Gangaur
Festivals attract Rajasthanis and tempt them to celebrate for a number of reasons. Cheti Chand is celebrated in the first month of Hindu calendar, chaitra or March-April month of the Gregorian calendar. The winter is obsoluting and the spring is about to start. Mists fade away and the sun shines bright through a clear blue sky. New leaves are budding on Trees.
Gangaur is the most popular and colourful and the most important festival for people of Rajasthan and is observed throughout the state with great enthusiasm and devotion by womenfolk. The festival is the celebration of monsoon, harvest and martial fidelity. Women worship Gauri, the consort of Lord Shiva. The word ‘Gangaur’ is literally made up of two words, ‘Gana’ and ‘Gaur’. ‘Gana’ is synonymous with Lord Shiva and ‘Gaur’ which stands for Gauri or Parvati symbolizes Saubhagya (marital bliss). Gauri is the personification of excellence and marital love.
Lord Shiva and goddess Parvati are worshipped in this festival of Gangaur. This festival is specifically meant for women folks. The unmarried women worship Gauri for blessing them with good husband, while married women do so for the welfare, health and longevity of their husbands and cheerful married life.
It is believed that after a temporary long sacrament Gauri and Shiva reunited on this day. The small doll like Idols of the Shiva and Gauri are made of wood. These divine male and female entities are called ‘Isar’ and ‘Gangaur’.
The festival commences on Holi. The festival runs through many days. Young girls pray for grooms of their choice while married women seek a long life for their husbands. The ladies beautify their hands and feet by temporary decoration by drawing designs with Mehendi. After 7th day of Holi unmarried girls carry earthen pots with hole and a lamp lit inside, called ‘Ghudlia’ on their head, singing songs in the evening.
They go around all the houses in the area and collect small presents, cash, sweets, jaggery, ghee, oil etc. The women chant hymns to the Goddess. The festivities continue for 18 days and conclude with the arrival of Lord Shiva to accompany his bride home. A grand procession of beautifully ornamented elephants, camels, horses and dancing people with joyous children & drummers carries the idol of Gauri in beautifully decorated gold and silver a palanquin.
History
Parvati or gauri, the consort of Shiva is a symbol of virtue and devotion and considered a legendary figure for married women. The festival is held in her honour.
Gangaur is the most important local festival in Rajasthan and is celebrated with great enthusiasm and frivolousity. The common belief associated with the festival is that if unmarried girls observe the rituals of this festival they will get lifepartner of their choice and if married women observe the same, she will be blessed with a happy married life and long life of their husbands. The celebrations in Jaipur and Udaipur have a unique charm and attraction.
The celebrations begin almost a fortnight before the main day of the festival. Girls worship the goddess all through the fortnight before the main event day. A band of women from the town hold a procession and carry colorful idols of Gauri. Many people from nearby villages too come to take part in the procession and roam around with them from village to village.
A sense of Romance is felt in the atmosphere as the occasion also gives an opportunity to tribal men and women to come in contact with each other, to meet and interact freely; this help them to select partners of their choice and marrying by eloping. It is the unique thing about this festival.
Rituals
The festival begins from the first day of chaitra or from the next day of Holi and continues for 18 days. The festival begins with the custom of gathering ashes from the Holi Fire and burying the seeds of barley in it. After it, the seeds are watered everyday awaiting the germination. It is mandatory for a newly-wedded girl to observe the full course of 18 days of the festival and keep fast to ensure her marriage do well. Even unmarried girls fast for the full period of the 18 days and eat only one meal a day.
Gauri’s Departure
The idols of Gauri and Isar are dressed in new attires and bejeweled with sparkling ornaments especially made for the occasion. The beautifully decorated statues looks like they are brought to life by these girls and married women.
The idols of Isar and Gauri placed on the heads of married women are taken in a procession in the afternoon, to a garden, bawdi or johad or well. Vidaai songs are sung as Gauri departs to her husband’s house. The idol of Gauri was offered water by the ladies present in the procession, they then comes back. On the final day, the procession came to an end with the Visarjaan of all the idols in the waters of a tank or a well. The women bid farewell to Gauri and return back towards their home with teary eyes and in this way Gangaur Festival comes to an end.
Gangaur at various places
Gangaur festival is the most significant of all the festivals that are being held in Rajasthan.
Jaipur
The Gangaur festival of Jaipur is famous worldwide for its joyous and merriful happenings. A special kind of sweet dish called ‘ghewar’ is prepared which is a characteristic of the Gangaur festival. People relish ghewar very much and also distribute it among their friends and relatives. A sawari or procession of Gangaur starting from the Palace gate known as Tripolia moves through the city streets passes through Chaugan. Lots of visitors and villagers witness the procession and admire its beauty.
Bikaner
Married women and maidens fast during the festival. They prepare sweet dishes, carry them to a well, make an offering thereof to the goddess, and return home and distribute these as 'prasad' to all.
Jodhpur
A fair of 'lotias' which is a distinctive feature of the Gangaur celebrations accompany other celebrations in Jodhpur. Early in the morning, thousands of maidens, clad in dressed in beautiful costumes, singing melodious songs, bring water and 'durva' grass in silver or brass pots to a place known as Girdikot. A large number of citizens are spectator to the celebrations who horde to the locality just to be a part of the celebration.
Nathdwara
The procession of Gangaur lasts for 7 days in Nathdwara. Each day, a particular colour is chosen for the dress of the goddess. On the last day of the festival, the women dressed in black with the embellishment of golden lace on it carries similarly dressed idol of Gauri. This indicates the final departure of Gauri.
Udaipur
The idols of Isar and Gauri are taken to the Pichhola Lake in a procession, thereafter they go around the lake in a boat, for an hour. A dazzling and sparkling display of fireworks marks the conclusion ceremony on the banks of the lake.
Banswara
In Banswara, the sawari of Gangaur or procession is taken out from the Zenana Deorhi to Singhvashi Chowk. Traditional religious ceremonies are performed around the areas within the palace compound.
Gangaur among the Girasias
The Girasia tribe of Sirohi-Mount Abu belt, celebrate Gangaur in continuation with the festivities from Holi to Akshaya Tritiya, that is, it nearly lasts for more than a month. They roam from village to village singing, dancing and extending invitations while carrying the idol of Gangaur. The idols are brought back to the village from where they started. During the festival, the eligible boys and girls of the tribe meet each other and select life partners of their choice and elope with them to marry as per the custom of their community.
Essentials of the festival
Idols
Idols of Isar and Gauri made of clay are worshipped during the festival. Permanent wooden idols are painted afresh every year by ‘matherans’ on the eve of festival in some Rajput families. The idols of Gangaur Festival will not have canopy unlike that of Teej Festival.
Mehandi
The ladies decorate their hands and feet by drawing designs with a temporary skin decoration- Heena or Mehndi. The Sun, Moon, flowers or geometrical designs are the common patterns that are drawn.
Ghudlias
Ghudlias are earthen pots with numerous holes all around and a lamp is lighten inside them. After 7th day of Holi unmarried girls carry these ‘Ghudlia’ on their head, singing songs in the evening. They go around all the houses in the area and collect small presents, cash, sweets, jaggery, ghee, oil etc. This continues for 10 days. After the conclusion of the Gangaur festival the girls break their pots and throw the debris into the well or a tank and enjoys a feast with the eatables they had collected.
This ritual is performed as a reminder of the victory of Rao Santhal, ruler of Jodhpur, over Mir Ghudley Khan, who had taken 140 maidens who were celebrating the festival of Gangaur with him, in 1548 AD. The burning lamp inside the earthen pot signifies the heroism and chivalry of the Maharaja.
Recipes:
Recipes: Ghewar
Recipes: Kuttu ki Puri
Recipes : Kacche Kele Ki Chaat
Recipes : Kaddu Ka Raita
Recipes : Singhade Ka Halwa
Recipes : Kele Ki Barfi
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