue Oued Fès et avenue Abtal, Agdal, Rabat, Morocco
Phone: +212 (0) 37 681 531/532/533
Fax: +212 (0) 37 777 437
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