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| FAIRS AND FESTIVALS | |
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ELEPHANT FESTIVAL The Elephant Festival is an imminitable festival held annually in Jaipur. Groomed flawlessly, rows of elephants do a catwalk before an enthralled audience like the best fashion modelsto make this festival an amazing one. The elephant move with poisein the pegantand finally participate in the spring festival of Holi. It is festival time with elephants typically celebrated one day before Holi, the Indian festival of colours. Staged at chaugan stadium, jaipur, elephants pit up a variety of programs and the arena is brought alive with musicians and dancers. The crowd that includes sizeable presence of foreign and Indian tourists, electrifies the atmosphere.All of the participants are female elephants. The mahouts take great care to decorate the elephants painting their trunks, foreheads, and feet with floral motifs and adorning them from tusk to tail with interesting trinkets. Elephants wear anklets and make music as they walk. |
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SAWAN TEEJ FESTIVAL
Teej is one of the most widely celebrated festivals f Rajasthan. Swimgs, traditional songs and dancing are the unique features of Teej celebrations in Rajasthan. Women perform traditional folk dance dressed in green colored clothes and sing beautiful Teej songs while enjoyng their sway on swings bedecked with flowers. Teej is celebrated with immense fun and fanfare in the capital city of Jaipur. On this day, women and young girls wear their best clothes and adorn themselves with fine jewellery. They gather at a nearby temple or a common place and offers prayers to Goddess Parvati for well being of their husbands.
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BANGANGA FAIR The Banganga Fair is held annually on full moon day of Vaishakh (April – May) near a rivulet 11 kms from the historical towns of Bairath in Jaipur district. The stream is believed to have been created by Arjun, one of the Pandavas. Visiting the Banganga Fair, taking a holy bath and paying homage to the holy sites in the vicinity at this time is therefore considered very auspicious. The pilgrims come here from Alwar, Behror, Jaipur, Bharatpur and many other places. Devotees gather at the Shri Radha Krishanji’s temple in the morning, they take a bath at ghats of BangangaRiver with the belief that it has powers to purify the soul. The people then proceed to the nearby shrine Hanuman and Ganga Bihari and also visit the Shiva temple and the “math” of Goswamiji. Apart from those who come to the fair for pilgrimage, traders of different communities arrive at the fair to sell their wares. |
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KITE FESTIVAL From royal splendour to riotous egalitarianism, 14 January is celebrated in India as Makar Sankranti – heralding the transition the sun into the Northern hemisphere. In Jaipur Kites virtually blot out the sky. Everyone joins in this riotous celebration and shouts of “ wo kata hai!” reverberate from rooftops to the accompaniment of drums as adversary’s kites string is cut. And everyone’s an adversary! Any kite in the sky is fair game! The Kite Festival is being held for the past five years. Kite makers flaunt kites sized as big as 1.5 km of various shapes and designes. Some carrying messages, some depicting social issues, some as caricatures of politicians. It has been the most popular event recently with even tourists taking part in various kite flyng compertitions. The colours that flaunt in the blue sky mesmerize the viewers. |
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SHEETALA MATA FAIR
The sheetla Mata Fair is held in March – April, the month of Chaitra on Krishna Paksh, in village seel- ki-doongr (Jaipur).Dhoongri is a hillock on top of which the shrine of Sheetla Mata stands. The fair is held in her honour for a day every year. The fair attracts hordes of visitors from far and wide. People believe that epidemics spread because of the wrath of Sheetla Mata nad hence they worship her and make offerings so that she may be pacified. A red stone represents the diety. A temporary market comes up at the fair and the rural folk can be seen trading in wares such as shoes, clothes, foodstuff, utensils, and agricultural implements. A cattle fair is also organized during event. |
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GANGAUR FESTIVAL Gangaur is celebrated in the month of chaitra (March-April), the first month of the Hindu calendar. This month marks the end of winter and the onset of spring.This festival is celebrated especially by women, who worship clay idols of “Gan” & “Gauri” in their houses. These idols are worshiped by unmarried girls who seek the blessings of Gan and Gauri for a good husband, while the married women pray for the good health and long life of their husbands. |
