Fairs &
Festivals of
Rajasthan
Desert Festival
Jaisalmer ||
Elephant Festival
|| Gangaur Festival ||
Pushkar Fair
Desert Festival of
Jaisalmer
Experience the
vibrancy of the Thar Desert during your Rajasthan travel. Held
once a year during winters, the Rajasthan desert comes alive
with the brilliant colors, music and laughter of the Desert
Festival of Jaisalmer. Dressed in brilliantly hued costumes,
 the
people of the desert dance and sing haunting ballads of valor,
romance and tragedy. The fair has snake charmers, puppeteers,
acrobats and folk performers. Camels, of course, play a stellar
role in this festival, where the rich and colorful folk culture
of Rajasthan is on show.
The Jaisalmer Fort provides an ethereal backdrop to the annual
Desert Festival celebrating the traditional performing arts and
creative crafts of Rajasthan. The otherwise barren landscape is
splashed with vibrant colors marking the opening of the Desert
Festival. Over the years, the desert dwellers in their solitude
have woven a fascinating tapestry with threads of music and
rhythm and the Desert Festival is a celebration of their
heritage. It is a chance of a lifetime to see the folk art forms
against the landscape that has nurtured them for hundreds of
years during your Rajasthan tour.
Through the day, visitors can come face to face with the desert
craftsmen. Exquisitely embroidered skirts, hand-woven shawls,
rugs, carvings on wood and stone, camel decorations, embroidered
leather bags, ethnic silver jewelry and terracotta are brought
in from all over the desert. These skillfully achieved crafts
are objects d'art for the handicraft buff and are great buys for
tourists on Rajasthan vacation.
Evenings are meant for the main shows of music and dance. Nearly
all the variations of performing arts of these desert people are
displayed. Continuing till late into the night, the number of
spectators swells up each night and the grand finale, on the
full moon night, takes place by silvery sand dunes.
Camels are not just beasts of burden but an integral part of the
desert life and the camel events during the Desert Festival
confirm this fact. Special efforts go into dressing the animal
for entering the spectacular competition of the best-dressed
camel. To add some more fun and color, the camel show has two
unique events - the camel polo and the camel dance.
Other interesting competitions on the fringes are the moustache
and turban tying competitions, which not only demonstrate a
glorious tradition but also inspire its preservation. Both the
turban and the moustache have been centuries old symbols of
honor in Rajasthan.
Jaisalmer is the only place where this desert festival is
celebrated with great zest and zeal. Rajasthan being a popular
tourist destination, the festival adds to its color. |