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Rajasthan
loves to celebrate, its people expressing themselves in
color and sound not seen or heard elsewhere in the
country. Vibrant colours, music and festivities make this
golden land come alive. This love for colour and joyous
celebrations is apparent in the elaborate rituals and the
gay abandon with which the Rajasthani surrenders himself to
the numerous fairs and festivals celebrated in the state.
Take any month of the year — from the first to the last —
and you are sure to find some festival or celebration
happening somewhere. These melas help the otherwise
hard-working villagers to relax in the company of their
brethren, and provide villagers from far-flung villages an
opportunity to gather for social or commercial purposes.
The festivals celebrated here, as in the rest of the
country, are marked by religious, mythological, seasonal or
historical significance. Certain days or periods of time
have been set aside to commemorate and ritually celebrate
these events. Other than these traditional fairs, some
non-traditional fairs are now being organised by the
Department of Tourism.
At religious fairs, worship, prayer and processions play an
important part. The faithful flock to centres of pilgrimage
where they pay homage to local saints and folk heroes.
Temples built in their memory, and all spots associated with
their life and times, are revered. Equally important are the
fairs associated with the changing seasons. As agricultural
operations follow the cycle of seasons, it is during the
intervals that the celebrations usually occur. There are
fairs to welcome the monsoon, fairs to welcome spring, and
fairs to pray for a good season. Agricultural fains provide
the farmers a chance to get together with their clansmen and
celebrate with song and dance. They even have songs for
every aspect of farming — planting, transplanting,
harvesting, threshing. They also offer prayers to the rain
gods for a plentiful harvest, or in thanksgiving for a good
harvest. Socio-cultural fairs, on the other hand, provide
meaning and cohesiveness to an individual's standing in
society and help create harmony among the members of not
only the entire community but also the entire village. Traditions are maintained and a feeling of solidarity is
kept alive through these festivals. This is especially true
of fairs associated with individual villages, temples, or
with specific communities and cults that provide
educational, social as well as a religious character.
Whatever the occasion, a joyous spirit pervades — there are
rituals, colour, music, feasting, pageantry, trade, fun and
frolic. The love of colourful clothes and dressing up in the
most amazing traditional jewellery is nowhere more apparent
than at these times. The bustling bazaars provide the
villagers an opportunity to participate in the trading of
cattle and grain, and the womenfolk take great delight in
buying new clothes as well as household goods. There is also
brisk trading in traditional arts and handicrafts. In fact,
most of Rajasthan's traditional crafts are kept alive at
these fairs. The sales at these markets make it possible for
the village craftsmen to survive.
Another important aspect of these melas are the traditional
entertainers — the minstrels, jugglers, puppeteers and
performers who provide hours of pleasant diversion as they
come together at the fairs. Religious mendicants sing
devotional songs. Elaborate enactments of episodes connected
with the occasion are staged which help the people to
understand the mythological and philosophical aspects of
their religion. |
