Holi Festival

Holi Festival, This Saturday, getting a splash of color at Will Rogers State Beach will take on new meaning as people start gathering to celebrate Holi, commonly known as the Indian Festival of Colors.

Signifying the end of winter and beginning of spring, the festival is celebrated with great enthusiasm by Hindus around the world, especially in India and Nepal. Holi is known for being a celebration of happiness, music and laughter. Although the festival is not very religious it is perhaps the most fervently rejoiced day by Hindus, according to the The Times of India.

Celebrations consist of throwing colored paint and dye upon each other in a fun, energetic and peaceful atmosphere that is filled with music and food, according to the book Festivals of India by Vedic Quest. Traditionally certain flowers and healing herbs such as Neem and Kumkum were used to make the colors, but that practice lessened over the years and many now use synthetics. Also, the eve of the festival includes the lighting of bonfires.

Besides being a time of a celebration, Holi is also as a time when people stand as equals and social barriers of class, sex and age are broken, a very profound gesture in a society with a long history of caste systems. Because it is known as a time when social norms are thrown aside and people celebrate wildly, the festival has increased in popularity with many non-Hindus, and is celebrated in various colleges and concert type events throughout the county.

Jaipur Elephant Festival

Jaipur Elephant Festival, Rajasthan is the land of kings and queens and one of the most charming states of India. It has been known worldwide as a tourism destination as it has lots of tourist attraction and tourist facilities.

A Rajasthan Tour packages provides the tourists its rich culture, tradition, heritage and monuments. It’s also popular for its wildlife national parks and sanctuaries. The “Elephant Festival in Jaipur” is an amazing event of the elephants which is organized on the eve of Holi in Jaipur, a capital city of Rajasthan.

The festival begins with a parade with rows upon rows of elephants trained to perfection, decorated in gold and embellished velvets, catwalk before an enchanted audience. The elephants are followed by camels, horses and Rajasthani folk dancers. The amazing sound of the musical instrument bankiya or the trumpet makes the ambience so live.

This program is organized in Chaugan Stadium or the Polo ground of the Jaipur, the festival is celebrated by hundreds of visitors from India as well as from other country. Most of the participated elephants are female.The elephants are painted on foreheads, trunks and feet with several themes and decorated with jewelry and ornaments from ivory to tail.

These elephants are also gifted with awards for the best dressed category as well. Elephant has always been a source of luxury ride of kings, members of the royal family, nobles and dignitaries mounting it in the past eras. Jaipur Tourism has reminded the age-old tradition of associations of elephants by allowing the Elephant Festival in the list of the cultural calendar.

The elephants participate in various events like races; the game of polo forms the major highlight of the festival. Dressed in colorful saffron and red hat, the teams try to goals to acquire scores with long sticks and a plastic football. Everyone is concentrate on these sports and wants to win the race.