Nagaur Fair
The Nagaur Fair is the second biggest fair in India. Held every year between the months of January and February, it is popularly known as the Cattle Fair of Nagaur as this is where owners gather to trade animals. Approximately 70,000 bullocks, camels and horses are traded every year at this fair. The animals are lavishly decorated and even their owners dress up with colourful turbans and long moustaches. Besides cattle, sheep, horses and even spices are traded. Other attractions include the Mirchi Bazaar (largest red chilli market of India), sale of wooden items, iron-crafts and camel leather accessories. Several sports are also held during the fair. These include tug-of-war, camel races and bullock races. Nagaur fair is also famous for its jugglers, puppeteers, storytellers, etc.
Baneshwar Fair
Baneshwar Fair is a popular tribal festival held in the Baneshwar Temple of Dungarpur. This festival held on the full moon day of February or Magh Shukla Purnima attracts a large number of tourists. On this pious occasion, Bhils travel all the way from Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh to take a dip at the confluence of the rivers, Mahi and Som. In addition to this fair, the Vagad Festival is also one of the popular celebrations of Dungarpur. This festival showcases dance forms and music from the region. Holi, the popular Hindu festival, is celebrated here with tribal dances.
Desert Festival
Once a year, the empty sands around Jaisalmer come alive with a mesmerizing performance on the sand dunes in the form of the Desert Festival. The festival, organised by the Department of Tourism around January-February, goes on for three whole days and lets you enjoy the rich and colourful Rajasthani folk culture. Rajasthani men and tall, beautiful women dressed in their best and brightest costumes dance and sing ballads of valour, romance and tragedy, while traditional musicians attempt to outdo each other to showcase their musical superiority. The high points of the festival are puppeteers, acrobats, camel tattoo shows, camel races, camel polo, traditional processions, camel mounted bands, folk dances, etc.
Udaipur World Music Festival
The City of Lakes sings a different tune come February. Udaipur plays host to the fourth edition of the Udaipur World Music Festival. Organized by SEHER, this festival brings together global artists and ensembles from over 20 countries including Iran, Spain, Brazil, Senegal, France, Portugal, Italy and India, amongst other nations. The event is designed to cater to the music sensibilities of people across different ages and from all walks of life. An absolute once-in-a-lifetime experience, this one is a sheer treat for lovers of good music.
Braj Holi
The Braj festival in Rajasthan is held every year for two days in the Shukla Paksha of the Phalguna month, a few days prior to Holi. This festival is dedicated to Lord Krishna who is believed to have spent a considerable amount of time in a region called Braj in Rajasthan. This festival not only replicates the spirit of Holi but also impersonates the timeless love of Radha and Krishna. The highlight of this festival is the Raslila dance performed with great zest and unity. The entire town is painted and no one is spared from being splashed with colours. The festival is celebrated with great pomp and ceremony in Deeg, Kaman and Bharatpur in the Bharatpur District.
Dhulandi Festival
Dhulandi Festival (Festival of Colours) is celebrated all over India a day after Holika Dahan and marks the beginning of spring. On this day, young and old alike play with colours and water and the celebrations can last for the better part of the day. The festival is celebrated in a very special way all over the state where the Department of Tourism organizes an event meant especially for foreign tourists.
Mewar Festival
The Mewar Festival is celebrated with much gusto and fervor, drawing not just the locals from adjoining villages and towns but also tourists from other countries who are eager to see the glorious traditions of Rajputana bought alive. When you visit Udaipur during the Mewar Festival, experience the color and joy that is associated with it and which is regaled with age old rituals and tradition of the Rajputana. Of the innumerable festivals that mark the advent of spring, none is more colorful than the Mewar festival celebrated in Udaipur. As the date of the Mewar festival in Udaipur etches closer, locals, tourists and performing artists start pouring into the city, creating a spectacular ambience of mesmerizing decorations which is further augmented by the bright colored traditional wear that locals wear.
The Mewar festival, held every year in the month of March-April, can be split into distinct but integral parts i.e. Religious and Cultural.
The festival coincides with Gangaur festival which holds a special significance for womenfolk, the celebrations for which begin at least a fortnight ago. Gangaur begins from the next day of Holi and starts with gathering of ashes from the Holi fire. Barley seeds are buried in the collected ashes and are watered every day until the seeds germinate. Newly married women are required to observe fast for 18 days to ensure a happy married life. Many unmarried girls also observe fast for 18 days, eating just one meal a day. While the married women pray for marital bliss and good health of their partner, the single ones pray for a match of their choice. On the day of the Gangaur, women dressed in their finest clothes gather to dress the images of Isar (Lord Shiva) and his consort Gangaur (Goddess Parvati). These idols are then carried in a huge procession which begins from the clock tower and ends at Gangaur Ghat at Lake Pichhola. Here, the idols are transferred onto boats. This makes for a beautiful sight to behold, as hundreds of boats carrying the idols sail gently in the lake.
The procession is followed by a number of cultural events, including presentation of dance forms such as Ghoomar and Kalbelia. The traditional songs sung by the local bards welcome the tourists and continue to enthrall them during the festival. The 3-day long Mewar festival is brought to an end with an impressive display of fireworks.