The Great Decline: A Witness to the Vanishing Nomadic Spirit (2013–2023)
Pushkar was once a sea of camels. In 2013, over 50,000 animals filled the desert dunes—a magnificent gathering of nomads and traders. Returning ten years later, I found only a ghost of the past. The once-endless lines of camels had dwindled to a few hundred, replaced by horses and a growing silence.
The decline is not accidental. Following the 2015 Rajasthan Camel Act, which restricted the movement and sale of the state animal, the ancient economy of the Rabari nomads collapsed. Combined with the spread of the Sura disease and the loss of traditional grazing lands, a centuries-old way of life is evaporating. These photographs are a visual dialogue between two points in time: the peak of a living tradition and the onset of its inevitable decline. As the camels disappear, so does the ancient soul of this sacred city.
