RAS question
The Pushkar Camel Fair is held during which Hindu calendar occasion and in which month?
Correct answer: (B) Kartik Purnima — Kartik (October–November).
The Pushkar Camel Fair is held on Kartik Purnima, the full moon day of the Hindu month of Kartik, which falls in October-November.
Explanation
The Pushkar Camel Fair, or Pushkar Mela, is tied to Kartik Purnima rather than to a general tourist season. Rajasthan Tourism describes the fair as generally held between October and November and says it commences on the auspicious full moon day, Purnima, of the lunar month of Kartik. The correct MCQ option is Kartik Purnima - Kartik (October-November). The event is not only a livestock fair; it is also linked with pilgrimage to Pushkar Lake and the Brahma Temple, and Rajasthan Tourism connects Kartik Purnima with the belief around Lord Brahma and Pushkar Lake. This is why the calendar occasion and the month must be read together.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Navratri belongs to Ashwin, but the Pushkar fair is identified with Kartik Purnima in the month of Kartik, so Ashwin is the wrong month.
- (C) Makar Sankranti is a January festival, whereas the Pushkar fair is tied to the Kartik Purnima pilgrimage season in October-November.
- (D) Shivratri falls in February-March, but the Pushkar fair commences on Kartik Purnima, not in Phalgun.
Concept
This tests Rajasthan's fair-and-festival geography: major local fairs are often asked through their season, calendar occasion and associated pilgrimage site. Pushkar recurs in RAS because it combines livestock trade, tourism and religious geography around Pushkar Lake and the Brahma Temple.