The elephant festival of Rajasthan
In this article I have described the Elephant festival conductd by the tourism department of Rajasthan. I have given the description of the festival and also provided the information to reach Jaipur.
The Elephant festival of Jaipur.
Rajasthan is a dream vacation spot for Indian as well as foreign tourists. It's various forts, temples, hill stations, festivals and fairs are world famous and Rajasthan gets a good deal of revenue through tourism. Various festivals are held throughout the year and they attract lots of tourists from world over. One such festival is the Elephant festival. It is conducted on 7th of March every year by the Rajasthan tourism department.
When the whole of country is busy celebrating Holi throwing colour on each other, on the other hand people including tourists from all over the world gather in the pink city of Jaipur to watch and participate in the elephant festival. The elephants which are used as a means to amuse tourists and local people by giving elephant rides the rest of the year are the main attraction (or heroes) on this day.
The festival is organised by the Rajasthan tourism department every year in the Jaipur Chagan stadium. This festival has carved out a place in the hearts of local as well as foreign tourists. Every year in the month of March this festival is held. The festival has gained tremendous popularity over the years and hence the tourism department of Rajasthan adds new and interesting events every year to make it more popular.
The festival is inaugurated by various cultural events. Men and women dressed in colourful attire perform various events including the folk music and dance. After the cultural events, the real show begins. Elephants coloured and decorated from top to bottom are brought forth. A competition is held to select the best looking elephant among the lot. The elephant keepers or the Mahawats are engaged the whole day to decorate their respective elephants for winning the competition. Various designs with colours are decorated on the elephant's bodies. Colourful designed clothes, beads etc. are also decorated on the elephant.
The Rajasthan tourism department awards the best looking elephant and the Mahawat among the contestants. After the competition various other events also take place. Elephant rides are given to people, People also test their strengths against these beasts by tying ropes and trying to stop the elephant. Even 30 men seem helpless against this beast as the elephant easily pulls them forth with ease. A polo match is sometimes organised where Mahawats sitting on elephants play against each other to score a goal. It is a sight worth remembering as these giant creatures playing against each other is a rare sight and one must definitely check it in real life.
After the various events are over, the tourists get busy taking pictures of these colourful and well decorated elephants. How to reach Jaipur
Jaipur is the capital of Rajasthan state. Hence it is well connected to main citied of India through air, railway and road. Places worth visiting in Jaipur
Jantar Mantar is a good place worth visiting if you are in Jaipur. It is an astronomical building constructed by the then Maharaja Jai Singh.
You can find more information on Jantar Mantar in the article below.
Jantar Mantar
