Kalbeliya- Dance of Rajasthan

Rajasthan has been a heaven of various folk art forms. A medieval history includes the existence of princely states, which provided patronage to these art forms and their artists. Vibrant, vigorous and graceful the dances of Rajasthan evoke the desert in all its moods. The desert comes alive when the local Rajasthan performer performs the folk dances that leave the people amazed.

The kalbeliyas, is a snake charmer community from Rajasthan, which performs Kalbeliya dance. They are renowned dancers, musicians and snake charmers and are identified as ‘gypsies’ in modern Indian culture. Kalbeliya is a nomadic community who sometimes introduces themselves as Saperas or Sadhu. Their traditional business is to catch snakes and to trade snake venom. Traditionally Kalbeliya men carried cobras in cane baskets from door to door in villages while their women sang and danced for alms. They revere cobras and advocate non-killing of the reptiles. Since the enactment of the wildlife act,1972 the Kalbeliyas have been pushed out of their traditional profession of snake handling. Today, performing arts are a major source of income for them and they have received widespread recognition within and outside India.

The kalbeliya dancers are exceptionally flexible, they perform beautiful stunts as they twist and turn their bodies in myriad ways, as is humanly possible. Sometimes they balance utensils, one or several upon their heads, or use swords and blades to carry out difficult maneuvers. The dancers are women in flowing black skirts who dance and swirl, replicating the movement of a serpent. The male participants take care of the musical part of the dance. They use the different instruments such as the pungi (a wooden wind instrument traditionally played to capture snakes), dufli, been, khanjari, morchang, dholak to create the rhythm on which the dancers perform. The dancers are tattooed in traditional designs and wear traditional jewellery, bangles, armlets, vibrant bindis, garments richly embroidered with small mirrors, silver thread and colorful ribbons. As the performance progress the rhythm becomes faster and faster and so does the dance. The harmony of their performance is amazing! These songs and dances are part of an oral tradition that is handed down  in generations and for which there are neither texts nor training manuals.

In 2010, the kalbeliya folk songs and dances of Rajasthan were declared part of its intangible heritage list by the UNESCO.

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Ganesh Chaturthi- A Divine Celebration

Long drawn celebrations and festivities are a part of the social and cultural fabric of India.Among the many religious and social customs that mark the diverse festive calendar of Indians, Ganesha Chaturthi is a very important religious occasion. Ganesha Chaturthi celebration is about the birth of the Elephant headed god, Ganesha. He is the youngest son of lord Shiva and goddess Parvati. Celebrating the birth of lord Ganesha, Ganpati festival is observed on a grand scale in India.Cities come alive with colors and streets processions, making it one of the most interesting ones to see.

The preparation of Ganesha chaturthi start a lot earlier in the year, with work on the big and small clay idols starting several months in advance. Artisans create idols of Lord Ganesha to be worshipped by the people either in the streets or in private ceremonies. 

Ganesha Chaturthi is celebrated on the fourth day of Shukla Paksh (Waxing phase of the moon). In most places in India it is a day to invoke Ganesha the god of wisdom, prosperity, good fortune and art & sciences. On this day devotees worship Ganesha idols, perform aarti and offer prasad of fruits and sweets especially modak (a delicacy prepared from rice flour, jaggery and coconut), which is considered to be the favorite of lord Ganesha. Lord Ganesha has always held an important place in the hearts of all the Indians. As per the mythology, any prayer or start of a new project must start with the prayers of lord Ganesha. 

Story Of Ganesha Chaturthi

According to Hindu Mythology scriptures, Lord Ganesha was formed by goddess Parvati, wife of lord Shiva. It is said that one day Parvati formed a sculpture from the paste that she used on her body before taking bath. She infused life in that figure and ordered him to guard the entrance of her bathroom. God Shiva returned and was stopped at the entrance of his house by that boy. In extreme rage, Shiva struck off the boy's head. This incident filled Parvati with utter grief and requested Shiva to return her son. Then, Shiva fixed the head of an elephant and restored life to the body of that boy. Lord Shiva named this boy as Ganpati. Gan means Hosts and Pati means chief and blessed him further that he would be worshipped before every new venture.

In Andhra pradesh (India) and Maharashtra (India), Ganesha chaturthi is celebrated for ten days and in other parts of India, it is celebrated for one day on the Ganesha chaturthi day.

The origin of public celebration of Ganesha festival is traced to the period of Chatarpati Shivaji Maharaja,the great Maratha ruler who asked people to perform public celebration to promote culture and nationalism in 17th century. The large scale Ganesha festival of today was revived by Lokmanya Bal Gangadha Tilak, freedom fighter, in the last decade of 19th century in Pune (India) to spread the message of freedom struggle and to defy the British who had banned public assemblies.

SHRI GANESHA STUTI & AARTI

Jai Ganesh, Jai Ganesh, Jai Ganesh Deva

Mata Jaaki Parvati Pita Mahadeva

Jai Ganesh, Jai Ganesh, Jai Ganesh Deva

Mata Jaaki Parvati Pita Mahadeva

Ek Dant Dayavant, Chaar Bhuja Dhaari

Maathe Pe Sindhoor Sohe, Muse Ki Savari

Paan Chadhe, Phul Chadhe, Aur Chadhe Meva

Ladduan Ka Bhog Lage, Sant Kare Seva

Jai Ganesh, Jai Ganesh, Jai Ganesh Deva

Mata Jaaki Parvati Pita Mahadeva

Andhan Ko Aankh Det, Kodhin Ko Kaaya

Baanjhan Ko Putra Det, Nirdhan Ko Maaya

Surya Shaam Sharan Aye, Safalki Je Seva

Mata Jaaki Parvati Pita Mahadeva

Jai Ganesh, Jai Ganesh, Jai Ganesh Deva

Mata Jaaki Parvati, Pita Mahadeva

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Jaisalmer Fort

"At the break of dawn, Jaisalmer Fort shines like a golden tiara atop the lofty hill"

Jaisalmer fort is a monument worth visiting and worth retaining in your conscious mind. It is a world heritage site declared by UNESCO. It is situated in the city of Jaisalmer,Rajasthan(India). It is the second oldest of Rajasthan's major forts after Chittorgarh. It was built in 1156 AD by the Rajput ruler Rawal Jaiswal. The fort stands amidst the sandy expanse of the great Thar desert on Trikuta hill, and has been the scene of many battles. Its massive yellow sand stone walls are a tawny lion color during the day, fading to honey gold as the sun sets, thereby camouflaging the fort in the yellow desert. For this reason it is also known as Sonar Quila (Golden Fort). The fort is 1500 ft long and 750 ft wide and is built on a hill that raises above a height of 250 ft above the surrounding country side and about 5000 people still resides in its imposing walls.

The fort is on a site that legend says Maharaja chose on the advice of a wise hermit. The mystic tells the Jaiswal that the Hindu deity Lord Krishna had praised the spot and therefore, a fort built there would be almost invisible to the king's enemies. Indeed, from 30 miles away, visitors see only a sheer golden cliff. He built this fort as his capital, as the earlier fort Lodurva was too vulnerable to invasions.

The soft yellow Jurassic sandstone makes up every part of the Jaisalmer fort, from its outer walls to the palace, temples and houses within. The fort is 250 ft tall and from it, one can see almost every part of the town. It has as many as 99 bastions, 92 of which were built between 1633 and 1647 to be used as gun platforms.  There are 4 huge getaways named as Ganesh Pol, Suraj Pol, Bhoot Pol and Hawa Pol. There was death well, where traitors and criminals were thrown into by the second gate. The road to the main chowk is by the fourth gateway where many acts of Johar (self-immolation) have taken place. 

While the city was built, there exists many beautiful Havelis and group of Jain temples. There are thousands of carved deities and dancing figures housed here. Inside the temple there is a Gyan bhandar (library). It contains more than 1000 old manuscripts. It has also a collection of Jain, pre-mogul and Rajput paintings.

The fort also has a peculiar gadget hoisted on top of its ramparts, this was used to forecast the weather. Every year in April a flag would be placed in its center, and based on the direction in which it blew, the weather for the entire year was forecast. If it blew northwards it indicated famine and if it went westwards, it indicated fine monsoon. It may seem a bit primitive today but the system was probably just as accurate or inaccurate as the meteorological department office nowadays.

The famous Indian film director Satyajit Ray wrote the Sonar kella ( The golden fortress), a detective novel, based on the fort and he filmed it here. 

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MEHRANGARH FORT

"A Palace that might have been built by Titans and colored by the morning sun" - Rudyard Kipling

Mehrangarh is made up of two words- Mihir (sun or sun-deity) and Garh (Fort), means ' Fort of the sun'. In 1459 the ruler of the Rathore clan of Rajputs, Rao Jodha moved his capital from Mandore to the site of Jodhpur today. He built his fort on the rocky promontory which dominates the surroundings area and so arose the Mehrangarh fort. Down below the old town was enclosed by a 10 km(kilo meters)long wall. It stands a 100 feet in splendor on a perpendicular cliff, 400 feet above the sky line of Jodhpur. It is over 500 yards long making it one of the largest and greatest forts in India. It is from Mehrangarh fort that one can see and understand why Jodhpur is called the Blue city, At one point Brahmin could live in Brahminpuri (another name of Jodhpur) and were also the only community allowed to paint the exteriors of their houses blue. The blue, so characteristic of Jodhpur act as a heat and mosquito repellent. 

The fort has seven famous gates which have to be crossed to reach the fort. The gates still bear the marks of the various battles fought in the bygone era. The famous of all is Jai Pol (means Victory), the first gate when you enter, was built by Maharaja Man Singh after his victory on Jaipur and Bikaner. Another gate, Fateh Pol (means Victory) was raised by Maharaja Ajit Singh to celebrate the defeats of Mughals. The last gate Loha Pol, as in any Rajput forts, displays the palm imprints that are smeared with vermilion paste and paper thin silver foil on a gateway leading to the funeral pyre site, reminds the tourists of the princesses and queens who committed Johar (self-immolation) for the sake of their consorts.

Within the fort are several brilliantly crafted and decorated palaces. These include Moti Mahal (pearl palace), Phool Mahal (Flower palace), Sheesh Mahal (Mirror Palace), Sileh khana and Daulat khana.

The museum the fort is one of the most well-stocked museums in Rajasthan. It exhibits the heritage of Rathores. The palace museum has exquisite rooms filled with lavish royal elephant carriages (howdahs), palanquins, thrones, costumes,furniture, musical instruments, miniatures, paintings and even a giant tent. It also has an interesting weapons gallery.

The 500 year old fort is a popular site for filming. It was one of the filming locations for the movie 'Batman- The dark knight rises(2002)' and 'Veer'.
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Chand Baori-The Deepest Stepwell In The World

Chand baori, Abhaneri (literally translated as "Moon Well") is the oldest and deepest step well in the world. Abhaneri is a village in the Dausa district of Rajasthan, India. It is situated at a distance of 95 km from Jaipur,Rajasthan on the Jaipur-Agra highway. It was so named as it was built by king Chand Raja of Nikumbha dynasty in 9th century A.D. Abhaneri was originally named Abha Nagri,which means "city of brightness," but due to mispronunciation, that name was changed.It is located opposite Harshat Mata (goddess of joy and happiness) temple and was constructed in 800 AD. It consists of 3500 narrow steps over 13 stories and extends approximately 100 ft. into the ground making it one o the deepest and largest step wells in India. Three out of the four sides have steps that lead down to the bottom of the well and one side of the well has a pavillion and resting room for the royals. The state of Rajasthan is extremely arid,and the design and final structure of Chand Baori was intended to conserve as much water possible. At the bottom of the well, the air remains 5-6 degree cooler than at the surface, and it was also used as a community gathering place for locals during periods of intense heat. The steps and the whole surrounding is a fine example of architectural expertise of the great Indian architectures. It also displays the geometrical intelligence of the architects of the bygone era. It has been featured in blockbuster Hollywood movies like The Fall and The Dark Knight Rises.

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