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A Celebration of
Fairs and Festivals
Festivals hold an unusual lure for the
Rajasthanis, and they find any number of
reasons to celebrate. While some of these
are traditional festivals, there are also a
large number that have been recently
introduced by the tourism department to
showcase the heritage of a region. Chances
are, when travelling in the state, you will
come across any number of local fairs and
festivities in which you can participate.
However, some of the larger and more
important celebrations are listed below.
(This list does not include those festivals
that are common to all parts of the country
such as Holi, Diwali and Dussehra.)
BANESHWAR FAIR: Held at Baneshwar at
the time of Shivratri (January-February),
this is a tribal fair on the banks of the
Mahi and Som rivers in the forested area
around the border of Rajasthan that it
shares with Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. Bhil
tribals from all three states gather here to
worship Shiva, and set camp in colourful
groups.
BRIJ FESTIVAL: Staged a few days
before Holi (March) in the Brij area around
Bharatpur, it celebrates the festival of
spring with spontaneous expressions of music
and dance.
CAMEL FESTIVAL: Held in Bikaner in
January, this celebration is a recent
introduction in the desert city with the
only camel breeding farm in the country. Not
unexpectedly, most of the events are staged
around this beast, with camel races and
camel dances. There are also several folk
performances, and this may also be your
chance to exerience the rare fire dance
staged late at night.
CHAKSU FAIR: A gathering of people
from Jaipur's rural pockets collects here in
almost all forms of transport- laden into
tractor trolleys and jeeps - at what must be
one of the most colourful events on the
Rajasthani fair calendar.
DESERT FAIR: Jaisalmer exercises
immense charm, but with the staging of the
annual Desert Festival (January-February),
it has also become one of the more important
events on the annual calendar. Essentially,
it is a showcase of the performing arts of
the region on the stretching sands around
this desert citadel. A number of amusing
events at the stadium include turban tying
competitions and camel races.
ELEPHANT FESTIVAL: On the occasion of
Holi in Jaipur, this festival of pachyderms
includes several interesting attractions
including elephant polo. The caparisoned
elephants, their bodies painted with floral
decorations by the mahouts, are a sight to
behold.
GANGAUR FAIR: Idols of Issar and
Gangaur, manifestations of Shiva and Parvati,
are worshipped by women, and particularly
those unmarried who pray for a consort of
the like of Shive. Celebrated all over
Rajasthan, it has women taking out
processions through the streets of towns,
carrying images of the divine couple. The
festival is especially colourful in Jaipur,
Udaipur, and at Mandawa in the Shekhawati
region.
KOLAYAT FAIR: The sacred site where
Kapil Muni is supposed to have meditated, a
fair is held here on the banks of its lakes,
and the air bristles with excitement.
Kolayat can be visited from Bikaner.
MARWAR FESTIVAL: Held in October in
Jodhpur, this annual event attempts to
showcase the art and culture of the Jodhpur
region. It is devoted almost exclusively to
song and dance, and the Maand Festival has
become a part of this huge regional
celebration.
MEWAR FESTIVAL: Held to coincide with
Gangaur in Udaipur, the whole city turns out
to mark the culmination of the 18-day
festival, with procession of floats on
Pichola lake.
NAGAUR FAIR: A trading fair for
cattle and camels in January-February, it is
a wonderful opportunity to catch up on rural
life as owners from all over the state come
to camp on the outskirts of Nagaur while
they buy and sell animals. The hides of the
animals, cut into beautiful patterns are
particularly interesting.
NAVRATRI: The nine days preceding
Dussehra are marked by fasting, and on
ritual meal a day. In the case of the
martial Rajputs, a goat is sacrificed as
food for consecration, and the worship of
their weapons is obligatory. Usually in
September-October, it is a private
celebration with no public fanfare.
PUSHKAR FAIR: Easily the most easily
identifiable of Rajasthan's many fairs,
Pushkar has come to symbolise the febrile
heartbeat of the people of the state. Held
in November in Pushkar, the temple town
close to Ajmer, where an 8th century temple
of Brahma draws the faithful, it is located
on the banks of a lake. Pilgrims bathe at
the ghats and pray at the temple, while the
actual fair is held in the vast stretching
desert around it. Here, traders set camp to
strike deals at India's, and probably the
world's largest camel fair, though horses
are also sold. It is also a time for friends
and families to get together, camel fair,
though horses are also sold. It is also a
time for friends and families to get
together, camp in the desert, entertain each
other with folk songs and dances, cook meals
over camp fires, and wander through the
exuberant melee of people looking for
handicrafts, or merely to stand in a queue
for the giant wheel... Special tented camps
are set up on the occasion for visitors but
such is the draw of this fair
internationally, that even these are soon
exhausted, and people may have to stay in
nearby Ajmer, or even as far as Jaipur,
visiting here by day.
SITLA MATA FAIR: A large fair is held
to propitiate the goddess of war whose wrath
can be the terrible scrouge of smallpox
unless appeased by her followers.
Consecrated food on this day consists of
stale food left out the previous night. The
fair is held in and around the temple
dedicated to the goddess in Amber, Jaipur.
SUMMER FESTIVAL: Held in June in
Mount Abu, this is one of the few
celebrations during the summer months
(though it coincides too with the marriage
'season' which spans, according to planetary
chartings, from May-July). In the cool
environs of the hill town, it is time to
relax while folk performances are staged,
particularly of the Bhil tribes of the
region.
TEEJ: Another festival dedicated to
the worship of Shiva and Parvati, this time
it is married women who pray for a long,
happy marital life during the monsoon months
of July-August. Though celbrations are held
all over the state, they are particularly
colorful in Jaipur where a procession wends
its way through the hear of the old city.
Women dress in their finery and spend time
in groups at swings that are specially
erected for the festival.
URS AJMER SHARIF: Held in the holy
town of Ajmer in honour of the Sufi saint,
Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, special prayers
are offered at the mosque, and huge amounts
of conserated food offered from the large,
steaming cauldrons that were a gift from
Akbar. While quwwallis are sung at night,
the celebrations unite people of all faiths,
and the complete town is decorated with
buntings, and wears the spirit of festivity. |
