Elephant Festival adds Glitters to Jaipur Festivals

Jaipur comes among the most visited destinations of Rajasthan. Tourists come here from far and wide places to relish the taste of royalty of the Raja-Maharajas of the bygone era. Jaipur, also known as the Pink City, has the numbers of festivals to celebrate with great elegance and levity.

Elephant Festival in Jaipur is an annual event held every year. This festival is set up according to the Indian calendar on the eve of Holi, a festival of colons, which takes place in the month of March (Phalgun). This offers the clear opportunity to see these royal and regal creatures in all their brilliance. The beating of musical instruments, rows of adorned camels, horses with lanced riders in the festival create a view of the past and the rich culture of Rajasthan.

Also the dance, music and cuisine enhance the joy of Festivals in Rajasthan. Elephant Festival conveys joy when you witness the female elephants wearing ornate anklets, which create rhythmic sounds as they march towards the ground. Also there are organised various competitions to relish the festivals to its full.

History
The history of the Elephant festival in Jaipur may hint to the Buddhist Jataka stories. These stories mention an ancient Elephant festival known as Hastimangala. Most of the elephants that take part in this festival of Jaipur are females. They are decorated with intense care and precision by their respective mahouts (Elephant Keepers).

Festival Attractions

Elephant Polo Match
This is one of the crowds pulling moments of the festival. The mahout leads the elephant by sitting on it. The elephant polo players dressed in red and saffron turbans try to score the goals with long sticks and a plastic football against to each others. Truly this is fun to watch the heavyweight animal running around playing polo. Thoroughly this event gets culminated when the visiting tourists come to mount the elephants and play Holi. Participants dance with the large vigour and the excitement that rises to a volume.

Tug of War
Tug of War match comes held between man and elephant. Tourists may see the largest elephant against a group of 10 people. The festive occasion of this festival avails a perfect opportunity to see elephants at their best. Unlike boxing competitions, this fierce elephant fight in Jaipur brings the lively entertainment to visitors.

In truth elephant festival comes as the most important festival of Jaipur. This is an outstanding endeavour of Rajasthan Tourism & Development Corporation to unveil the royalty of Rajputs. A number of tourists appear in Jaipur every year to see this magnificent celebration.