FAIRS AND FESTIVALS IN UDAIPUR

1 MEWAR FESTIVAL –

Mewar festival is celebrated in Rajasthan marking the arrival of spring season. It is one of the most important festivals of the state. In Udaipur it is celebrated in the grandest manner possible. You can find women dressed in beautiful and colourful traditional attire. You can find processions taking place towards Lake Pichola. Diety of lord shiva and lord parvati decorated and dropped off in the lake as a part of the holy ritual. This festival celebrated with full zest of welcoming the new season. The duration of the festival is one day. It is the best time to enjoy traditional music, dance, folk activities, religious rituals, cultural events like puppet shows and to enjoy special delicacies. During the days of festival, the whole city of Udaipur gets drenched in colours of festivity. Local markets and shops beautify their frontage with bright lights and decorations. Coinciding with the Gangaur festival, Mewar festival is equally significant for the womenfolk of Rajasthan. This festival is conducted in March or April based on the lunar calendar.

2 SHILPGRAM ART FAIR –

Shilpgram festival is celebrated in the Shilpgram village which is located 3 kilometres away from Udaipur city. This festival is celebrated by arranging a fair of 10 days.  People from nearby areas come by various transport means to enjoy and celebrate the festival and the fair. You can reach the place by a two wheeler or a four wheeler vehicle as well as in public transports like rikshaws. The main aim is to promote art and craft of the region. Shilpgram festival includes products like mirror work, hand woven clothes, camel leather products, pottery and many more. This is the best place for souvenir shopping. Here you can find items and products which are not easily available in other states and that too at very cheap rates. The Festival provides opportunities for learning the craft skills through various workshops. Cultural programmes during the evening and the local food stalls attract many visitors and locals. This festival is celebrated in November or December based on the lunar calendar.

3 TEEJ FESTIVAL –

In Rajasthan each and every festival of every religion is celebrated with similar passion and beauty, be it welcoming or bidding farewell to a season, praying for a healthy life of the spouse or any other occasion for that matter. Each festival is significant and important for the people of Rajasthan. One can not only feel the liveliness of people during these festivals, but can even witness the rich culture of Rajasthan. And one such festival is Teej festival.  On this occasion, married women pray to Lord Shiva and Parvati to bless them with happy and long married life. It is celebrated in and around Rajasthan. This is also known as the festival of swings. The swings are decked with flowers and hung from trees, women dressed in green clothes make merry and sing songs. This festival that symbolises growth continues for two days, women observe fasts for the long life of their husbands and men pray for good rain and crop. This festival is conducted July or August based on the lunar calendar. It also marks the arrival of monsoon season.

4 HARIYALI AMAVASYA –

In Hindi language, ‘Amavasya’ implies ‘no moon day’ and ‘Hariyali’ means ‘greenery’, therefore Hariyali Amavasya is observed as moon festival during the rainy season, when the nature blossoms at it best. The festivities of Hariyali Amavasya are very renowned in Northern states of India like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh. It is famous in other regions as well but with different names. The rituals and traditions vary in different parts of the country, but the spirit of celebrations remains same. This celebration takes place near Fateh Sagar Lake. People take up a path and perform rituals for their ancestors. Special rituals take place in Shiva temples in Udaipur. A fair that stretches for two days is conducted mainly for womenfolk. The festival also takes place as a fair which is celebrated for two days. The festival is conducted in July or August based on the lunar calendar.

5 DIWALI DUSHHERA FESTIVAL –

Diwali is the Hindu festival of lights, which is celebrated every autumn in the northern region. One of the most popular festivals of Hinduism, Diwali symbolises the spiritual "victory of light over darkness, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance". During the celebration, temples, homes, shops and office buildings are brightly illuminated. The preparations, and rituals, for the festival typically last five days, with the climax occurring on the third day coinciding with the darkest night of the Hindu Lunisolar month Kartika. In the Gregorian calendar, the festival generally falls between mid-October and mid-November.

Vijayadashami also known as Dusshera or Dussehra is a major Hindu festival celebrated at the end of Navratri every year. It is observed on the tenth day in the Hindu calendar month of Ashvin, the seventh month of the Hindu Luni-Solar Calendar, which typically falls in the Gregorian months of September and October. It is celebrated in the months of October and November based on lunar calendar.