February 23 08:20 2015
Gangaur Festival 2015: March 22 (Sunday)
Gangaur is a very important festival of Rajasthan. It begins on the day after Holi and is celebrated for 18 long days. The festival is celebrated by women with great devotion and enthusiasm for Gauri, the companion of Lord Shiva. While married women worship Gauri, the symbol of love and marital love for the success of their married life, unmarried women worship the Goddess for being blessed with good life partner. Gangaur festival also celebrates harvest, monsoon and marital fidelity.
gangaur-festival-in-rajasthan
Rituals of Gangaur festival:
The first significant ritual of the colorful festival of Gangaur puja is collecting ashes from the Holi fire and burying of wheat seeds in it. These seeds are watered religiously every day until the germination takes place. Women also sing songs of Isar and Gauri (Shiva and Parvati).
A week after Holi, women make images of Shiva and Parvati with clay. On the evening of the 7th day after Holi, unmarried girls take out a parade with ghudlia (an earthern pot with holes around and a lamp inside) and sing songs related to it. On their way, the girls are presented with sweets, oil, ghee, jaggery and a little cash. The ritual continues for ten days, up to the conclusion of the Gangaur festival.
Gauri-Parvati-and-Isar-Shiva-at-Gangaur
The last three days of Gangaur festival celebration have huge importance. During this time women get all dressed up, wear new dresses and jewelry. At an auspicious hour in the afternoon, married women take out a procession with the images of Shiva and Parvati, placed on their head, to a garden.
Gangaur perfectly reflects the rich cultural heritage of Rajasthan and is celebrated with great zeal. Gangaur is not only a main festival of Rajasthan but it is also celebrated with joy in some places in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh