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Once a year in winters and on the middle of the continually
rising and falling stark yellow sands of the great Thar
Desert, the empty sands around Jaisalmer come alive with
the brilliant colour, music and laughter of the Desert
Festival. The festival
is organised by the tourist authorities as tourist entertainment
around January-February.
The very rich and colourful Rajasthani folk culture is
on show here for a few days. Rajasthani men and tall beautiful
women dressed in their brightly costumes dance and sing
lingering ballads of valour, romance and tragedy. Traditional
musicians attempt to outdo each other in their musical
superiority. |
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The
high points of the festival are - snake charmers,
puppeteers, acrobats, folk performers do rapid trade.
Camels, the lifeline of the desert, play a foremost
role. Proud moustached villagers, dressed in their
ethnic best come astride their picturesquely caparisoned
camels to join in the camel dances and competitions
of camel acrobatics, camel races and dicor, camel
polo, tug of war and the like.
The tourist dances, turban tying competitions and
tug of war are big draws and laughter. The Mr Desert
competitions, which are focused around the length
of moustaches by and large, attract many hopefuls.
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