Sunday, September 28, 2008

Fairs & Festivals in Rajasthan

The people of Rajasthan lead a colorful life and celebrate all joyous occasions with fun fair and gaiety. There Marwari life is full of music, dances, fairs and festivals. The state is mostly desert country, but yet, the most colorful and picturesque in the world.

Rajasthani's celebrate all kinds of fairs and festivals - animal fairs as cattle and horse fair which also offer trading in the live stock, religious fairs and fairs to mark the change of season. The celebrations are almost year around and offer insight into lifestyle of the locals. There are traditional fairs and fairs organized for the tourist attraction like elephant fair, camel race, dances and music . A tour should time with major fairs and festivals in order to experience the golden heritage and cultures of Rajasthan.

Some major fairs.

1) Nagaur Fair held January -February. A cattle fair and offers local sports and traditional music and local cuisine..

2) Kite Festival held on Makar Sakranti on14th January. See the splendor of colorful kites all over Rajasthan. This is the best event for Kite lovers.

3) Desert Festival at Jaisalmer. An exciting journey into the heart of Rajasthani desert life. Main attraction is the exotic city of Jaisalmer.

4) Baneshwar Fair Held on January-February, a festival exhibits religious and traditional rituals. The fair is attended by tribal communities of state of Madhya Pradesh and the state of Gujarat to offer prayers to Lord Shiva.

5) Gangaur Festival - held on March-April at Jaipur. This festival is devoted to Goddess Parvati. On this occasion young girls pray for best grooms while the married women pray for the well-being and safety of their husbands.

6) Pushkar Fair at Ajmer in November. An important pilgrimage center and the venue of a mammoth cattle fairs. Visit bazaars, partake or see cattle auctions. Find lovely music and partake in sports. Find the sole temple devoted to Lord Brahma the creator at Pushkar.

7) Teej Festival at Jaipur in July-August. It marks the coming of monsoon rains. In principle a women's festival decked in exquisite finery with activities in groups and at various bazaars.

8) Mewar Festival - March-April held at Udaipur held welcome the heralds of spring. There are songs and traditional dances, processions, religious music and colorful fireworks during the events.

9) Elephant Festival to celebrate Holi in March or April. Play and throw at each other water colors. colored powder and dyes watch several elephant sporting events.

10) Marwar Festival devoted to the music and dance of the Marwar region at Jodhpur. This is an apt occasion for tourists to understand and enjoy the folk traditions of the state.

11) Camel Festival in January at Bikaner the exotic desert city is live with folk music and dances. The camels and camel race and dances are the key events.

Apart from fairs and festivals Rajasthan offers wonderful tiger safaris tours for lovers of nature. Ranthambhore National Park, Sariska and Bharatpur are prime wildlife watching destinations. The Rajasthani cuisine is unique and world famous. It is an experience of life time to partake this wonder full food.