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Rajasthan, though mostly desert, gets filled with colorful and grand celebrations during fairs and festivals. For every religious occasion, change of season, every harvest, and a fair can be expected.
For the month of January, a Camel Festival is held in Bikaner. The desert city becomes alive with all the music and festivities that include camel races and camel dances plus the beauty of the decorated ships of the place. By late January and early February, everyone is delighted with the Nagaur Fair taking place in Bikaner and Jodhpur. It is an animal fair where cattle, horses and camels are accompanied by their owners and march around the area. There are also games and contests like tug-of-war and camel races. In Jaisalmer, there is the Desert festival that takes place during the full moon in February.
It is a journey lasting for three days into the heart of the Thar Desert and the golden city of Jaisalmer. Rajasthani dances like Tehratal, Gangaur, Chari, Moria, Gair Dhap and Ghoomer can be watched in the sand. Aside from that, there are ballad singers, musicians, snake charmers and puppeteers. This festival is one of the most popular in Rajasthan. By March, an Elephant festival is held in Jaipur. The elephants parade with decorations in their tusks and trunks along with camels and horses and the performances of folk dancers. The festival is to worship Ganesh or Ganapati who is the elephant son of Shiva and Parvati. A spring festival of Gangaur is held in March to April and is one of the most important local festivals of Rajasthan. It is to worship Gauri, the consort of Shiva and a manifestation of Goddess Parvati. The event symbolizes marital happiness and conjugal bliss. Other festivals are the Mewar Festival, Teej or the festival of swings, Marwar festival and Pushkar Fair.
The dates of these festivals are determined by their lunar calendar and have certain religious significance. These show the arts and crafts that Rajasthani people have.
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