Gangaur

Festival of Mother Gauri

Gangaur Festival, a spirited celebration gets underway every year during the Hindu month of Chaitra (March - April) in honor of Gauri, the goddess of abundance , in Jaipur - A city of pomp and pageantry.

Gangaur Festival marks the end of winter and the coming of spring. Mists fade away and the sun shines bright through a clear blue sky. Trees sprout forth new leaves and buds. It is a time to rejoice and celebrate.

Legend/s : Gangaur is formed of two words Gan and Gaur . 'Gan is a synonym for lord Shiva and 'Gaur' or 'Gauri' for Goddess Parvati, the consort of Lord Shiva and a symbol of conjugal bliss and marital happiness.  It also Symbolizes the Union or Love between Shiva and his Wife Parvati. During the festival, the ladies decorate their palms and fingers with henna (Mehandi).

Gauri or Parvati is the wife of Shiva or the destroyer in the Hindu trinity. She is the symbol of virtue and fidelity and as such is the mythological role model of married women.

Celebrations:

Gangaur is the most important local festival in Rajasthan. Girls dress up in their finest clothes and pray for a spouse of their choice, while married women do the same for the happiness and long life of their husbands.

Although celebrated throughout Rajasthan with great enthusiasm, the celebrations in Jaipur and Udaipur have their own charm and attraction. The festival is also celebrated with great pomp and show in Bikaner, Jodhpur, Marathwara and Jaisalmer.

Girls worship the goddess throughout the preceding fortnight. Colourful images of Gauri, beautifully dressed and bejeweled are taken out in procession accompanied by the town band.

Women balance brass pitchers on their heads and the lake adds to the gaiety of Udaipur celebrations.

A boat procession in Lake Pichola ( Udaipur) is also taken out. Thousands of people from the countryside come to take part in the procession of the Gangaur image from village to village.

The tribal men and women have an opportunity to meet and interact freely and during this time, they select partners and marry by eloping. An unusual, romantic custom, which is sanctioned by the community.

This festival is carried for 10 days. On the evening of the 7th day after Holi, unmarried girls carry Ghudlias on their heads (Ghudlias are earthen pots with numerous holes all around and a lamp lit inside them) and go around singing the songs of ghudlia carrying the pots with a burning lamp inside, on their heads.

On their way, they collect small presents of cash, sweets, jaggery, ghee, oil etc. This continues for 10 days i.e. upto the conclusion of the Gangaur Festival when the girls break their pots and throw the debris into a well or a tank and enjoy a feast with the collections made.

Gauri's Departure :
The festival reaches its climax during the last three days. The images of Gauri and Isar are dressed in new garments especially made for the occasion.

Unmarried girls and married women decorate the images and make them look like living figures.

At an auspicious hour in the afternoon, a procession is taken out to a garden, tank or a well with the images of Isar and Gauri, placed on the heads of married women.

Songs are sung about the departure of Gauri to her husband's house. The procession concludes in the consignment of all the images in the waters of a tank or a well.