#StoriesOfScam : Pushkar Edition

It was a couple days before Holi 2021 & I had just reached the small quaint town of Pushkar.
I was really excited to go out & explore the town, so i took off on foot from my hostel.😄
Pushkar is such a beautiful vibe. I was mesmerized by the how the Israeli culture had been adapted right from food to clothing in this small community. The entire town, from start to finish is lined up by shops selling dreamcatchers , crystals, jwellery, funky clothes, hand-painted items, etc. 👌
After every couple of shops, you will find a staircase leading down to the ghats that surrounds the lake. All the ghats are connected in a circular pattern, making the lake the centerpoint.
I remember walking around looking at a shop display when all of a sudden, I hear singing & drums being played. I lost all control of my senses as I had an adrenaline rush . All I knew was I had to find the source of this music. So I start walking towards the music. A couple minutes later, I found the alley & started down the stairs.🎶
I stopped midway, astounded by the sight before me. A man (the musician/singer) sat atop the parapet of the ghat surrounded by travelers playing on the drums & singing while facing the enormous, beautiful & holy Lake of Pushkar. I just stood there, taking this all in. From where I come (Mumbai), it's very rare to come across such gatherings. ☺️
This was my first time on the Pushkar ghats. I started walking down, with a mind to go join the musical gang.
As I reached the end of the stairs, a man came up to me (he looked like a pandit, so i guess he was one) and said,
"yeah mana hai. Joota nikalao." (Take off your shoes. It's not allowed) 🚫
So I'm thinking, oh yeah sorry my bad as I didn't want to hurt anyone's religious sentiments.
He led me to a shoe rack & said " Keep it here & come with me. We have to do a puja" 📿
I'm thinking to myself, okay I guess it's  compulsary for people/newcomers to do puja at the ghat since it was evening (pooja time) & also the days before Holi. So I said okay and followed him.🙃
Now mind you I wasn't scared nor did I question this because I thought it was normal. I was excited (sorry I wasn't thinking. My bad :P ) When I travel I love immersing in the culture of a place completely. 🥰
So I followed the so called pandit to the edge of the ghat by the river & he gets a plate containing aarti items. So I'm thinking, okay yes this isn't free. But thats okay. I'm sure it wont be much. Maybe a mere 50-100 INR.
So he starts the pooja & chants  mantras/ prayers and all of a sudden my instincts start telling me something seems off.🙏
So now I'm just sitting & waiting for whatever it is to happen. And then the pandit asked me, " How many of my grandparents are dead."
Actually I have 3 dead grandparents, but I said 2 , i don't know why. 🤷‍♀️
And then he continues praying for their peaceful afterlife whilst he has my palms filled with rice and some flowers and the holy lake water. Then he says " How much food will you give for your grandparents everyday in the afterlife. For 1 plate of food 100 INR, 2 plates 200 INR, 3 plates 300 INR per person. Tell me"
There it was! That was it! That was what he wanted all this while. What an interesting turn of events.  I just sat there thinking to myself - Ally what have you gotten yourself into🙃

I go on to tell him I don't want to give them anything. They are happy as it is. And he repeats his question again. I said nothing. He repeats his question again & asks " Do you want your grandparents to die of hunger"
To which I said, " I have no money"
He then continues saying that I have to give money or something bad will happen.
Now I don't believe in stuff like this but at the same time I don't want someone cursing the life of me or my fam. So I go on to tell him that I really don't have any money except for a 100 Rupee note, to which he says that it's just one plate of food, what about your other grand parent? Are you going to leave the other one hungry?
How absurd! 😐
I said " They will share that one plate. It is okay!"
I guess he knew he couldn't push me for more money so then he gave up & finished off the puja in the next couple minutes.
He then handed me a little pouch of white round sugar balls and said to keep it as this was prasad. I said okay & opened my bag to give him the money. But guess what? I really didn't have any money.
So then I told him so. At which point he says, you can Gpay it to me.
Now I'm really shocked! GPAY! HOW & WHY DOES THIS PANDIT HAVE GPAY! 😪
Was he even a pandit? I really don't know! 😪
Anyways, I agreed to that after which he told me to follow him. He then made me walk to another ghat , up the stairs & onto the main town road towards his brothers "tour agency shop" barefeet (my shoes were at the previous ghat).
And this is where he made me pay 100 rupees!
I was really pissed but honestly I just wanted to get the hell away from him & the negative energy surrounding him. So i paid the amount & left.

I walked back to the previous ghat to collect my shoes and then stopped by the music group, the people I actually wanted to meet in the first place!
I jammed with the musicians for a while before we wrapped up.
Upon telling the other travelers about what just happened, one of the girls laughed at me & said "That's a very common scam here. How did you not know about it!"
I mean, I did feel really stupid. How could I have let this happen to me? It was so obvious. 🙄
If i wouldn't have been so mesmerized by everything around me & maybe a bit more alert, I wouldn't have gotten myself into this.
At the end of the day it wasn't about the 100 rupees that were scammed but the fact that my first day in this lovely town was tainted by such an experience 😞

What I learnt from this experience?
1) Always ask questions (Like Kareena Kapoor in Jab We Met) 🤔
2) It's okay to say NO! (No! no! Nooooo!) 🙅‍♀️
3) Beware of common scams of the place your visiting (google or speak to other Travelers) 👀
4) Be alert! [ Sorry It was one of my first solo trips. I've come a long way :) ] ⚠️

📍Pushkar Hostel stay recommendation: Hidden Village Life (find them on Instagram)

Thanks for reading my long ass story.🙈
Follow me for more such travel tales! :)🤗