The incredible camel racers of Bikaner Camel Festival, Rajasthan

Location: Camel racing, Bikaner, Rajasthan, India (28° 1′ 0″ N, 73° 18′ 43″ E)
Date: 11 Jan 2009; 5.10pm
Camera: Canon 400D with Sigma 17-70/f2.8-4.5

Bikaner is a small town in the amazing state of Rajasthan, with part of the Thar Desert within its boundary. Its claim to fame is its proximity to the incredible “Rat Temple” of Kami Mata at the nearby town of Deshnok. However its council had been trying to make a name for itself in the tourism map of Rajasthan and with some success. It have organised an annual “Camel Festival”, somewhat mimicking that of Pushkar. Unlike that of Pushkar, which is spontaneous and have religious significance, the festival of Bikaner is pure and simple, a top-down festival being run to attract tourists. Nonetheless it is a fun festival, normally running over 2 days with various events including a marvelous Camel Race. Man, those camels can really run- I have never seen or imagine camels can run that fast. It can be pandemonium at the race as the riders are not always capable of keeping the camels within the course; occasionally the camels ran outside the course and right into the crowds- which can cause fatal injuries.

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