Fair and festival in Rajkot, Gujarat

 

Known for its rich culture and tradition, Rajkot is the third largest city of Indian state of Gujarat.  The city is famous for hosting several cultural events and festivals. Rajkot is often referred as Rangilu Rajkot meaning colorful Rajkot and that could be seen in its colorful celebration of its festivals. Though Rajkot is rapidly growing into a multicultural city, it still continues to preserve its traditional customs and rituals. Festivals celebrated in Rajkot offers us insights of its rich cultures and tradition.

Navratri, the festival of nine nights, is the most charming festival of Gujarat. Being a part of Gujarat state, the city of Rajkot also celebrates Navratri with great fanfare. The festival is celebrated for nine days which witnesses daily prayers and other religious activities. The main attraction of Navratri festival is colorful Garba dance. Garba dance serves to be the main folk dance form of Gujarat state. It is mainly performed on the occasion of Navratri festival. People of all ages and different strata of society take part in this beautiful and charming Garba dance.

Kite festival is another prominent cultural event celebrated on the occasion of Makar Sankranti which usually falls on 14th January. On the occasion of festival people of Rajkot are seen flying there kites high in the sky. The blue sky of the city fills with thousand of colorful kites competing with each other.  Similar kind of festival are celebrated on large scale in Ahmedabad and other major cities of Gujarat. There are many other major festivals like holi, Dussera, and Deepawali which are celebrated in Rajkot with great religious fervor.