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 The
Elephant Festival is a unique event of the elephants
organized on the day of Holi in Jaipur, the capital
of Rajasthan. There is a reference of the tradition
of Hastimangala or the Elephant Festival in the Jataka
stories of Buddhism. As the name suggests, the elephants
are the center of attraction in the elephant Festival.
A number of elephants, groomed in vibrant colored attire
of embroidered velvets and glittering gold ornaments,
parade before an entranced audience. The elephants participate
in number of events like races, polo matches, tug-of-war,
elephant fights and festival of Holi.
During the festival of Holi, elephants, dancers, musicians,
and visitors and spectators come to the Chaugan or the
Polo Ground in Jaipur. The festival commences with the
procession of elephants, camels, horses, chariots, canons
and palanquins followed by performances of the folk
dancers. The atmosphere is made lively with the sound
of the bankiya or the trumpet.
Most of the participants in the Elephant Festival in
Jaipur are the female elephants. The mahouts or the
elephant keepers take utmost care and great enthusiasm
in decoration and grooming of the elephants, as there
are prizes for the Best Groomed elephant as well. The
elephants are painted on foreheads, trunks, foreheads
and feet with floral motifs and adorned with ornaments
and jewelry from tusk to tail.
The spotlight is on the Game of Polo, considered a royal
game on the elephant Festival. Polo players are dressed
in saffron and red turbans and try to score goals with
long sticks and a plastic football for their teams.
Last but not the least, the tourists are invited to
mount the elephants and play Holi.
Elephant has always been the Imperial Mount with kings,
members of the royal family, nobles and dignitaries
mounting it. Rajasthan Tourism has revived the age-old
tradition of significance of elephants by including
the Elephant Festival in the list of the cultural calendar.
The Elephant Festival in Jaipur began only a decade
ago and was conceived to attract the tourists. The game
of Polo is most recent inclusion yet the most popular.
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