Gangaur is an extremely important festival of Rajasthan. It
commences on the day following Holi and continues for 18 days. The festival
is celebrated by womenfolk with great enthusiasm and devotion for
Gauri,
the consort of Lord Shiva. While married women worship Gauri, the embodiment
of perfection and conjugal love for the success of their married life,
unmarried women worship the Goddess for being blessed with good husband.
Gangaur Festival also celebrates monsoon, harvest and marital fidelity.
Rituals of Gangaur Festival
The first important ritual of the colourful festival of Gangaur is the
collection of ashes from the Holi fire and burying of wheat and barley seeds
in it. These seeds are the religiously watered every day until the
germination takes place. The ritual is performed with songs of Isar and
Gauri (Shiva and Parvati) and the varying of pots of water on the head.
A week after Holi, women make clay images of Gauri and Isar. The ritual is
made colourful and joyous with the traditional folk songs sung in praise of
Gauri.
On the evening of the seventh day after Holi, unmarried girls take out a
parade with ghudlia and singing songs related to it.
Ghudlia is an
earthen pot with holes around and a lamp inside. On their way, the girls are
gifted small presents like sweets, jaggery, ghee, oil and a little cash. The
ritual continues for ten days, upto the conclusion of the Gangaur Festival.
On the last day girls break their pots and throw the remains into a well or
a tank and enjoy a fest with their little collections.
However, Gangaur Festival celebrations reaches its peak during the last
three days of the festival. At this time women take special care to decorate
themselves and also the clay images that they had prepared. 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.
Gangaur aptly reflects the rich cultural heritage of Rajasthan and is
celebrated with great pomp and show in Bikaner, Jodhpur, Marathwara and
Jaisalmer. Gangaur Festival is also observed at some places in Gujarat.
