Gangaur is a festival of devotion, love and marital bliss celebrated in India with glee and zeal.
Namaste,
Welcome to the world of engrossed readings at www.onindianpath.com. Today we are going to share insights on Gangaur 2024 festival.
Introduction
We Hindus live fun filled life, full of celebrations and festivals. Additionally, our days are filled with devotion and nights are filled with joyful celebrations.
Gangaur is one of those festival which will make you dance, sing and stylised your attire in the most ethnic and traditional way.
Have you seen women singing folksongs and carrying idols of a divine couple on their head? Yes, you got it right. It is Gangaur. Gangaur, a Hindu festival celebrates the spirit of conjugal love of Gauri and Shankar. Their love and bond inspires many devotees to have same blissful marriage.
Significance of Gangaur
Further, Gangaur is a vibrant and culturally significant festival. Also, it holds great significance in Hindu culture specifically in Rajasthan and other adjacent states.
Furthermore, this festival is known for colorful processions, traditional dances like Ghoomar, and intricate rituals of making divine idols of Gauri and Ishwar(Lord Shiva) by devotees themselves. Not only this, these idols are then immersed in water, symbolizing the union and subsequent separation of the divine couple.
Gangaur showcases Rajasthan’s rich cultural heritage through music, dance and elaborate decorations.
Date of Gangaur 2024
In 2024, Gangaur puja will be celebrated on April 11, 2024. As per Hindu Panchang, Gangaur Puja falls on tritiya tithi of chaitra Navratri.
Eventually, the tithi will begin at 05:32 PM on April 10, 2024 and will end at 3:03 PM on April 11, 2024.
Highlights
a) Married and unmarried women observe fast for 16 days to observe the sanctity of Gangaur Puja and Vrat. Likewise, married women observe this fast for the well being and longevity of their husbands. Meanwhile, spinster perform this puja and vrat to be blessed with desirable husband.
b) Also, they eat only one meal a day along with milk, fruits, juices etc(abstaining from cereals).
c) On Gangaur, women folk adorned with 16 shringaar and henna on their palms.
d) There are many fairs and melas organised at different geographical location to mark the festival.
e) At many locations, it is called Gaura Tritiya.
f) In addition to, Ghewar(a special kind of sweet delicacy made up of milk, flour and sugar) is made and consumed during these days.
g) Idols of Gaura(Goddess Parvati) and Ish(her husband) are made of clay by womenfolk with their consort. After 16 days of puja and fasting, devotees bid a farewell to them. And, do visarjan(immerse) them in river or any other water body nearby.
Story of Gangaur
Once upon a time, Lord Shiva came to the Earth with Goddess Parvati and Narad Muni for wandering. They reached a forest. Soon, this news flashed like fire in nearby villages. All the women were overjoyed and wanted to welcome the Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati.
So, they cooked delicious food for them. As per belief, lower caste women came first and worshiped Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati and offered bhog to them. On this, Goddess Parvati was pleased. As a result, she blessed them with amar suhaag(long lived consorts).
Eventually, richer and upper caste women came to know about this news of arrival of divine couple. Likewise they came late as they were getting ready. Meanwhile, they also performed puja and fed delicious food to Lord Shiva and mata Parvati.
Now, Goddess Parvati had given all her marital bliss in form of Sindoor to lower caste women. Thus, Maa Parvati cut her thumb and gave her blood as a blessing to the upper caste women.
Hence forth, people celebrate the festival of Gangaur happily.
My way of celebrating Gangaur
Being married to Marwadi family, I am privileged to celebrate and enjoy this sixteen days long celebration called Gangaur.
Mainly, the celebrations started next day after my first Holi after marriage. I went back to my mayeka(parents’ house) to have this mesmerising experience. As per the ritual, being newly married girl, I invited 16 other girls for the puja and Gangaur khelan. Thenafter, I gave them betel nuts and other suhaag items to mark the sanctity and transquility of this festival of marital love.
On sixteenth day, Gaura Mata and her Ish were made with great enthusiasm. I made the idol of Gangaur Mata and Ish (her husband Lord Shiva) with clay with my hands. Thenafter, I went for the Visarjan, immersed them in the reservoir after doing Udyapan.
Apparently, it was my lifetime experience and giving me goosebumps while writing about this enthralling experience.
Celebrating Gangaur in Rajasthan
Indeed, Gangaur is a famous festival of north Indian states like Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. But, for Rajasthan, it hold special space.
Infact, in Pink City aka Jaipur, ghewar has a majestic role in celebrating this festival. Particulalry, people buy and distribute this ghevar among their friends and relatives on Gangaur.
However, a procession starts from the Zanani-Deodhi of the City Palace till Talkatora. As, it passes through Tripolia Bazaar, Chhoti Chaupar, Gangauri Bazaar, Chaugan stadium and finally ends near Talkatora. This mesmerising event is witnessed by many people from all walks of life and also attracts tourists.
Similarly, City of Lakes, Udaipur has a dedicated ghat(river front) named after Gangaur called Gangaur Ghat. Indeed, this Gangori Ghat is situated on the side of lake Pichola. Here, the celebritions of Gangaur festival has a different and spellbounding view. Certainly, the processions of Gangaur starts from the City Palace and ends at Gangaur Ghat. Besides, this procession passes through various areas of the city, headed by old palanquins, chariots, bullock carts. Notably, there are many folk artists performing dance and music performances for the audience.
Nevertheless, with the advent of time and technology, there are many DJ consoles arranged to give the celebration a modern twist.
At the end, the idols of Ishwar and Gaura are brought to this ghat by women lore and immersed in the Lake Pichola.
Conclusion
At the end, Gangaur is not just a festival but a cultural extravaganza that exhibits the beauty, traditions and values cherished by the womenlore of India. Lastly, it brings communities together, fostering unity and a sense of belongingness among people.
Have a blessed time ahead. Keep growing with us.
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