The Gangaur Festival is
the colourful and most important local festival of Rajasthan
and is observed throughout the State with great fervour and
devotion by womenfolk who worship Gauri, the consort of Lord
Shiva during July-Aug. It is the celebration of monsoon, harvest
and marital fidelity in Jaipur.
Gan
is a synonym for Shiva and Gaur which stands for Gauri or Parvati
who symbolises saubhagya (marital bliss). Gauri is the embodiment
of perfection and conjugal love which is why the unmarried women
worship her for being blessed with good husbands, while married
women do so for the welfare, health and long life of their spouses
and a happy married life.
The festival commences on the first day of Chaitra, the day
following Holi and continues for 18 days. For a newly-wedded
girl, it is binding to observe the full course of 18 days of
the festival that succeeds her marriage. Even unmarried girls
fast for the full period of 18 days and eat only one meal a
day.
Images of Isar and Gauri are made of clay for the festival.
In some families, permanent wooden images are painted afresh
every year by reputed painters called matherans on the eve of
the festival. A distinct difference between the idols of Teej
and Gangaur is that the Idol will have a canopy during the Teej
Festival while the Gangaur idol would not have a canopy.
The ladies decorate their hands and feet by drawing designs
with mehendi (myrtle paste). The figures drawn range from the
Sun, Moon and the stars to simple flowers or geometrical designs.
Ghudlias are earthen pots with numerous holes all around and
a lamp lit inside them. On the evening of the 7th day after
Holi, unmarried girls go around singing 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.
The festival reaches its climax during the last three days.
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.
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