Travel In Rajasthan

The people of Rajasthan live life to the hilt and nobody can really match the gay abandon with which the Rajasthani surrenders himself to the numerous fairs and festivals that are celebrated here.

Listed here is a very small selection of the countless number of exciting events that are held in Rajasthan throughout the year.


CAMEL FESTIVAL: Held in Bikaner in January, this celebration has been recently introduction in the desert city with the only camel-breeding farm of 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. This may also be your chance to experience the rare fire dance staged late at night.


MARWAR FESTIVAL: Held every 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. 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-days festival, with a procession of floats on Pichola lake.


NAGAUR FESTIVAL: 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.


NAVARATRI: The nine days preceding Dussehra are marked by fasting, and one ritual meal a day. The martial Rajputs sacrifice a goat as food for consecration. The worship of their weapons is obligatory, usually in the month of September – October. It is a private celebration with no public fanfare.


SUMMER FESTIVAL: Held in June in Mount Abu, this is one of 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 celebrations are held all over the state, they are particularly colorful in Jaipur where a procession wends its way through the heart 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 Chisti, special prayers are offered at the mosque, and huge amounts of consecrated food offered from the large, steaming cauldrons that were a gift from Akbar. While quwwalis -folk songs are sung at night, the celebration unite people of all faiths, and the complete town is decorated with buntings, and wears the spirit of festivity.

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PUSHKAR FAIR: Among the most easily identifiable of Rajasthan’s many fairs, Pushkar has come to symbolize the 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 lake. Pilgrims bathe here and pray in 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, 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 a 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

BANESHWAR FAIR: Held at Baneshwar at the time of Shivratri (January – February), this is a tribal fair on the banks of the Mahi and Son rivers. Bhil tribals from all three states gather here to worship Shiva, and set up camps in this forested area in colorful groups.


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 colorful 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 stretching sands around this desert citadel. A number of amusing events at the stadium include turban tying competitions and camel races.


ELEPHANT FAIR: 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 the Hindu God Shiva and Goddess Parvati, are worshipped by women, particularly the unmarried who pray for a consort like Shiva. Celebrated all over Rajasthan, it has women taking processions through the streets of town, carrying images of the divine couple.


KOLAYAT FAIR: The sacred site where Kapil Muni is supposed to have meditated, a fair is held here on banks of its lake, the air bristling with excitement. Kolayat can be visited from Bikaner.

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FAIRS & FESTIVALS CALENDAR 2003-2010
Fairs & Festivals	Place	Tithi	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
Camel Festival	Bikaner	Paush-Shukia (14-15)	17-18 Jan.	6-7 Jan.	24-25 Jan.	13-14 Jan.	2-3 Jan.	21-22 Jan.	10-11 Jan.	31 Dec.,1st Jan.
Brij Festival	Bharatpur	-	2-4 Feb.	2-4 Feb.	2-4 Feb.	2-4 Feb.	2-4 Feb.	2-4 Feb.	2-4 Feb.	2-4 Feb.
Alwar Festival	Alwar	-	7-9 Feb.	13-1 5 Feb.	11-13 Feb.	10-1 2 Feb.	9-11 Feb.	8-10 Feb.	13-1 5 Feb.	12-14 Feb.
Nagaur Cattle Fair	Nagaur	Magh-s (7-10)	8-11, Feb.	28-31 Jan.	15-1 8 Feb.	4-7 Feb.	25-28 Feb.	13-16 Feb.	2-5 Feb	22 -25 Feb
Desert Festival	Jaisalmer	Magh-s(13-15)	14- 16 Feb.	4-6 Feb.	21-23 Feb.	10-12 Feb.	31 Jan.-2Feb.	19-21 Feb.	7-9 Feb	28-30 Jan.
Baneshwar Fair	Beneshwar (Dungarpur)	Magh-s (11-15)	12-16 Feb.	1-5 Feb.	19-23 Feb.	8-12 Feb.	29 Jan.-2 Feb.	17-21 Feb.	5-9 Feb.	26-30 Jan.
Elephant Festival	Jaipur	Phalgun-s-15	17 March	6 March	25 March	14 March	3 March	21 March	10 March	28 March
Shitala Ashtami	Chaksu, Jaipur	Chaitra k-8	24 March	13 March	1 April	23 March	12 March	28 March	19 March	8 March
Kailadevi Fair	Karauli	Chaitra-s (3-4)	4-5 April	23-24 March	11 -12 April	1-2 April	21 -22 March	8-9 April	29-30 March	18-19 March
Gangaur Festival	Jaipur	Chaitra-s (3-5)	4-6 April	23-25 March.	11-1 3 April	1-3 April	21-23 March	8-10 April	29-31 March	18-20 March
Mewar Festival	Udaipur	Chaitra k-1 2	29 March	18 March	6 April	26 March	16 March	3 April	23 March	12 March
Mahavirji Fair	Mahavirji	Chaitra-s (9-1 5)	10-16 Apni	30 March-5 April	18-24 April	7-13 April	27 March-2 April	14-20 April	3-9 April	24-30 April
Summer Festival	Mt. Abu	Baisakh (13-Budh Pumima)	14-16 May	2-4 May	21-23 May	11-13 May	30 April-2 May	18-20 May	7-9 May	26-28 May
Teej Festival	Jaipur	Shravan-s (3-4)	1-2 Aug.	19-20 Aug.	8-9 Aug.	28-29 July	15-16 Aug.	4-5 Aug.	24-25 July	12-13 Aug.
Kajli Teej	Bundi	Bhadra-k (2-3)	14-15 Aug.	31 Aug.-1 Sept.	20-21 Aug.	11-12 Aug.	30-31 Aug.	18-19 Aug.	8-9 Aug.	26-27 Aug.
Ramdevra Fair	Pokaran (Jaisalmer)	Bhadra-s (9-10)	4-5 Sept.	22-23 Sept.	12-1 3 Sept.	2-3 Sept.	21 -22 Sept.	9-10 Sept.	29-30 Aug.	17- 18 Sept.
Marwar Festival	Jodhpur	Aswin-s (14-15)	8-9 Oct.	26-27 Oct.	16-17 Oct	6-7 Oct.	25-26 Oct.	13-14 Oct.	3-4 Oct.	21 -22 Oct.
Dussehra Festival	Kota	Aswin-s(8-10)	3-5 Oct.	20-22 Oct.	10-1 2 Oct.	30 Sept.-2 Oct.	19-21 Oct.	7-9 Oct.	26-28 Sept.	15-17 Oct.
Pushkar Fair	Pushkar (Ajmer)	Kartik-s(8-15)	31 Oct.-8 Nov.	18-26 Nov.	8-15 Nov.	29 Oct. -5 Nov.	17-24 Nov.	5-13  Nov.	25 Oct. 02 Nov.	13-21 Nov.
Chandrabhaga Fair	Jhalawar	Kartik-s 14 Magh-k 1	7-9 Nov.	25-27 Nov.	14-1 6 Nov.	4-6 Nov.	23-25 Nov.	12-1 4 Nov.	1-3 Nov.	20-22 Nov.
Kolayat Fair	Kolayat (Bikaner)	Kartik-s11 Magh-k 5	4-1 3 Nov.	22 Nov.-1 Dec.	12-21 Nov.	1-9 Nov.	20-29 Nov.	9- 18 Nov.	29 Oct-7 Nov.	17-26; Nov.
Winter Festival	Mt.Abu	-	29-31 Dec.	29-31 Dec.	29-31 Dec.	29-31 Dec.	29-31 Dec.	29-31 Dec.	29-31 Dec.	29-31 Dec.