Jaisalmer Desert Festival

The three day long cultural extravaganza in Jaisalmer is here!

Amid the golden yellow sand dunes and moonlit winter night, the vibrant and eventful Desert Festival is organized by the Department of Rajasthan Tourism in Jaisalmer. The biggest annual desert festival witnesses rich and colourful Rajasthani culture in form of dance, musical and cultural performances. Turban clad men and women adorned with colourful, bright and dramatic costumes perform all kinds of Rajasthani dances and sing folk songs.

Cultural Dance Performance at Jaisalmer Desert Festival. Pic via Devang Shah

The musicians playing their traditional instruments can be seen outdoing each other in their musical superiority. The turban tying competition, camel race, camel polo, and longest moustache and Mr. Desert competition further adds to the joy of desert festival. The festival on the last day culminates with parachuting and Air Force display in the sand dunes.

 

So if you wish to get a charge out of the traditional desert life of Rajasthan, then Jaisalmer Desert Festival is just the perfect event for you.  Scheduled from February 01 to 03, 2015 the three days event would render you to witness the ship of the desert in myriad form. Get ready to enjoy music and cultural extravaganza of Rajasthan in shimmering Jaisalmer desert!!

Baneshwar -The Biggest Tribal Fair of Rajasthan

 

Baneshwar or we can call it ‘Master of the Delta’ is derived from the revered Shiva Linga which is kept in the Mahadev temple in Dungarpur. The baneshwar festival is annually held at small delta formed by the river Som and Mahi. It is predominantly a tribal fair, (more than half of the gathering consisting of Bhil tribe of Rajasthan and nearby states) reveres Baneshwar Mahadev and Mavji.

A ceremonial aarti is held in the morning at the temple, people sing traditional folk songs sitting around bonfire every night and perform folk dances, magic shows, animal shows, acrobatic feats with joy rides and swings.  The location of the fair is situated at a distance of 6.5 km from Sabla, a village on the Udaipur-Banswara-Dungarpur route which is 123 km from Udaipur.

For the convenience of pilgrims and tourists during the festival, the buses and other vehicles go right up to the bank of River Som.

Kumbhalgarh Classical Dance Festival

A festival that pays tribute to Maharna Kumbha, the patron of the best of Indian martial and fine arts, architecture and learning in Rajasthan, every year at the magnanimous fort of Kumbhalgarh.

The Kumbhalgarh Classical Dance Festival is organized by Rajasthan Tourism Organization from January 28 to 30th 2015 to promote Kumbhalgarh as a tourist destination. The festival brings together many of India’s finest artist, musicians and dancers against the backdrop of the glowing citadel.

Kumbhalgarh Fort

The 3 days’ programme offers a mesmerizing festival of performances in the day as well as night time. Folk arts, dance recitals and classical music bedazzled with scintillating sound, light and color creates a spectacular ambiance, especially for the foreign tourists in the town.

Places to Visit in Rajasthan on National Tourism Day

The National Tourism Day is celebrated in India on January 25^th every year since 1988. It was aimed to generate awareness about the country’s tourism different kinds of activities and socio-cultural activities.

Tourism is a leading activity of the twenty-first century for job creation and environmental protection. It is increasingly playing a vital role in contribution to the sustainability and overall growth of the tourist destinations and regional communities by different means. Tourism brings people from different countries together and fosters a beautiful relationship and mutual understanding of each other’s culture.

To get away from one’s working environment is, in a sense, to get away from one’s self; and this is often the chief advantage of travel and change.

So this National Tourism Day, you can plan to tour the culturally rich, diverse, exotic and historical destinations of Rajasthan- the Royal state of India!

Although the entire state is marked with fascinating and breathtaking tourism destinations, but the following few are the places you must visit once in your life (the repeat trip, however, is guaranteed)

Jaipur

The Capital city of Rajasthan is steeped into history and culture, where the past comes alive in magnanimous forts and palaces, and the modern developments have beautifully blended with the heritage. The bustling bazaars of Jaipur, famous for Rajasthani jewellery, fabric and shoes, possess a timeless quality and are surely a treasure-trove for the shoppers. This fascinating city with its romantic charm takes the visitors into an epoch of royalty and tradition.

Jodhpur

Rambling between Meharngarh and Umaid Bhawan, the sun kissed city of Jodhpur voices the stories of beautiful Queens, handsome Maharajas, fierce battles and bejeweled royal palaces from each of its corners. The markets of Jodhpur are vibrant and full of life; reflecting not just the multi-cultural composition of its people but also the enigmatic charm of its music and art.

Udaipur

Also known as the “Venice of East”, the city of lakes is any travel enthusiast’s dream destination. Bewitching palaces idealistically dwelled on islands of mirror like lakes; magical museums, serene gardens, splendid monuments, massive forts, vivacious ‘Mewar Festival’ and colourful bazaars describe beautiful Udaipur, the modern capital of Mewar decorously.

Jaisalmer

 

Jaisalmer, popular for the shimmering desert and camel rides, is a golden fantasy in the Thar Desert that brings out the beauty of desert life like no other.

Pushkar

The many temples, ghats and holy lake put forth Pushkar as a sanctifying town in India. With the only temple dedicated to Brahma, Pushkar is considered as the most sacred pilgrimage of Hindus. While the annual Pushkar Camel fair makes it a carnival of life every year.

 

 

Disclaimer: The unmarked pictures are sourced from Google.

 

Nagaur Cattle Fair (Ramdeo ji Cattle Fair)

The Nagaur Festival- 26^th to 29^th January is a joint effort of Dept of Animal Husbandry with Dept of Tourism, Govt of Rajasthan which is known to be the second largest cattle fair in India held at Nagaur district of Rajasthan. The trading of cattle, bullocks, camels and horses etc. takes place resulting in almost 75,000 exchanges each year.

Image courtesy TheHinduBusiness

The famous and largest in India- Mirchi Bazar is the highlight of this festival along with competitions such as tug of war, came race, cock fight. The display of quality wooden items, iron crafts, headgears, fabrics and leather accessories plus the musical performances in the night are the reasons why tourists from around the world travel to this place.

The Dawn Festival by Mool Foundation in Jaipur

The beautiful city of Jaipur resides a name of an interactive platform for visual and applied arts, Mool Foundation.

Mool Foundation is conducting ‘The Dawn Festival’ an event under the theme ‘ Love, Light & Life’ scheduled to be held from 24th to 26th Jan’15.

The Dawn Festival

In this 3 day event at Mool Foundation, Jaipur will witness artists from different places of our country who will exhibit their work and discuss ideas & practices of various art forms.

A living tribute to Late Mr. Y.K. Bhatt, Mool Foundation is a space that hopes to provide opportunities to artists to showcase their work, interact with their peers, teach their craft and draw inspiration from others. It also aims to create unique opportunities for visitors to view, experience, and exchange views on innovative art forms & designs.

The Dawn Festival will see six dexterous artists display and discuss their work with public at large. Kapil Syal, a veteran in advertising industry, will launch his book ‘mud hut of dreams….’. Spriha Chokhani, a versatile artist with expertise in various mediums of art,  will be conducting a workshop on Paper Mache Craft. Ceramic artists viz. Seema Kalra and Amankshi Rawat will reveal insights about art of ceramics during the event. Taran J Singh who is a designer and photographer will explain various possibilities around creating photography through his workshop during the event. Rohan Guptan, an adman who loves to express himself on canvas, will be displaying his work during the ‘The Dawn Festival’.

Mool Foundation cordially invites you all  and be part of this grand event.

Readings and sufi evening of JLF first time at Amer Fort Jaipur

The new government decided to open the doors for performance in the heritage sites and the inaugural evening of Jaipur Literature Festival 2015, started from yesterday was the first of such events in Rajasthan.

The popular theatre personality and veteran Bollywood actor Naseeruddin Shah read excerpts from Manto for the Jaipur Literature Festival guests.

Soulful Ballads by Sonam Kalra and the Sufi Gospel Project mesmerized the audiences during the evening cultural vestival held at the Amer Fort.

Raag Rang Roop – Rhytms of Rajasthan

 

A Folk Festival – Raag Rang Roop – Rhytms of Rajasthan is being organised from Jan 17 to Feb 15 by the Gunijankhana — Maharaja Sawai Bhawani Singh Jaipur Museum Society & Jaipur Virasat Foundation.

Venue : Badal Mahal (City Palace)
Time: from 6 pm to 8 pm daily

 

 

 

Vintage and Classic car Rally in Jaipur

 

This one’s for those who love to transcend themselves into the past and witness the grandeur of automobile technology of the vintage era . Every year a Vintage Classic Car Rally is organized in Jaipur that brings out all the vintage cars of the city and nearby places for the delight of city dwellers and season tourists in Jaipur.

The 17^th Vintage Classic Car rally this year is scheduled at the auspicious Jai Mahal Palace of Jaipur. Organized by Rajputana Automotive Sports Car Club. The event brings together a group of leading car owners and vintage car collectors from different parts of the country. Last year, around 114 vintage cars were kept for display. This year the event is expecting more participation for the car fanatics to see more vintage beauties.

Erskine

Dodge

Chev Impala

Cadillac

The Vintage Classic Car Rally (January 24 and 25, 2015) is coinciding with the long Republic day weekend i.e from Saturday, 24 to Republic Day 26. Plan your weekend break in Jaipur and enjoy watching the vintage beauties on the roads of the Pink City.

8 Tips and Tricks for attending the Jaipur Literature Festival 2015

Jaipur Beat

We all have been waiting for the Zee Jaipur literature Festival 2015 eagerly as the festival promises to be extravagant and much bigger than ever this time, with the famous literary geniuses like A.P.J Abdul Kalam, Naseeruddin Shah, Shashi Tharoor and Vishal Bhardwaj attending the event. Moreover, around 2 lakh foot falls are anticipated this time during the festival which can surely make it overcrowded and confusing for those who are attending it for the very first time or those who don’t know the tips and tricks for attending the festival.

1. Registration is the magical word-

Although the entry to the festival is free but the registration is required to be done beforehand as the festival remains crowded throughout the five days.

1. Map and program schedule is the lifeline-

It is very important that you carry a map or program schedule with yourself as the there are six different…

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