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 Camel
Festival
Quick Look
Time : January
Venue : Bikaner
How to Reach : Bikaner is connected with Delhi, Jaipur, Jodhpur,
Bhatinda, Kalka and Howrah by rail. It is also well connected by road
with almost all the major cities of India.
Significance : The festival is held to underline the importance
of camel, the ship of the desert.
Highlights : Procession of ornamented and decorated camels,
best breed competition, camel dance, tug-of-war contest, acrobatics,
folk dances, etc.
An enchanting desert city which comes alive with music and dance.
It is fast gaining popularity as the visitor finds an opportunity
to see some unusual folk performances, camel, race camel dance etc.
here.
A lively and colourful event, the Camel Festival is organised by
the Department of Tourism, Art & Culture, Rajasthan in Bikaner
every year. January is just the right month for a desert spree,
and Bikaner just the right place to see the Ships of the Desert.
In the camel country Bikaner, these desert leviathans pull heavy
cart loads, transport grain and even work at the wells.
The Camel Festival begins with a colourful procession of bedecked
camels against the red sandstone backdrop of the Junagarh Fort,
the festivity advances to the open sand-spreads of the grounds,
followed by the best breed competition, the tug-of-war contest,
camel dance and acrobatics, etc.
The camels display amazing footwork, dancing gracefully to the
slightest direction of their trainers. Bridal, bridles, bejewelled
necks, jingling anklets and long, lanky camel shadows on dusky sands
cast a magical spell. Hundreds of tourists and thousands of locals
and dignitaries revel in this man-and-animal affair organised especially
for the tourists.
The evenings close with a different tenor and tempo altogether:
a traditional rendezvous of renowned artistes of Rajasthan and the
local folk performers.
The jubilant skirt-swirling dancers, the awe inspiring fire dance,
and the dazzling fireworks light up the fortified desert city of
Bikaner.
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