Gangaur Festival

Many festivals are celebrated in Rajasthan but Gangaur Festival holds a special place among them. It is celebrated with great pomp. Primarily a festival for women, Gangaur is held in honor of Goddess Parvati. Women pray for their husbands, single women pray the goddess for a groom. The processions are organized, the women draw water from wells, choose flowers and sing hymns.

The heavenly marriage of Shiva and Parvati is performed and celebrated. Human incarnation of Lord Shiva (Ishwar) and Goddess Parvati (Gangaur) are adorned and shown in traditional royal prerogatives, twenty days after the festival of Holi. Every night and for five nights, the people come from afar, gather for Darshan and participate in Ghoomar, a traditional form of dance. The festival ends with the Gangaur Mela where the two deities are removed in the ceremonial procession and the divine marriage is performed.

Festival of Gangaur is usually held in March or April, four nights after Holi. It is the most colorful and important festival of Rajasthan. Women worship God Gauri, Lord Shiva's consort for marital blessing, long life for their husbands, and marital joy. During these eighteen days of festival, the girls and married women dress up in their traditional costumes ghaghras and cholis. The idols and images of the gods are ornamented with beautiful dresses and exotic jewels that women offer to them for blessing with great devotion. The period is considered auspicious for marriages. In Jaipur, colorful and rich processions with horses and elephants, as well as music and palaques take place throughout the city during festivals where the main deity is Gangaur, is taken from the Palace Gate known as Tripolia throughout the city , Passing through Chaugan, to Talkatora, which attracts tourists.