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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) |
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) |
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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
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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. 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) |
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
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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. 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, Chaksu (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, Bharatpur (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 occasion of the arrival of
spring season with music and dance. |
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Elephant
Festival, Jaipur (March) |
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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) |
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) |
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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) |
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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Festival Calendar of
Rajasthan |
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