Detailed Information about Baneshwar Fair & Its Importance

India is a vast country and within this boundary lives a vast majority of religions, the communities that differ in language and customs and the traditions. The festivals become a reason to celebrate the wonderful culture and to remember the traditions from the past. The festivals also give the Indians a reason to promote the tourism to the outer world. From the sands of Rajasthan come one of the awaited festivals cum fair that showcases the culture and the tradition of the state. The festival becomes a reason for the national as well the international tourists to visit the state and take the opportunity to explore the majestic state filled with placid lakes, the historic forts and the palaces, the wildlife and above all enjoy the uniqueness of the folklore of the kingly state.

The Baneshwar festival is the festival of the tribal people, mostly of which are the Bhills, that is usually held every in the months of January-February year that corresponds to Magh Shukla Ekadasi to Magh Shukla Pornima time according to the Hindu calendar. The festival continues for a period of four days. The festival is held on the delta region formed by the rivers Som and Mahi Rivers of the place in Durgapur. The word Baneshwar means the master of the delta in the local language. The festival sees the practice of a lot of tribal and rituals.

During the festival a number of shops are set up that put to display the richness of the state that comes alive in the handicrafts, the pottery the paintings etc. the tourists that come to witness the gala event get plenty to choose from to take something back home as a souvenir.

If we go into the history of the fair the Baneshwar fair can be traced as a fusion of two major fairs of that were celebrated in the past. One was held in honor of Baneshwar Mahadev and the other one which was held to celebrate the construction of the Vishnu temple by a revered saint Jankunwari who was the daughter in law of Majvi who was also a celebrated saint of the time. Later two other disciples of Majvi built the Laxmi Narayan temple at the delta region and hence form that time the place became the place for the congregation to arrive and pay homage to all the deities of the region and alongside the fairs also started.

The people that organize the fair are usually form the districts of Dungarpur, the neighboring Udaipuar and the Banaswara. A lot of activities such as the magical shows, the puppet shows, the traditional folk song and dance shows, etc. adding to the excitement are the merry go rounds and the giant wheels the fairs etc. The tribal bhills sing the folk songs deep into the nights filling the ambience with the melody.

The tribal people perform a number of rituals during the start of the festival. The priest of sable arrives at the spot to perform the various rituals, who is called the Mathadhish. The mathadhish takes bath in the holy waters and the tribal people also take the holy bath along with him and also float the ashes of their dead relatives in the water as the water is believed to become holier after the Mathadhish takes the bath.