Festival Tours in Rajasthan
  
The elephant has references in Indian mythology. As
goods or Devas and the demons or Asuras churned the oceans during
"sagar manthan" for the elixir of life that would
make them immortal, there surfaced the "navratnas"
- nine jewels. One of these jewels was the elephant. The elephant
is therefore absolutely precious, to be preserved and protected
as jewels are.
Elephants have always occupied a pride of place among the erstwhile
Rajput rulers. The Rajput rulers' use of elephants in war is
legendary. War aside elephants have been an integral part of
Rajasthan's royal courts and were used in royal parades. As
a rule of thumb, a Rajput king would always ride on elephant.
Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan was a much preferred place
for elephant parades in honor of the royal guests. This grand
spectacle of elephant parade was given a fresh lease of life
courtesy Rajasthan Tourism and every year in the month of March
a grand spectacle of impeccably bedecked and ornamented elephants
are paraded in full public glare at Jaipur's Chaugan Stadium.
The spectacular parade is followed by a bewildering array of
special events like playing holi with elephants, elephant race
and the amazing game of elephant polo. It is indeed party time
for the elephants.
The most amazing feature of this colorful festival is that the
majority of the elephants that take part in the festivities
are female of the species. Each elephant is garishly decorated
from tusk to tail with charming jewelry. Their foreheads are
embossed with floral decoration.
Although elephants are the main attraction of the festival,
to add charm to the festivities, brightly bejeweled camels and
horses with their masters seated on the saddle also take part
in this remarkable festival. Traditional Rajasthani folk dancers
enthrall the audience by their rhythmic dance.
.
|
