SSC
The city closest to the famous Pushkar Fair is:
Answer (Detailed Solution Below)View answer ▾Hide ▴
Answer: Option D — Ajmer
Detailed Solution
Pushkar is a town in the Ajmer district of Rajasthan, about 11-15 km north-west of the city of Ajmer.
About the Pushkar Fair:
It is held every year in the Hindu month of Kartik (October-November), ending on Kartik Purnima (the full-moon day).
It is one of the world's largest camel and livestock fairs. Thousands of camels, horses and cattle are traded, decorated and shown.
It also has competitions, such as camel races, the longest moustache contest, turban tying and folk music and dance performances.
It is both a cattle fair and a religious festival, as thousands of pilgrims take a holy dip in the Pushkar Lake on Kartik Purnima.
It attracts many foreign tourists.
About Pushkar:
- Pushkar Lake is a sacred lake surrounded by 52 ghats (bathing steps) and many temples.
- According to Hindu mythology, the lake was created when Lord Brahma dropped a lotus flower on the earth.
- Pushkar is famous for the Jagatpita Brahma Mandir, one of the very few temples in the world dedicated to Lord Brahma, the creator.
- The Savitri Temple, dedicated to Brahma's wife Savitri, stands on a hill above the town.
- It is called the "Rose Garden of Rajasthan" because of its many rose farms.
- The ashes of Mahatma Gandhi were immersed at Gau Ghat (renamed Gandhi Ghat) in Pushkar Lake in 1948.
About Ajmer:
- It is famous for the Dargah Sharif of the Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, which attracts millions of pilgrims, especially during the Urs festival.
- Other monuments include the Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra mosque, Ana Sagar Lake (built by Arnoraja Chauhan) and the Taragarh Fort.
- It was the capital of the Chauhan king Prithviraj Chauhan.
- Mayo College (1875), one of India's oldest public schools, is in Ajmer.
Other fairs of Rajasthan:
Desert Festival (Jaisalmer), Gangaur, Teej, Nagaur Cattle Fair and Baneshwar Fair (the "Kumbh of the tribals").
Why not the other options?
- ✗Jaipur is about 145 km from Pushkar.
- ✗Jodhpur is about 200 km from Pushkar.
- ✗Udaipur is about 280 km from Pushkar.
Quick tip
Remember: Pushkar Fair = near Ajmer, Rajasthan (Kartik Purnima; camel fair; Brahma temple; 52 ghats); Ajmer = Dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti; Baneshwar Fair = "Kumbh of the tribals".
💬 Discussions on this question
Ask a doubt ›Still stuck on this question? Ask our faculty and fellow students — answers appear here.
Ask a doubtMore Festivals & Fairs of India Questions
View all ›- Q1.The Sarhul festival of Jharkhand, celebrated with traditional dances when the sal trees blossom, is especially associated with which tribe?
- Q2.'Chad Sukra', a popular traditional dance festival of the Pnar (Jaintia) people of Meghalaya, is celebrated as a:
- Q3.Which festival, celebrated in Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh, honours Gogaji, the folk deity worshipped as a protector against snakes?
- Q4.The 'Doul Utsav', a celebration of Holi linked with the Vaishnava satras, is mainly celebrated in which state?
- Q5.The Bhagoria festival of the Bhil tribes of Madhya Pradesh is associated with which major festival?
More General Knowledge Questions
- Q1.The techniques of Rasa and Bhava used in Indian classical dance trace their origin to which ancient text?Indian Dance Forms
- Q2.Lavani, Powada, Koli, Waghya Murali and Dhangari Gaja are folk dances of which state?Indian Dance Forms
- Q3.The one-act play associated with the Sattriya tradition of Assam is called:Indian Dance Forms
- Q4.Which dance form of Goa is known as the 'Warrior Dance'?Indian Dance Forms
- Q5.Manipuri dance is based on the Rasleela themes of:Indian Dance Forms
Festivals & Fairs of India — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Festivals & Fairs of India, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers the religious, harvest, tribal and cultural festivals of India, the fairs (melas) held across the country, and the states, communities and seasons linked to them. It also includes festivals listed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage, such as Kumbh Mela and Durga Puja in Kolkata. Most questions ask which state celebrates a festival, which tribe it belongs to, or what event it marks. Harvest festivals are especially common: Pongal (Tamil Nadu), Onam (Kerala), Bihu (Assam), Lohri and Baisakhi (Punjab) and Nuakhai (Odisha). Fairs such as the Pushkar camel fair (Rajasthan) and the Sonepur cattle fair (Bihar) are also frequently tested. Revise festivals state by state. Practise the festivals and fairs questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.