| Fairs
and Festivals hold an important place
and reflect the vigour and life style
of its people of Rajasthan. Vibrant colours,
music and dance make the golden sand come
alive. In Rajasthan there are fairs for
every religious occasion, for every change
of season and for every harvest. While
some of these are traditional festivals,
there are also a large number of festivals
that have been recently introduced by
the tourism department to showcase the
heritage of the region. The fair and festivals
are celebrated almost round the year in
Rajasthan. These festivals provide an
opportunity to the visitor to gain an
insight into the life of the people of
Rajasthan. In some of the fairs and festivals
the elephant race, elephant polo, horse
polo, camel races, dance and music are
specially organised for the tourists.
If you plan to include any of the festival
in your itinerary, then we would be delighted
to include that fair or festival in your
itinerary. The Team of Indo Vacations
keeps itself updated with the dates of
the several festivals, so please check
its date, before finalising your trip.
Some of the popular fairs and festivals
of Rajasthan are as follows: |
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| Camel Festival,
Bikaner (January) |
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Camel
festival is celebrated in Bikaner,
an enchanting desert city and
the only camel breeding farm in
the country in the month of January.
It is the most popular festival
of Rajasthan. During this festival
there are camel races and camel
dances. Music and dance of Rajasthan
also adds charm to this festival.
There
are also several unusual folk
performances, and you may also
experience the rare fire dance
in the night. |
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| Desert Festival,
Jaisalmer (January) |
| Desert
Festival is one of the most popular
and important festival of Rajasthan.
This festival is celebrated on
the Sam Sand Dunes, about 25 km
from Jaisalmer, in the month of
January. In this festival, the
camels from all over Rajasthan
gather here and present a beautiful
show on the sands of the desert.
This festival is celebrated for
three days and during these days,
the barren land of Jaislamer comes
to life and is clustered with
the colouful dressed people. The
Desert Festival provides a cultural
platform for the rich dance and
music tradition of the state.
Some of the major attractions
of this festival are
the Gair
and fire dances, the turban-tying
competition, camel races, tug-of-war
and Mr. Desert contest, puppet
shows, ballads, dances. As darkness
falls, the Sam dunes come alive
to the balladeers' soulful songs
of the soldier-kings and their
consorts as the puppeteers dramatise
the epics. In the end, the prize
is given to the best dressed camel. |
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| If you want
to experience the rich traditions of Rajasthan,
then prepare your itinerary around this
festival with Indo Vacations and you will
not be disappointed. |
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| Nagaur Fair,
Nagaur (February) |
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Nagaur
Fair, the cattle fair is held
annually in Nagaur in the month
of February. This animal trading
fair is the second largest fair
in India and about 70,000 cattle
are traded in this fair. Nagaur
becomes a bustling town when the
cattle, horses and camels accompanied
by their buyers and owners from
all over the state gather here
to buy and sell them. The Nagauri
bulls, the long-lashed camels,
cows and the stately and handsome
horses are traded in this fair.
The other main attraction of this
fair are the the dusky Rajasthani
women, stunning in their flowing
skirts and vibrant beads, and
men, donning colourful turbans
and gold earrings
and hawking wooden and leather
handicrafts. The hides of the
animals, cut into beautiful patterns,
are particularly interesting.
The Mirchi Bazaar, the largest
market for red chillies is held
during this fair. |
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| The
day starts with the buyers and selllers
engaged in earnest bargains and ends with
the dances, songs and merrymaking. The
camel races, cock fights and the fascinating
tug-of-war are also held during this fair.
It provides an opportunity to local people
as well as the foreign tourists to know
the rural life and participate in various
activities and enjoy the festival. |
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| Baneshwar
Fair, Banswara (February) |
| Baneshwar
Fair is held in Baneshwar in Banswara,
Rajasthan during Shivratri in the month
of February. This religious tribal fair
is held on the banks of the Mahi and Som
rivers in the forested area aound the
border of Rajasthan that it shares with
Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. In this fair
tribal people from Rajasthan and from
the neighboring states of Madhya Pradesh
and Gujarat gather in a large number and
offers prayers to Lord Shiva and set camps
in colourful groups. |
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| Chaksu Fair
(March) |
| A
large group of rural people gather in
Chaksu from all over Rajasthan during
the Chaksu Fair, also known as the Shitla
Mata Fair or Basoda. This fair is considered
to be one of the most colourful event
in the Rajasthan fair calendar. This large
fair is held to propitiate the goddess
of war whose wrath can be the terrible
scrouge of smallpox unless appeased by
her followers. The food which is eaten
on this day consists of the food which
is prepared on the previous day. |
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| Brij Festival
(March) |
| Brij
Festival is celebrated a few days before
Holi in the month of March in the Brij
area around Bharatpur. This festival is
celebrated on the occassion of the arrival
of spring season with music and dance. |
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| Elephant
Festival (March) The
Elephant festival is celebrated
in Jaipur in the month of March,
on the day of Holi. The major
attractions of this festival is
the elephant polo, elephant race,
the tug of war between elephants
and men and women and various
other cultural programmes. The
most colourful part of this festival
is the Holi played on the back
of elephant. In this festival,
the elephants, camels, horses
and folk dancers move in procession
and take part in various competitions.
In this festival, the tourists
can watch the cultural programmes
of music and dance and also play
the festival of colors. The sight
of beautifully dressed elephants
moving
majestically in a pageant is certainly
a sight to behold.
The mahawats
or owners decorate the bodies
of the elephants with bright colours,
jhools and heavy jewellery. In
the end, the prizes are given
to the most beautifully decorated
elephant. |
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| Gangaur Festival,
Jaipur (March / April) |
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The
Gangaur festival is a very significant
festival of women in Rajasthan.
This festival is mainly celebrated
in Jaipur, Udaipur and Mandawa
in March or April. This festival
celebration goes on for almost
two weeks after Holi is over.
This festival is devoted to Goddess
Parvati, the wife of Lord Shiva.
During this festival the young
girls and women wore their traditional
dress of 'Lehnga' 'Choli' and
'Odhni', sing and dance and pray
Issar and Gangaur, manifestations
of Shiva and Parvati, for grooms
of their choice while the married
women pray for the well being
of their husbands.
During
this festival various activities
take place in a grand procession
which marks the arrival of Lord
Shiva to take his bride home. |
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| Mewar Festival,
Udaipur (March / April) |
| Mewar
festival is celebrated in Udaipur during
the period of March or April and coincides
with the Gangaur festival. This festival
is celebrated to welcome the spring season.
During this festival, the whole city turns
out to mark the end of the 18 day festival
and there are devotional music concerts,
performances by the artists in music and
dance and fireworks. The main attraction
of this festival is the procession of
colourfully attired women carrying images
of the Goddess Gauri to Lake Pichola and
the procession of the floats on the lake. |
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| Ajmer Urs,
Ajmer (May) |
| Ajmer
Urs is held in the memory of the Sufi
saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti in Ajmer.
The date of this Urs is not fixed, and
it is held according to the moon. The
Urs commemorates the symbolic union of
the saint with God. During this festival
thousands of pilgrims from all over the
world gather at the shrine and offer their
prayers to the holy saint. This festival
is celebrated for almost six days with
continuous music and other programmes
and Qawaalis (poems) are sung in the honour
of the saint. On the final day, women
wash the tomb with their hair then squeeze
the rose water into bottles as medicine
for the sick. The complete town of Ajmer
is decorated with buntings, and wears
the spirit of festivity. |
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| Summer Festival,
Mount Abu (June) |
| Summer
Festival is organised in the month of
June in Mount Abu, the only hill station
of Rajasthan. This is the only festival
which is celebrated in the summers. Folk
dances and cultural programmes presented
by the Bhil tribes of the region presents
a general atmosphere of gaiety in this
tiny hill resort so that the tourists
can relax and enjoy themselves. |
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| Teej
Festival, Jaipur (August)
Teej
is an important festival of Rajasthan.
Teej festival is celebrated on
the onset of the monsoon season
in the month of August. This festival
is also dedicated to the worship
of goddess Parvati. The Teej festival
is celebrated all over the state,
but, it is mainly celebrated in
Jaipur, where the idol of the
goddess Parvati is taken out in
colourful procession accompanied
by song and dance, for two days.
The women
and young girls gather in large
groups, dress up in colouful clothes
and spend time on swings decorated
with flowers and enjoy the festival
by singing and dancing. |
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| Marwar Festival,
Jodhpur (October) |
| Marwar
Festival is dedicated mainly to the music
and dance of the Marwar region. This festival
is celebrated in Jodhpur in the month
of October. It attempts to showcase the
art and culture of the Jodhpur region
and the Maand festival is the main part
of this huge festival. The Marwar festival
allows the tourists to understand and
enjoy the folk music and dance of not
only Jodhpur but also of the whole of
Rajasthan. |
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| Pushkar Fair,
Pushkar (November) |
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Pushkar
is famous all over the world due
to its Pushkar Festival which
takes place in the month of November.
During this festival the whole
of Pushkar is transformed into
a spectacular fair ground where
thousands of pilgrims come to
bath in the holy water of Pushkar
lake and pray at the Brahma temple
and the actual fair is held in
the vast stretch of desert. Pushkar
fair is also the world's biggest
cattle and camel fair where farmers,
breeders and camel traders buy
and sell. 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 shop in the fair.
Special
tented camps are set up on this
occassion for the visitors in
Pushkar. |
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