The colourful festival of Teej in Jaipur
Just as the monsoon arrives in north India, the air is filled with happiness and joy, as the women start preparing for the colourful festival of Teej. The Teej festival is held annually during the Hindu month of Shravan and marks the advent of the monsoon. This festival is celebrated in Jaipur, the capital city of Rajasthan with much fervour and vigour among women. It has an enormous fanfare among the people of Rajasthan and is a riot of colours with interesting rituals.
The two days of the festival stands as a symbol of tradition and custom and is surely a memorable experience for a traveller. It makes one experience the heritage and the vibrant celebrations while travelling to the Pink City of Jaipur, during the month of July and August . Rajasthani women celebrate it with singing regional songs and dance to the traditional tunes. The call of this vibrant festival attracts thousands of tourists from across the globe.
A vibrant festival
Teej festival is one of the most spectacular festival particularly in Jaipur which attracts thousands of devotees and tourists to join the spiritual procession along with the idol of Maa Parvathi as goddess Teej. This festival holds an important significance and is celebrated to commemorate the reunion of Lord Shiva and Parvathi after years of penance.
The festival is all about worshipping goddess Parvathi and is primarily meant for the women, girls, and newlyweds who pray for the long life of their partners. It is believed that in return the goddess would bless them with virtue, devotion, and fertility.
Processions in Jaipur are taken out from Tripolia Gate and goes all the way to Chaugan Stadium. The devotional march welcomes individuals from every religion and is celebrated with similar passion and devotion. Women adorn themselves with henna, jewellery, wear traditional dresses and laharia saris (traditional Rajasthani saris) after being gifted from their maternal house and take part in the procession playing musical instruments and singing folk songs.
The procession convoys with beautifully decorated elephants, horses and camels which are made to walk before goddess Teej’s palanquin which is made up of gold and silver. The old city fascinates people for two consecutive days. A major attraction of the festival is the fair which includes different stalls of mouthwatering delicacies, handicrafts, colourful apparels. The festival is incomplete without the delicious food of the royal state and the most special dessert called Ghevar, a disc-shaped porous sweet with delicious malai topping infused with dried fruits, sugar, and saffron.
This celebration is an awe-inspiring experience in the city of the royals and a lively display of the culture of Rajasthan. One can witness the grandeur of this annual celebration along with a unique bond of brotherhood among people irrespective of caste and religion.
