Sheetla Mata Fair, Jaipur

Sheetla Mata Fair Tour

Every year, for a day either in the month of March or April (in the month of Chaitra according to the Hindu calendar), thousands of pilgrims throng Doongri. At least about one lakh. Doongri rises in the village of Seel-ki-Doongri, 5 km from Chaksu, and 35 km from Jaipur, the capital city of Rajasthan. The pilgrims worship and give offerings to the Goddess hoping the same fate would not befall them. There is a custom strictly adhered to believed to have done the trick to appease Sheetla Mata. The devotees cook their own food and eat only after offering the same to the Goddess in the shrine.

Like many other fairs and festivals of Rajasthan, Sheetla Mata Fair too is a time for social interaction apart from the religious affair. A temporary market is set up and the villagers from across far and wide get into serious business. Livestock deals are struck. The tiny make-shift shops fill the place selling a plethora of items such as shoes, clothes, foodstuff, utensils, agricultural implements, etc. Other local products like jewellery of precious and the semi precious stones, antiques, marble carvings, brass works, copper works and Jaipur textiles are also sold here.

Another great attraction is the cattle fair. Here rewards are given to breeders having the best quality of livestock. Bullocks, horses and camels are traded at the fair. Rajasthani folks attend this in large numbers with their camels and beautifully decorated bullock carts. The atmosphere is that of a picnic and everywhere you will see villagers mingling and making merry and debating on rural issues such as market prices and drought control measures, etc. Evidently, Rajasthan fairs and festivals offer an integral social function. Thus it is said that during these events, marriage alliances are often contracted.