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.
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