 |
 |
|
|
|
JAIPUR:The festival of Gangaur in which married women pray for long life and prosperity of their husbands was celebrated in Rajasthan with traditional enthusiasm on April 15. Until recently the festival used to be a private affair with women offering prayers in the relative privacy of their homes. But, of late, the festival has been included in the state's tourism calendar. "The main idea of organising such festivals publicly was to educate foreigners on how festivals are celebrated in Rajasthan and in India as a whole and what their significance is. Gangaur seemed a good opportunity to begin with," said Bhawani Singh, an official of the City Palace where women held traditional prayers for marital bliss. The legend behind the festival comes from the mythical legend of "Gan" or Lord Shiva and "Gaur" or Gauri, his consort Goddess Parvati. 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 long life for their husbands, unmarried girls pray for a good husband. The highlight of the festivities is a colourful procession which virtually brings Jaipur to life. An elaborate palanquin of the Goddess Parvati is an integral part of the procession which passes through the city's main thoroughfares. Women dressed in their colourful traditional attire with their palms decorated with henna presented colourful dances to the delight of foreign tourists who were left spellbound. "It's very elegant. It's very nice. Brilliant to see all the colours. I'd definitely like to come back if I had the chance, of course," said Katarina, a tourist from Finland. The procession was led by caparisoned elephants, camels, horses, musicians, palanquins, chariots and bullock carts. The Gangaur procession culminates in the immersion of images of the deity in the city lake.
-ANI
|
|