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Overview of Rajasthan :: Fair & Festivals of Rajasthan
Rajasthan is a land of exciting culture and traditions and the various fairs and festivals of the state catch the attention of tourists from across the world. Rajasthan is at its most dazzling during the fairs and festivals. These festivals are characterized by traditional singing, dancing to the accompaniment of folk music. Some of these festivals such as Jaisalmer's Desert Festival and Pushkar Fair attract foreign tourists.
Some of the important festivals celebrated in Rajasthan are below:
Nagaur Fair: The fair held every year in January-February in Nagaur, is a trading fair for cattle and camels and gives one an opportunity to catch up with rural life as owners from all over the state camp on the outskirts of the town while they purchase and sell animals. Nagaur Fair is Rajasthan's largest livestock market after Pushkar. A weeklong affair, the fair draws thousands of camels, cattle, horses and donkeys and their owners to a lakeside location, which is 135km northeast of Jodhpur.
Desert Festival: This festival is also celebrated in January-February in the golden town of Jaisalmer. A two-day event, the festival attracts thousands of tourists and feature camel races, folk dances and competitions. The turban tying competition and Mr. Desert contest as also the camel races, add to the excitement of the celebration.
Elephant Festival: This festival is held on the eve of Holi in Jaipur and has several interesting attractions like elephant polo. Elephant Festival is celebrated with much enthusiasm. The festival begins with a parade of elephants, camels, horses and folk dancers. The elephants are decorated to the full with bright colours, saddle cloth and heavy jewellery. A prize is given for the most well-decorated elephant. The festival ends with an excellent "elephants versus mahouts" tug-of-war.
Mewar Festival: This festival is celebrated to greet the advent of spring and coincides with the festival of Gangaur in Udaipur. It is celebrated in the months of March and April. It is important for the women of the state as it is time for them to dress in their best. The women gather to dress the images of Issar and Gangaur and then carry them in a ritual procession through defferent parts of the city. The procession ends at Pichhola Lake where the images are transferred to special boats amidst singing and celebration.
Gangaur: One of the most famous festivals of Rajasthan, the Gangaur festival is celebrated throughout the state. Women pray for their husbands, and unmarried girls wish for good ones. The festival is at its most enthusiasm in Jaisalmer. Mt Abu also witnesses this festival in a dazzling manner, where effigies of Gauri (Parvati), the wife of Shiva and Isa (Shiva) are carried through the streets in the course of joy and celebration. The festival is specially colourful in Jaipur, Udaipur and Mandawa.
Rani Sati Mela: This festival is celebrated in the month of August. Rani Sati Mela in Jhunjhunu (northern Shekhawati) attracts thousands of people. They indulge in prayers to commemorate the memory of a merchant's widow who committed sati, sacrificing her life on her husband's pyre, in 1595.
Urs Mela: One of the most well known festivals in Rajasthan, the fair in Ajmer attracts devotees from all over the world. Attended by the people of all faiths, the fair is held to commemorate the life of the famous Sufi saint and teacher Muin-ud-din Chishti, who died in Ajmer in 1236.
Diwali: The festival of lights celebrated all over India. It is of particular significance to the merchant community, especially in Shekhawati region. It marks the beginning of the financial year and includes a day of worshipping to Lakshmi, goddess of wealth.
Pushkar Camel Fair: The largest and most colourful festival of Rajasthan draws tens of thousands of people and approximately 50,000 camels. A sacred dip in the waters of the Pushkar Lake is considered to be sacred for the Hindus. During the fair, women are bejeweled to the hilt, wear colourful bangles and colourful clothes as the men folk trade in animals. This festival is celebrated in the month of November.
Chandrabhaga Fair: This festival is generally celebrated in the months of November on the full moon of Kartika. The fair is celebrated in Jhalawar at the temples on the banks of the Chandrabhaga, and devotees take a bath in the river.
