Page 377 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - India

R A JASTHAN  375

Festivals of Rajasthan
Nagaur Cattle Fair (Jan/
Feb), Nagaur. Camel races,
puppet shows, folk music
and dance mark this week-
long fair (see p380).
Gangaur (Mar/Apr). This
18-day festival celebrates the
marital bliss of Shiva and Parvati
and is a major event all over
Rajasthan, though celebrated
with special verve in Udaipur.
Women perform the swirling
Sariska Palace, a luxury hotel just outside the Tiger Reserve ghoomar dance, and carry
images of the goddess in
7 Sariska langur monkeys, jackals and colourful proces sions through
National Park hyenas, nilgai or blue bulls, wild the streets, as they pray for the
boars and porcupines. wellbeing of their husbands.
Alwar district. 37 km (23 miles) SW of Among the birds that can
Alwar. @ n Field Director, Project
Tiger Sanctuary, Sariska (0144) 284 be spotted are the crested
1333. Open Sep–Jun. & Extra for serpent eagle, the great Indian
personal vehicles or jeeps. 8 0 horned owl, woodpeckers,
kingfishers and partridges.
Designated a Tiger Reserve The dry deciduous forests
under Project Tiger (see p293) of Sariska come to life during
in 1979, Sariska National Park, the brief spring and early
formerly the private hunting summer, when the flowering
ground of the princely state of dhak (Butea monosperma) and
Alwar, sprawls some 866 sq km laburnum bloom. The date
(334 sq miles), with a core area palm begins to bear fruit,
of 497 sq km (192 sq while berries known
miles). The Aravalli locally as kair (Capparis
Range branches out decidua) appear on
at Sariska, forming low the bushes.
plateaux and valleys The Kankwari Gangaur celebrations, Udaipur
that harbour a wide Silk cotton Fort, dating to the
spectrum of wildlife. in bloom 17th- century, and Elephant Festival (Mar),
The tiger popu lation temple ruins, such as Jaipur. Processions of splendidly
at Sariska is now believed to be those of the Pandupol Temple, caparisoned elephants and an
13 and spotting one is a rarity. lie within the park. The Sariska elephant polo tournament are
It was reported by the media Palace, built at the end of the the highlights of this festival.
that not a single tiger survived 19th century as a hunting Mewar Festival (Mar),
in the reserve. Nevertheless, lodge for Alwar’s rulers, is Udaipur. Mewar’s heritage
forest guides keep track of now a luxury hotel, with a is celebrated with cultural
where a tiger was last seen and collection of vintage shikar shows and fireworks.
can sometimes lead visitors to (hunting) photographs. Teej (Aug/Sep). Girls all
spot this elusive predator. over Rajasthan wear new
There are watering holes in clothes, sing and dance
Sariska, Pandupol, Bandipol, joyously to celebrate this
Slopka, Kalighati and Talvriksha festival venerating Parvati,
and these make good vantage goddess of marital harmony.
points to view wildlife, especially Teej also heralds the arrival
at sunset when hoards of of the monsoon.
animals flock to them to quench Urs (Oct), Ajmer. The
their thirst. The gentle chital or mesmerising music of
spotted deer is commonly qawwali singers is a highlight
sighted at the park’s watering of the six-day-long death
holes, while the chausingha anniversary ceremonies
(four-horned antelope), unique for the Sufi saint, Khwaja
to Sariska, can be spotted Moinuddin Chishti.
around Pandupol. Other Pushkar Fair (Oct/Nov),
species that can be seen here Black-faced Hanuman langurs, a common Pushkar (see pp378–9).
are panthers and black-faced sight at Sariska

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