Thar Mahotsava -When Barmer turns colorful!

Barmer is a desert district. Barren land and lack of vegetation marks this border district. If one drives away from the barmer town towards the more interior parts of the district, huge and barren sand dunes resemble like a vast silent sea.

Over the centuries people here have devised their own way to add colours to this otherwise desolate place. Those colours are reflected in the attire of the people here; be it the colourful ghagra choli of women or the bright and vivid turban of the men.

There is an equally colourful event which is held once every year in Barmer. Known as the Thar Mahaotsava, it is organised by the district administration, generally in the month of February. One gets to see and hear all the traditional art and music of the area in this mahotsava. Marwari folk songs and dance performed by some of the best artists of the area attract even the local Barmeris.
Thar Mahotsav starts in form of a big colourful procession marching throughout the town to the stadium. It is led by dignitaries of the town and government authorities besides the artists and common people. After the formal inauguration various games and competitions are organised. Turban tying competition remains the most popular one, in which the winner is person who can tie his turban in least possible time.

The first evening is a bhajan sandhya- where singers throughout the district and other parts of western Rajasthan sing devotional songs. The next two evenings are meant for folk dance and music.

The main attraction is the second evening when the event is held at Mahavaar- sand dune located 5 km away from the town. It’s a scene worth seeing -thousands of people sitting on the dune and enjoying the performances. The famous gair and fire dance are the major attraction.

Gair is a folk dance performed by men in western Rajasthan during holi. Based on the dancers' proficiency, the dance can build up to a series on intricate patters. The striking of sticks gives the dance a vigorous character. Men wear long pleated tunic that open out into full length skirts as they move in both clockwise and anti clockwise direction. It is said be a dance of Bhil community.
Scarcity of water is portrayed through the Chari Dance. Women have to travel long distances to fetch water in desert in pots. The dancers in this particular dance form while balancing pots on their heads perform various steps to gain a perfect pattern of movement. The flames from cotton seeds are set alight on pot to make the dance more attractive.
Ghoomar, Kathputli and kalbelia are other popular dance performed by various artist groups.

In the last few years the event has started attracting even tourists. The officials claim that this year more than two dozen foreign tourists attended.
The district administration has plans to make it as popular as the similar event held in Jaisalmer every year. Lets hope this colorful event continue adding on more colors to Barmer and its people.