I arrived in Pushkar on 13th of February. This is a day when Lord Shiva is worshipped by thousands of devotees across the country. Fasts are kept by many throughout the day. At the end of the day prayers & rituals are held after which the festival is celebrated in a fervorous manner. I enjoyed the celebration on the streets of the city, which was full with flowers, screams, music, cars, cameras, locals, tourists & musicians, who were participating in the parade. I found a less crowded corner & that was the moment I took the first portrait of the lady in pink. I liked the way she was looking at me. Her eyes are full with promises & stories. She smiled & she invited me to sit with them at the side of the street. And so I did. They were both ladies really kind, asking me my name & were I was from. The lady in red grabbed my hand & started doing Mehndi. And that happened so fast & of course without asking me. I wanted to try & do Mehndi, so I let her continue, while I was talking to the other one. After a while my left hand started being also painted from the lady in pink. So, they were both working at the same time, doing draws, which were really different style from each other. They told me about their life & that they were poor gypsies living in tents, somewhere in between the desert. They both were left from their husbands & were staying with their five & six kids respectively. I asked the lady in pink how old was she. She was 22! Same age as me, just with other experiences, other stories, different everyday life. Who knows if they were lying to me or saying the truth. I got surprised, how good english both were speaking, despite of the fact of their life & education. When they finished with the design, we started bargain for the price & when they got paid they invited to their home for food. But I never went...
