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Gangaur festival: Married women's prayer to Gauri

          Bikaner: The 'Gangaur' festival will be celebrated on Wednesday when married women in Rajasthan pray for the long life of their husbands. Women in the desert state are thronging to buy idols of Gauri and Ishwar (Lord Shiva) to worship them on. Wooden idols of these deities are made only in Rajasthan's Bikaner by a handful of families who consider it an age-old tradition called the Matheran. "This is a special art form and nobody except our family can make these idols. Our forefathers have been involved in this art for the past several generations," said Usha, a Gangaur artisan. An intricate craft, these artisans begin preparing idols for the Gangaur festival almost six months in advance. "We make about 6,000-7,000 pieces in six months or a year. All five members of my family are involved in the process," said Sharmila, another Gangaur idol sculptor. On the day of the festival, women dress up in their traditional attire and worship the deities to seek blessings for their married lives. "We celebrate the festival, all our family members celebrate it, especially young girls," said Poornima Gupta, a devotee shopping for idols. Gangaur festival also heralds the onset of the spring season. The heritage behind the festival comes from the mythical legend of "Gan" or Lord Shiva and "Gaur" or Gauri, his consort Goddess Parvati. Legend has it that Parvati, in one of her forms as Gauri, underwent intense meditation and penance in order to win Shiva as her consort. Gangaur symbolises marital happiness achieved by Gauri. While married women evoke the blessings of Gauri and pray for the long life of their husbands, unmarried girls pray for a good husband.
- March 20, 2007

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