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Sawan Teej Festival
Jaipur to have elephant
village
Udaipur Lakes Crossed the Standard Level
Celebrating Rajasthan Diwas - 21st to 30th
March 2005
Rajasthan set for record tourism
Rajasthan temples to get Rs.400 million facelift
High on tourism, Rajasthan plans six
airstrips
Udaipur's royal past attracts tourists
Rustic Rajasthan
SAWAN TEEJ FESTIVAL
28-29 July 2006
SAWAN TEEJ FESTIVAL
28-29 July 2006
Teej is the festival of swings. It marks the advent of the
monsoon month of Sawan (August). The monsoon rains fall on the
parched land and the pleasing scent of the wet soil rises into
the air. Swings are hung from trees and decorated with
flowers. Young girls and women dressed in green clothes sing
songs in celebration of the advent of the monsoon. This
festival is dedicated to the Goddess Parvati,commemorating her
union with Lord Shiva. Goddess Parvati is worshipped by
seekers of conjugal bliss and happiness. An elaborate
procession is taken out in Jaipur for two consecutive days on
the festive occasion which is watched by people in large
numbers. The teej idol is richly decorated with ornaments and
gaudy dresses. The Teej idol is covered with a canopy whereas
the Gangaur idol is open.
The Teej festival is grandly celebrated each year by women in
Rajasthan by offering prayers and worship to Goddess Parvati
for her devotion to her husband Shiva. This festival marks the
arrival of the rainy season, bringing relief to the parched
land and brings special joy to women and girls who go around
singing and dancing in praise of Parvati. Women associate this
festival with rituals of swinging in rain, singing folk songs,
decorating palms by applying Mehandi, dressing in best of
clothes and jewelry and feast. In Jaipur an idol of Goddess
Parvati is taken out in royal procession from The City Palace.
This grand spectacle consists of Royal Antique Gilt
Palanquins, cannons on wheels drawn by bullocks, chariots,
gaily decorated Elephants with silver Haudas, Horses, Camels,
brass bands and groups of dancers. Eight men dressed in red
cloth carry the palanquin and the long procession is
participated by men and women in large numbers who sing and
dance merrily.
Jaipur to have elephant village
Source: IANS Image Source: IS
Jaipur, Aug 17: Elephants in Jaipur and their keepers will
have a new home, with work on a 'hathi gaon' (elephant
village) to start soon.
The Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) has handed over
possession of 30 hectares of land on the Delhi bypass road to
the Rajasthan Tourism department.
"The chief minister (Vasundhara Raje) was very keen on this
project. She has strongly directed that the project should be
completed at the earliest," a state government spokesperson
told IANS.
After completion of the project - the first of its kind in
India - all the elephants in the city are expected to bid
adieu to their present nomadic status.
Under the project, the tourism department will provide shelter
to about 100 elephants. At the moment, the elephants, used to
ferry tourists to Amber Fort and sometimes carry load, spend
the night on the city streets.
The project would include a natural park-like shelter for
elephants with extensive plantation, a well-equipped
veterinary hospital and proper sewerage facilities.
Besides, a small man-made pond would come up for the elephants
to play in. The elephant keepers (mahouts) would be provided
residential accommodation in the park.
Other tourist facilities would include restaurants, an
artefact manufacturing centre and a special museum depicting
Rajasthani culture and tradition.
Elephant owners earn roughly about Rs.3,000 a day ferrying
tourists but each elephant consumes food worth about Rs.700
daily.
The plantation within the park will not be meant for providing
elephant feed, which, as is done now, will be purchased by the
owners from outside.
Udaipur Lakes Crossed the Standard
Level.
After a long wait of monsoon, finally the empty lakes of
Udaipur got filled. Now the palaces of the lake city are
shining like pearl. The charm of the lake city is back now. As
you can see the pictures.
Celebrating Rajasthan Diwas - 21st to
30th March 2005
The people of Rajasthan, who rejoice everyday in
effervescent ways of their life, who enliven their traditions
every now & then in festivities & revelries, are all set to
celebrate Rajasthan Diwas in a grand manner this year
throughout the state from 21st March to 30th March.
Fifty-six years ago, on 30th March 1949, took place the grand
unification of the erstwhile princely states of Rajputana
giving birth to Rajasthan state in the Union of India. Since
then, 30th March is celebrated as Rajasthan Diwas every year.
The year 2005 marks a new beginning for these celebrations.
With Rajasthan emerging as a frontrunner in tourism industry,
Government of Rajasthan continues to add new attractions to
its repertoire of festivals while bringing forth the vast
range of Rajasthani Folk Art, Craft, Dance & Music.
With the aim of showcasing the state's culture & heritage and
reviving the traditional sports, cuisines and folk-art,
Government of Rajasthan has announced state-wide Rajasthan
Diwas Celebrations from 21st March to 30th March 2005. These
celebrations stand apart for the sheer range of participation
that it would elicit from people at large with sports &
cultural competitions being organised for them at levels of
districts & divisions culminating to state-level finals in
Jaipur. Craft-Bazaar, Food Festival, Night Bazaar, Sports
competitions, spectacular fire-works, Mega Cultural Concerts,
and competitions for school students are but a few events
planned by the state government as a part of Rajasthan Diwas
Celebrations, 2005.
Lighting of Rajasthan Diwas torches in 32 districts of
Rajasthan and their arrival to the capital city - Jaipur via
their divisional headquarters form a part of the event "Run
for Rajasthan", an event forerunner to the 10-day celebrations
beginning on 21st March 2005. Internationally and nationally
famed sportspersons of Rajasthan would participate in a relay
on 21st March from SMS Stadium to Albert Hall, Jaipur;
carrying a torch lighted from the flames of all 6 divisional
torches.
The mega festival would mark its beginning on 21st March with
the lighting of Rajasthan Diwas flame at Albert Hall amidst
cheering from a gathering comprising of VIPs & eminent persons
besides the people of Rajasthan. An enthusiastic
live-performance by Police & Military Bands and
well-choreographed vivacious performances by the folk artists
in Musical Symphony at Albert Hall would mark the grand
inaugural of Rajasthan Diwas celebrations. Not to be missed
would be the view of city's sky as a colourful canvas adorned
with thousands of balloons.
Craft Bazaar showcasing the art forms, handicrafts, pottery
styles, prints & textiles, embroideries, carpets, wood & metal
work of different regions of Rajasthan promises to be a major
attraction for visiting tourists as well as the residents in
Rajasthan throughout the 10-day celebrations. Taking care of
the educative needs of craftsmen, the state government has
planned to organise awareness-seminars & design-workshops at
Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur to benefit the talented craftsmen.
Puppet shows and folk performances by Kalbelia, Manganiyars,
Garasias, Sahariya, Bheels and other tribes every evening in
Jawahar Kala Kendra have been planned as added attraction for
the visitors to Craft Bazaar.
Tantalizing the taste buds would be the mouth-watering Marwari,
Mewari, Hadoti, Dundhari, Brij and Punjabi delicacies that
would be savoured by the people in the Food Festival to be
held in Jaipur from 21st March to 30th March, 2005 during the
course of Rajasthan Diwas Celebrations. Pavillions, offering
the region specific Rajasthani-cuisine, would undoubtedly add
to the delight of tourists and Rajasthanis alike 10-day
Rajasthan Diwas Celebrations would herald revival of
traditional & rural sports like Kabbadi, Kho-Kho, Rumal
Jhappatta, Teerandazi (Archery), Camel Cart Race, Elephant
Polo, Tonga Race and other sports like Satoliya, Bullock Cart
Race, Mulkhum, Rassa-kassi and Bhartiya Kushti etc. As part of
celebrations, competitions would be held at District &
Division level and the winning teams would compete in the
State-level finals to be held in Jaipur between 21st
March-30th March 2005. Rajasthan Diwas Celebrations has come
in as a timely opportunity to recognise the talented
sportsperson of our state and to showcase & popularise the
traditional games amongst the younger generations. Modern day
popular sports like Golf & Horse Polo would also form a part
of the competitions.
No festival can be exciting without the charm & laughter of
children. To enlighten the school going kids about the
heritage & glory of Rajasthan, theme based competitions like
debate, quiz, essay writing, drawing & painting would be
organised in Jaipur during the course of celebrations. The
winning teams of division level competitions would participate
in the final rounds to be held in the capital city. Adding to
the vivacity of the celebrations would be the vibrant folk
dance & song performances by the school students in the
competitions at different levels of district, division, and
state. While praying for the prosperity, development, and
progress of people in Rajasthan, divine blessings would be
sought by organising Maha-Aarti at Birla Mandir(Temple) in
Jaipur on 21st March. In subsequent days, Maha-Aartis would be
organised during the dusk time in significant temples of
different parts of the city and the harmony of bhajans would
soothe people throughout the state.
One of the most unique features of these celebrations, never
seen before in any other festival, would be the Night Bazaar.
An ensemble of shoppers' items ranging from handicrafts,
clothes, potteries, carpets, internationally renowned quilts,
blankets & jewellery to day-today household commodities, would
ensure a shopping experience par imagination to the Pink-city
dwellers every evening till midnight. Night Bazaar would
definitely herald a new era of late-evening activities in the
city.Amidst all merriments would be the most enchanting Holi
Festival. The festival of colours would add its hues to the
joys of Rajasthan Diwas Celebrations with the plans of a Mega
Holika Dahan on 25th March. Colourful fire-works on the
occasion promises to spellbound Jaipurites with its
spectacular display. The grand Elephant Festival on 25th March
would further add to the glory of entire celebrations. This
fervor would soon be followed next day by an enthralling play
of colours in Hotel Khasa Kothi, Jaipur. Further more,
foreigners enjoying the open-bus city tour would be able to
experience the gaiety, exhilaration, and joys of Pink city
dwellers amidst their distinctive play of colours.
Grand cultural shows and live concerts every evening in the
ambience of majestic Albert Hall, Amer Fort and other equally
eye-arresting venues have been planned to entertain people
throughout the celebrations. A variety of programmes ranging
from Classical Music & dance performances, Ghazal Evening,
Bollywood Celebrity Evening to Nritya Natika, Natya Sandhya
etc. would be held during the celebrations in Jaipur. Tourists
and residents would get an opportunity to enjoy the
performances of nationally famed artists who are shining stars
of the constellation of celebrities in their own field.
Source : Rajasthan Tourism
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Rajasthan set for record tourism
One of the world's most favoured tourist destinations,
Rajasthan has witnessed an unprecedented growth of more than
50 percent in domestic and foreign tourist traffic this year.
The desert state witnessed a record arrival of more than
600,000 foreign tourists and 12.5 million domestic tourists in
2003.
That's not all. In the first six months of this year, the
foreign tourist arrivals went up 63 percent and domestic by 33
percent.
"In the first six months from January to July, 5.5 million
domestic tourists and more than 380,000 foreign tourists have
visited the state. This is a record arrival and we expect the
trend to continue as the season has just begun," a state
tourism department official said.
If travel inquiries are any indication, the year ahead is
going to see tourist arrivals going up further.
"If one goes by the number of inquiries, we feel that arrivals
will at least look up by over 40 percent this year in
comparison to the previous year," Karan Singh of Surya Tours &
Travels said.
He said interest among foreigners in Rajasthan is growing as
it offers everything other than beaches and snow-clad
mountains.
The Pushkar camel fair is also a big hit. As per preliminary
estimates, around 10,000 foreign tourists are expected to
attend the weeklong fair, which started Nov 19 and will end
Friday.
"Foreigners love to watch the village lifestyle and the
trading of animals. And no other place can be better than the
Pushkar fair where you get all this plus festivities," Singh
said.
Hotels are also reporting house full. "Forget about discounts,
if you get a room you should be happy to grab it!" said
Surendra Singh, a travel agent.
"We are booked fully up to February," the manager of a
city-based five-star hotel said. He said thanks to the city
emerging as a big conference centre, hotel business is
booming.
Similar is the situation with small and medium category hotels
that are reporting 70-80 percent of room occupancy on an
average, which is around 40-45 percent more than the last
year.
Even transporters, who provide taxis and coaches, are a
happier lot.
Source : Indo-Asian News Service
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Rajasthan temples to get Rs.400 million facelift
Jaipur, Feb 1 (IANS) The desert state of Rajasthan which
boasts of several ancient temples will renovate them now as
part of an action plan by the state's devasthan (temple)
department.
As much as Rs.400 million ($9.15 million) has been assigned
for the task that covers over 100 temples, many of which are
completely ruined and no more in use.
"Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje is a very religious person. It
is her idea to restore the temples to give a fillip to
religious tourism," an official from the department said.
A detailed list of old temples has been prepared, and
proposals for renovation would be presented to the state
assembly in March, officials here said.
Plans are afoot to initiate regular worshipping activities in
each temple and officials said that the restoration task would
be carried out by craftsmen who have been traditionally
involved in temple construction.
The temples with adequate tourism potential would be connected
with roads and the very important of them have already been
recommended to the Union Ministry of Tourism.
Efforts would also being made to get the corporate sector
participate in the renovation effort, officials said.
Source : Indo-Asian News Service
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High on tourism, Rajasthan plans six
airstrips
By Anil Sharma, Indo-Asian News Service
Jaipur, Feb 10 (IANS) Enthused by a spurt in tourist arrivals,
Rajasthan is planning to construct airstrips in six towns of
the state. Three of the new airstrips would be in Jhalawar,
Pali and Banswara. The sites for the other three airfields are
yet to be finalised. "The Planning Commission has already
approved a sum of Rs.100 million ($2 million) for the
construction of airstrips in six places," a senior official of
the state tourism department told IANS.
"The money is over and above the Rs.50 million sanctioned by
the state government to construct airstrips in Jhalawar, Pali
and Banswara," the official said. These three airstrips were
slated to come up in the current year itself. The plan to
build airstrips is mainly aimed at boosting tourism in the
desert state. While Rajasthan has a number of airstrips and
helipads, the commercial airlines offer services mainly to the
cities of Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur and sometimes to
Jaisalmer. The official said air taxi operators (ATOs) would
be encouraged to expand their services in the state. The use
of the government's existing airstrips numbering 19 and some
other facilities has already been offered to ATOs, he said.
Rajasthan continues to be one of the most favourite tourism
destinations in the world, witnessing an unprecedented growth
of more than 50 percent in domestic and foreign tourist
influx. The state witnessed a record arrival of more than
600,000 foreign tourists and 12.5 million domestic tourists in
2003. In the first six months of 2004 the number of foreign
tourists went up 63 percent and of domestic by 33 percent.
"In the first six months from January to July 2004, 5.4
million domestic tourists and more than 380,000 foreign
tourists visited the state. This is a record," the official of
the tourism department said.
Travel agents and tour operators are happy with the
government's plan.
Source : Indo-Asian News Service
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Udaipur's royal past attracts tourists
A glimpse into the royal past of Udaipur through a sound and
light show is attracting tourists to Rajasthan's famed city of
lakes.
The one-hour Son et Lumiere (sound and light show) titled
"Legacy of Honour" presents glimpses of 1,500 years of history
of the Mewars of the state. The privately initiated project
was started a week ago by the Udaipur royalty to attract
tourists to the city.
The narrative traces 15 centuries of history that includes the
foundation of Mewar by Bappa Rawal, the 'Johar'
(self-immolation to protect honour) of Chittor's Rani Padmini,
the story of Mughal emperor Humayun and Rani Karmavati, the
story of Pannadhai who sacrificed her own son for the safety
of Prince Udai Singh and the battle of Haldi Ghati.
The show ends on a contemporary note, recounting the vision of
Maharana Bhagwat Singh who turned the palace into a heritage
hotel more than 40 years
ago and who instituted the Maharana Mewar Charitable
Foundation (MMCF) Trust to both conserve Mewar's rich heritage
and develop the region.
"We feel that this show would certainly help to boost tourism
in the city," Trilok Sharma, secretary, MMCF said. He said
that around 600,000 tourists, both domestic as well as
foreign, visit the city every year.
"We are thrilled. We didn't know Mewar had such a rich
history," said an Italian tourist.
L M Wong, a tourist from US said, "It is indeed a wonderful
experience. I won't mind sitting the whole night long if
history is presented in such a fascinating manner."
Source : Indo-Asian News Service
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Rustic Rajasthan
January 24: HOT ‘n’ spicy, that’s the best way to describe the
very scintillating and tongue tingling Rajasthani fare. Rich
and vibrant, the flavours of the rustic and sandy locales are
anything but bland and ordinary. A platter of some of the most
exotic and fiery herbs, the Rajasthani ‘Chokhi Dhani,’ is
quite a simmering mouthful. And bringing home the vary
tantalising flavours is Hotel Heritage, Sector 35. At their
ongoing Rajasthani food festival, which will continue for a
month, more than 15 different varieties of starters and main
course meals are up for serves on their buffet. Dressed in the
vibrant Bandhini garbs with their pagris intact, the staff of
the hotel have droused themselves in the colourful spirit and
will be serving such dishes like Bhel, chaat, baati choorma,
besan ke gatte, sabudane ki khichdi which form a great
precursor for the fresh from the tawa veggies like bhindi,
aloo, moyia pulao, bajre ki khichdi best enjoyed with bajre ki
roti or jwar ki roti. So jump in the bandwagon and enjoy all
that the cuisine of the sandy dunes has to offer.
Source : Express India
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