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| Gujarat Fairs & Festivals |
Aavo Padharo, words of welcome in the language of Gujarat because it is here that these words ring truely and the guest is 'God' and the people of Gujarat are gregariously friendly, inviting and will entice you to come again and again.
Here in Gujarat you will discover centuries of history as spanning the geological core of the earth onto a fascinatingly vibrant future. Gujarat is unique in its geological and topographical landscape. From volcanic outpourings through bedrock to fossil fields of indegenous dinosaurs; from the art of the neolithic cave painter to the stone masterpieces of a series of civilized architecture. Gujarat has it all.
Ancient cave paintings to historic murals, natural and man made caves. Art, history, music, culture, all dovetails within each other to form a wondrous matrix that is the cultural exuberance of the people of the state. |
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| International Kite Festival (Uttraryan) |
The festival of Uttarayan is a uniquely Gujarati phenomenon, when the skies over most cities of the state fill with kites from before dawn until well after dark. The festival marks the days in the Hindu calendar when winter begins turning to summer, known as Makar Sankranti or Uttarayan. On what is usually a bright warm sunny day with brisk breezes to lift the kites aloft, across the state almost all normal activity is shut down and everyone takes to the rooftops and roadways to fly kites and compete with their neighbors.
Kites of all shapes and sizes are flown, and the main competition is to battle nearby kite-flyers to cut their strings and bring down their kites. For this, people find their favored kite-makers who prepare strong resilient kite bodies with springy bamboo frames and kite-paper stretched to exactly the right tension. Lastly, the kites are attached to a spool (or firkin) of manja, special kite-string coated with a mixture of glue and glass to be as sharp as possible for cutting strings of rival kites. Production of kites and kite supplies can be seen on the streets of Ahmedabad beginning in November, to get ready for Uttarayan, and nowhere more so than in Patang Bazaar, the special kite market that appears in the old city. For the week preceding the festival, it is open 24 hours a day for all kite lovers to stock up for the festivities.
Uttarayan is celebrated every year on 14th January, known as Makar Sankranti in other parts of north India, and Pongal in Tamil Nadu, and continues on the 15th. |
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| Modhera Dance Festival |
Psychedelic hues of red, yellow, green lights illuminating nooks and corners of intricately carved the Sun Temple of Modhera, during dark and breezy nights of January, create a Chiaroscuro effect of time and space! The Sun Temple of Modhera is a masterpiece of the Golden Age of the Solanki Empire, which hosts the annual Dance Festival and flaunts the glory and splendor of that era. The Modhera Dance Festival which is also prevalently known as the Uttarardh Mahotsavor Modhera Utsavis is one of the most famous celebration of art, music, dance and culture, in this part of the country. This unique occurrence showcases traditional dance forms of the region as well as acts as a platform bringing together the cultural ethos of other regions expressed in form of dance or nritya.
Modhera, the temple of the Sun narrating the history and grandeur of its patrons, the Solankis, is an architectural marvel. This peerless temple space acts as a grandiose backdrop for the vibrant expression of dancers and aesthetical ethnicity of the country. Dance troupes and performers from all regions of the nation bring along a panorama of varied dance forms and styles, interlaced with the essence of their origins. The performers blend in the ambience and bring life to the sandstone figurines carved on the edifice of the temple, singing and narrating legends of times bygone.
The exclusive three day Modhera Dance Festival is held every year during the third week end of January after the conclusion of Uttarayan festival. |
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| Bhavnath Fair |
On the moonless night when it is believed Lord Shiva performed his tandava, the cosmic dance of destruction, a great mahapuja is performed. This great ritual begins at midnight on Mahashivaratri, when naga bavas, or naked sages, seated on elephants and decked in ornaments, arrive holding flags and blowing conch shells, tungis, and turis, the sounds of which reverberate through the entire space. Leading a large procession to the temple, they thus mark the commencement of an emotive religious ceremony.
Devotees believe that Shiva himself visits the shrine on this occasion. Girnar is said to be the abode of the nine immortal nathas, and eighty-four siddhas, all of whom also visit the temple in their invisible spirit forms during Mahashivaratri. Offerings are made to the deities, and the festive energy courses through performances of dance, music and traditional bhavai theatre.
The fair during Mahashivaratri is held for five days commencing from the Hindu calendar date of Magh Vad 11, during the Gregorian months of February-March.
The Bhavnath Fair is held at the Bhavnath Mahadev Temple near Damodar Kund, at Girnar Taleti, 8 km from Junagadh. Junagadh has a major railway station & the nearest airport is in Rajkot, 110 km away. |
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| Chitra Vichitra Fair |
The festival begins on the eve of the new moon when the women gather at the river and mourn for their dead through the night. The next day the fair sets off with a generous splashing of dazzling colors and drumming.
The tribal men's costume generally consists of a blue shirt, dhoti and a red or saffron fenta or turban. The woman don ghagharas which have a circumference of as much as 20 yards, and are covered from head to feet with ornate and heavy silver jewellery, and sometime also beautifully knitted rafia jewellery made from pale yellow or dyed crimson grass. They also use liquid kumkum or vermilion to color their cheeks and lips a brilliant red, while their eyes are outlined vibrantly with kajal.
Every group visiting the fair carries its own drum, so that the atmosphere comes alive with a nonstop beat of drumming. The women sing folk songs in shrill choruses, and everyone dances near the main temple. Over a hundred stalls hold food and drink, and sweets of various kinds. Silver ornaments and household items are out for sale. There is also a giant wheel and a merry-go-round. The dancing and drumming continue for hours until everyone is left exhausted.
The fair is held a fortnight after Holi, around the month of March-April. It starts on the eve of the new moon (called Amavas), the time when the wheat crop is ready for harvest.
Sabarkantha District, Khed Brahma Taluka.
Each year the Chitra Vichitra Fair plays itself out within the limits of the village Gunbhakhari in the border area of the Sabarkantha district adjoining Rajasthan, 32 kms away from the nearest railway station of Khed Brahma. The main temple of the fair is situated on a picturesque site called the Triveni Sangam, the sacred confluence of the three rivers Sabarmati, Akul and Vyakul, amid the foothills of the Aravalis. |
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| Tarnetar Festival |
If you think you are prepared to walk out of your mundane experience and free-fall into a whirlwind of colors, romance and music, then head for the Tarnetar Fair.
Based on the legend of Draupadi's swayamvara, this fair is a celebration of ethnic Gujarat's folk-dance, music, costumes and the arts, centered around young tribal men and women seeking marriage partners. But even for those not interested in finding a spouse, the romance and excitement in the air are captivating, and every year the fair seems only to grow in popularity, attracting visitors and tourists from Gujarat, elsewhere in India, and even abroad.
The fair is held for three days every year during the Hindu calendar dates of Bhadarva Sud - 4th, 5th and 6th (during the Gregorian calendar months Aug.-Sept)
The Tarnetar fair is held 8 km from the town of Thangadh, in Surendranagar District. This is the nearest railway station, on the Ahmedabad-Hapa broadgauge line. |
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| Bhadrapad Ambaji Fair |
The Bhadrapad fair is held in the center of the Ambaji village just outside the temple premises. The village is visited by the largest number of sanghas [pilgrim groups] during the fair. Many of them go there on foot, which is particularly enriching as it happens immediately after the monsoon, when the landscape is rich with greenery, streams are full of sparkling water and the air is fresh.
The fair is held in the Hindu month of Bhadrapad (around August-September) at Ambaji, during a time which is particularly suitable for farmers, when the busy monsoon season is about to end.
The Bhabrapad fair is held at Ambaji which is in the Danta Taluka of Banaskantha district, near the Gujarat-Rajasthan border. |
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| Navratri Festival |
Navratri, meaning 'nine nights', is one of the most popular and widely celebrated Hindu festivals in many parts of India. Gujarat, however, is the only state that erupts into a nine-night dance festival, perhaps the longest in the world. Each night, all over the state, villages and cities alike, people gather in open spaces to celebrate feminine divinity, referred to as Shakti.
The dance form known as ras garba (also joined sometimes by dandiya, which uses small wooden sticks), comes from Lord Krishna's worship rather than Goddess worship, from the Gop culture of Saurashtra and Kutch. Stories of relationships between Krishna and the Gopis, and their emotions, also often make their way into the ras garba music.
Navratri is celebrated for nine nights, beginning on the first day of the bright fortnight of the Hindu month Ashwin, roughly corresponding to dates in the Gregorian calendar in September/October. This also usually coincides with the end of the rainy season. Dasara/Vijayadashami, is the tenth day of Ashwin. |
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| Shamlaji Fair |
A large number of devotees arrive to the Shamlaji fair on foot or on camel carts, singing devotional songs, some even dancing and carrying banners bearing sacred symbols. They go to worship the deity and bathe in the sacred waters of the Meshwo river. Among the Adivasis, the Bhil community has incredible faith in the powers of Shamlaji who they lovingly refer to as Kaliyo Dev (Dark Divinity). The fair is an important trade destination for people to buy silver ornaments, metalware, cloth and garments, along with many other annual household items.
The temple of Shamlaji stands on the banks of the river Meshwo, in veneration of Lord Vishnu. The river Meshwo meanders over its rocky bed in the valley immediately below, and the waters of a splendid natural lake, of great beauty sparkle amid the well-wooded hills.
The Shamlaji Mela lasts for about three weeks, around the month of November. Kartik Purnima (Full moon night) is the most important day for the fair.
The Shamlaji Mela is held at Shamlaji situated in the Sabarkantha district near the border between Gujarat and Rajasthan on the National Highway No. 8. Formerly included as a part of Idar, it is approximately 122 kms from Ahmedabad and around 32 kms from Himmatnagar. |
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| Vautha Fair |
Tens of thousands of donkeys, as well as hundreds of camels, adorned in an array of colors and bright embellishments are brought here for the largest animal fair in Gujarat, where they are traded on the fair grounds at the sangam tirtha. People generally arrive here on tractors, buses, chhakdas, camels, jeeps and other varied means of transport. For some this place is as divine as the sangam in Allahbad, and many communities even consider this fair more important than Diwali. Seven holy rivers mix waters here: the Vatrak merges with the Meshwo, Hathmati, Shedhi, Majum and Khari before it then meets the Sabarmati, so the locals call it saptasangam (meeting of seven).
This fair is held during Kartika Purnima, the full moon night of the month of Kartik in the Hindu calendar, corresponding roughly to the month of November. It lasts for five days.
The magnificent Vautha Fair is held every year at Vautha, where two rivers, the Sabarmati and the Vatrak meet. Dholka (26 kms away) is also believed to be 'Virata Nagar' of the Mahabharata where the Pandavas spent the last year of their exile in disguise. |
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| Rann Utsav |
A plethora of varied hues, profusion of design, superfluity of culture, cornucopia of music and dance, all together in the arid lands of Kutch creates a mosaic of exquisiteness which reflects the identity and spirit of the region. Kutch, one of the most ecologically and ethnically diverse district of the state is a celebratory land of art, crafts, music, dance, people and nature. During the full moon night of the winters amid the awe-inspiring and contrasting landscape each year a three day festive extravaganza brimming with hospitality, vigor and traditional flavor of the area is hosted and known as the Kutch or Rann Mahotsav.
Full moon night in the month of December.
The celebratory festival begins in the Bhuj city and goes around the district with a grand finale again being held at the preliminary destination.
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