A festival that lives at home
In our house, Gauri is treated like a daughter who has come home for spring. She is dressed, fed, sung to and fussed over. On the last morning the women cry a little as they send her back to Isar, her husband. Our grandmother always said that if you don't cry at Gangaur, you haven't understood it.
The name: Gan is a name for Shiva, and Gaur is Gauri, the fair one. Gangaur is the festival of their marriage.
- Honours
- Gauri, or Parvati, and Shiva as Isar
- Kept by
- Women and girls, married and unmarried
- Starts
- The morning after Holi
- Ends
- Chaitra Shukla Tritiya
- Dates
- Lunar, we confirm them each year
- Why girls keep it: unmarried girls pray for a husband as good as Shiva.
- Why wives keep it: married women pray for the long life and happiness of their husbands.
- A new bride: she usually keeps her first Gangaur in full, all eighteen days, often at her parents' home.
- The women's festival: men carry the palanquin and play the drums at the end, but the worship, the songs and the knowledge belong to the women.
- The fuller story: our Gangaur festival page tells the legend and covers Udaipur, Bikaner and Jodhpur too. Here we stay in Jaipur.
The eighteen mornings
The images: in many homes, small figures of Isar and Gauri are modelled in clay, sometimes with ash from the Holi fire. Others bring out painted wooden images kept for years.
The walk for grass: girls go out in groups each morning for flowers and fresh green grass, called dub, and water in small pots.
- The offering: at home they offer the water, grass and flowers, touching the grass to the goddess's forehead.
- Green shoots: many families sow wheat or barley in small pots at the start and offer the shoots to Gauri at the end.
- The songs: of Gauri's beauty, of Isar coming to fetch her, and of mothers-in-law and brothers. Tender, funny and often frank.
- The growing excitement: as the days pass, henna appears on hands, new clothes are bought and the sweet shops start frying.
- The fast and the henna: in the last days, many married women fast until the worship is done, and hands are painted with fine henna patterns the night before.
- How to see it: with notice, we arrange for you to visit a family we know one morning, as guests.
Shopping for the goddess in Gangauri Bazaar
What you find: painted images of Isar and Gauri in every size, their tiny clothes, crowns and jewellery.
For the women: bangles, cosmetics, bindis and bright odhnis for the last day.
- Keepsake
- A small painted pair of Isar and Gauri
- To wear
- A leheriya dupatta
- For your wrists
- Lac bangles
- Experience
- Henna on the last morning
- Leheriya: the wave-dyed cloth of Rajasthan, in every colour. A leheriya dupatta is the souvenir of the season. See leheriya and bandhani.
- Lac bangles: from the makers on Maniharon ka Rasta, shaped over small charcoal fires.
- Mehndi on the pavement: henna artists work on the roadside in the last days, drawing fine patterns on hands while you wait.
- Where it lives: our page on the bazaars of Jaipur explains where each trade sits in the old city.
The royal procession, step by step
From the women's palace
- Where it starts: the Zenani Deorhi, the gate of the women's palace of the City Palace.
- The goddess: the palace's image of Gauri, dressed in jewels and silk, under a canopy.
Out through Tripolia Gate
- The gate: the triple-arched royal gate onto Tripolia Bazaar.
- The moment: when the palanquin appears, the crowd presses forward and the women sing out. Watch their faces, not just the goddess.
Through the walled city
Who walks: decorated horses and camels lead, brass bands and drummers follow, folk dancers turn in the road.
- The old establishment: members of the palace establishment walk in their turbans and achkans, long coats.
- The pace: slow. It takes a few hours to wind through the walled city.
- The sound: brass bands, drums and the songs of the women on the balconies. Bring ear protection for small children.
Budhi Gangaur, the next day
- What: the procession of the elder Gangaur goes out again on the following day.
- Why go: it is usually a little calmer, and a good second chance if the first evening was too crowded.
Where to watch from
A family rooftop: our favourite. We arrange a place on a roof above the route with a family we know, with chai and a little shade.
A palace viewing area: the palace sometimes opens one for guests. Arrangements change, so we check each year.
- Starts from
- Zenani Deorhi, City Palace
- Leaves by
- Tripolia Gate
- Time
- Late afternoon or early evening
- Arrive
- Well before it begins
- Bring
- Water, scarf, sunglasses
- The street: dense, exciting and hard work. Possible with our guide for a short time, but not with small children.
- Get there early: by late afternoon the lanes around Tripolia Gate are solid with people, and a rooftop is no use if you cannot reach it.
- Toilets and comfort: a family rooftop usually comes with a house below. We make sure there is a bathroom you can use during the long wait.
- Getting in: our driver drops you at a gate and we walk in. Cars cannot reach the route.
- Rooftop safety: keep children away from edges, and expect the crowd to surge when the goddess appears.
Our plan for the last day
Seven o'clock, the last worship
- Where: with a family we know, as the women dress the goddess for her farewell.
- What you see: the songs at their fullest, and very likely a sweet pressed into your hand.
Late morning, the bazaars
- The walk: through Gangauri Bazaar and Tripolia as the city prepares.
- Henna: a pavement mehndi artist, if you like. See mehndi.
Afternoon, rest
- Why: you will be on your feet for hours in the evening.
- How: lunch and a long rest at your hotel.
Late afternoon, the rooftop
- Arrive early: with water and chai, and watch the crowd build and the bands gather.
- The procession: as it emerges from Tripolia Gate.
Night, dinner
- Where: a haveli roof or your palace hotel, with a Rajasthani thali.
- Read more: our rooftop dining page.
Photographing Gangaur
Go high: a rooftop above Tripolia Bazaar gives you the procession, the gate and the crowd in one frame.
Golden light: the late afternoon sun falls along the bazaar. Expose for the faces, not the sky.
- The crowd is the picture: women in leheriya on every balcony are as beautiful as the palanquin.
- Ask first: close portraits of women need permission. A smile and a gesture at the camera usually do it.
- Be quick: the goddess passes fast in the crush. Be ready a few minutes before she reaches you.
What to wear for Gangaur
Colour: Rajasthani women wear their finest leheriya and bandhani. Bright colours are welcome on visitors too.
Modesty: cover shoulders and knees, for men and women alike.
- Colours
- Bright, festive, leheriya welcome
- Cover
- Shoulders and knees
- Shoes
- Easy to slip off
- Weather
- Warm days, mild nights
- A leheriya dupatta: women visitors are often offered one to wear. Accepting is a lovely gesture.
- Shoes: comfortable ones that slip off easily at doorways and shrines.
- Sun: a scarf and sunglasses for the late afternoon sun on the rooftops. By April it is warm.
- For men: a kurta, or a safa tied by a master. See turban tying.
Sweets and food of Gangaur
Gune: small crisp pastries of flour and ghee, fried and sometimes dipped in sugar. Made in quantity and offered to Gauri first.
Breaking the fast: many married women fast on the last day until the worship is complete, then break it with gune and sweets.
- Plates between houses: sweets travel between neighbours and relatives all day.
- Spring food: lighter dishes, kadhi, seasonal vegetables and dahi bada.
- Morning kachori: from the walled city's old sweet shops, and a clay cup of lassi before noon.
- Read more: our food of Jaipur guide and pyaaz kachori guide.
Being a good guest at Gangaur
Ask before photographs: of women at worship or in the procession. Many will say yes after a smile.
Don't touch: the images, the offerings or the pots of water and grass the women carry.
- Shoes off: before entering a home or shrine. Sit where you are shown.
- Right of way: the procession has it. Never step into the route for a picture.
- A gift: if invited into a home, a box of sweets. Our guide helps you choose.
- Keep your voice low: at a family's worship, sit quietly at the edge and let the women lead. Join the songs only if you are invited to.
- Women travellers: often find this the most moving festival of the year, because so much of it happens among women. See women travellers.
- Photography tips: our photography guide covers festivals and crowds.
What most Gangaur visitors miss
Girls at dawn: groups of girls carrying pots and singing through the lanes in the mornings after Holi.
Henna everywhere: in the last days, almost every woman you pass has freshly hennaed hands. Ask a shopkeeper's wife about her design, and she will show you every detail.
- The sweet shops: gune piled in towers in the windows of the old city.
- The palace staff: in the afternoon before the procession, palace bandsmen and attendants gather near Tripolia Gate in full dress.
- The empty street after: once the crowd has gone, Tripolia Bazaar is scattered with flowers and the lamps of the shops glow on.
- Teej, its sister: the same royal route is followed again in the monsoon. Our Teej in Jaipur piece explains.
Before you go
Arrive early: two days before the finale lets you see the last mornings of worship and the bazaars preparing, not just the procession.
Stay three nights: one for the mornings, one for the finale, one for Budhi Gangaur or the sights.
- Arrive
- Two days before the finale
- Book hotels
- A few months ahead
- Rooftop
- Arranged through us, well ahead
- Allow
- Three nights in Jaipur
- Weather
- Warm, bright, building heat
- Sightseeing: plan Amber Fort and the City Palace for the mornings around the festival. By April, afternoons are hot.
- Water and shade: bring both to the rooftop. You may wait two hours or more before the goddess appears.
- Cash: small notes for chai, henna and bangles in the bazaar.
- Traffic: the walled city closes to cars near the route in the afternoon. Walk in with our guide.
Where to stay for Gangaur
Inside the walls: Samode Haveli, close enough to walk to the procession and back.
The grand palace: Rambagh Palace, the former home of Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II, with lawns and calm after the crowds.
- Between the two: Jai Mahal Palace.
- Calm and spa: The Oberoi Rajvilas, for rest between the festival hours.
- Book ahead: a few months, earlier if Gangaur falls near Easter or a long Indian weekend.
- Compare: our guide to luxury hotels in Jaipur.
Gangaur beyond Jaipur, in brief
Udaipur, down to the lake
- What: women carry the goddess to Gangaur Ghat on Lake Pichola, at the time of the Mewar Festival.
- Where to stay: see our Udaipur guide.
Jodhpur, the ghudlia lamps
- What: girls carry a ghudlia, a clay pot pierced with holes with a lamp inside, from house to house in the evenings.
- Where: the old city of Jodhpur.
Bikaner, the singing lanes
- What: groups of women singing in the old city every morning, with local processions at the end.
- Where: Bikaner.
A village Gangaur
- What: girls at the well, clay images under a neem tree, a small procession to the tank.
- Where: a family fort such as Samode Palace, an hour from Jaipur.
Making a journey of it
Holi first: play Holi in Jaipur or Udaipur, travel for a fortnight, then return for the finale. See Holi in Udaipur.
Two cities: if the calendars allow, the Jaipur procession one evening and Udaipur's Gangaur Ghat the next, an hour's flight apart.
- Nathdwara: the temple of Shrinathji receives special adornments at Gangaur, and pilgrims crowd in for darshan. See Nathdwara.
- Udaipur's festival: the Mewar Festival is held at the same time in Udaipur.
- Tigers: Ranthambore is three to four hours away, and spring is a good season for sightings.
- A ready route: our Holi in Rajasthan journey can be extended for Gangaur.
- The season: our Rajasthan in April guide covers the weather and crowds.
Who will love Gangaur in Jaipur
Women travellers: welcomed into the songs and the henna in a way no other festival allows.
The curious: anyone who wants to see how Jaipur's families live their faith.
- Photographers: the rooftops of Tripolia Bazaar in the evening light.
- Families: children love the bands and the horses, from a safe rooftop.
- Less suited to: anyone wanting abandon. For colour, come for Holi. For lights, choose Diwali.
- Plan it with us: see Jaipur and our festival calendar.