Elephants are the Royal animals of India. In ancient times, elephants were the transport mediums for kings and royal families. They also took part in the wars between the kings. Today also elephants take part in marriage ceremonies and processions, traditional occasions, etc. So elephants are still holding a remarkable role in Indian culture.
About the Festival
The elephant festival is a famous local festival in Jaipur. It is celebrated every year in Jaipur on the occasion of full moon day. This year the elephant festival is going to be held on Sunday, 08 March 2023. This festival represents the olden culture of Jaipur. It shows the relationship between ancient Jaipur residents and elephants as elephants were playing an important role in their lives.
This is a festival for people who love elephants and want to witness the ancient culture of Jaipur. It also holds the ancient culture of India. This festival shows that elephants also take an essential part in the culture of Jaipur like camels.
Every year Rajasthan Tourism organizes the elephant festival in the month of March to represent the ancient Jaipur culture. So over a period of time, it became popular and many people visit Jaipur to enjoy this festival.
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Date of Jaipur Elephant Festival 2023
The upcoming Jaipur Elephant Festival, scheduled for March 25th, offers a unique cultural experience worth considering for your summer holiday plans.
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History of Elephant Festival
As per Hindu mythology, Elephant is believed as one of the nine gems that came out of the ocean during the stirring of the ocean by Gods and demons. The elephant festival has been celebrated since ancient times as a traditional event of the Jaipur culture. In the olden days when kings were organizing the festival, they were allowing the elephants to fight with each other and acknowledged the strongest elephant.
After the interruption of the animal rights groups in 2012, the involvement of elephants in this festival is canceled.
What happens at the elephant festival?
The elephant festival remembers the ancient culture of India. In this festival, many elephants participate with their mahouts. During this festival, the elephants get decorated with varieties of clothes and jewelry. They wear traditional clothes of Rajasthan as well as embroidered clothes. The jewelry includes anklets, silver ornaments, rugs, etc. Mostly female elephants take participate in this festival.
As this festival is celebrated on Holi the elephants also get painted with different types of colors by the mahouts. Apart from the elephants the mahouts also get dressed in the traditional clothes and ornaments of Rajasthan. This creates a beautiful traditional look in the evening of the full moon day. A huge crowd gathers to view and enjoy the decoration of the animals.
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At the beginning of the festival abroad, the elegant procession of decorated elephants entertains the crowd. The mahouts in the royal attire on the elephants look very attractive and guide the elephants in the crowd. They also use musical instruments and sticks to produce sound during the procession. This procession is the main attraction of this festival and many people visit Jaipur every year to enjoy this procession. After the completion of the procession, the audience enjoys a variety of elephant games which makes their day memorable. The elephant-based games such as elephant dance; elephant polo, elephant race, and elephant tug of war make the festival incredible. This creates an eagerness for the people to watch the elephant playing games like polo and racing.
The tug-of-war between an elephant and 19 men and women is one of the most beautiful attractions of this elephant festival no one should miss it. The elephants also spatter the colors and offer the garlands to the crowd. This festival also includes a ramp walk competition between the elephants. In that competition, a team of experts selects the best-decorated elephant of the festival. During this festival, the Gaj shrinkage exhibition also takes place where people can buy the traditional items of Rajasthan. People also can enjoy the local food and famous cuisines of Rajasthan during this festival. Many people from India and out of India visit Jaipur to witness the elephant festival every year in the month of March.
Before 2011 the elephant festival was celebrated in Chaugan Stadium. Due to the increasing crowd, the stadium became unsuitable for the elephant festival. So now the elephant festival is celebrated in Jaipur polo ground.
How to reach the place of the festival?
The elephant festival happens on Jaipur polo ground opposite the swami Man Singh stadium. You can reach this place by auto, bus, cab, or rickshaw from any part of the city.
If you are coming from out of the city, you can come via trains and flights to Jaipur. Then you can drive to the ground by road.
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Entry fees and timings of the elephant festival?
The elephant festival is usually celebrated in the month of March on the occasion of Holi. During this festival, you can find many stalls of local foods and traditional items to buy. On the day of the festival, it starts around 4 pm and ends at 7 pm.
The Elephant festival has no entry fees for anyone. Everyone can visit the ground and enjoy the festival. So it gets lots of crowds that you should keep in mind while visiting this place.
Though the elephant festival is a local festival in Jaipur its culture and events make it a famous festival all over India and out of India. If you are planning to visit Jaipur, you should plan to visit during the month of March so that you can witness the elephant festival.
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