Teej Fair

Teej Fair

The Teej fair is organized on the occasion of the regional monsoon festival of Teej, celebrated in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and some parts of Orissa. Although Teej fairs are held at various locations to commemorate this day, the colorful fair of Jaipur is most famous and is also known as the “Sawan Mela” or “Monsoon Festival”. The fair highlights the rich ancient traditions and customs of Rajasthan and is organized on a grand scale by the Tourism Department of Rajasthan government.

In 2013, the Teej Fair will be organized on 9th and 10th of August.

The Significance of Teej Festival

Teej is predominantly a festival of women, who observe a fast on this day to seek the blessings of Goddess Parvati and Lord Shiva for marital bliss. The three day festival is celebrated in the Shravan month of Hindu calendar, which corresponds to the months of July-August. The festival is named after a small red insect which emerges from the ground with the onset of monsoon. As such the festival is also considered to be a celebration for the beginning of the monsoon season which provides great relief from the immense summer heat.

According to a legend the festival of Teej marks the divine union of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati after a long period of separation. It is said that Goddess Parvati fasted for 108 long years to prove her love for Lord Shiva and it was on this day that he accepted her as his wife. That is festival is celebrated with great fervor by both married and unmarried women to seek the blessings of the Goddess for having happy a peaceful married life with a man of their liking.

Celebration of Teej Festival

Apart from observing a fast on this day, women also consider it auspicious to play on swings and sing songs welcoming the monsoon. They also visit the fair and enjoy the fun filled sights of impressive processions of beautifully decorated elephants, camels, horses and other animals. Swings decorated with flowers are a common sight and women generally wear green attire on this day to signify the onset of green surroundings with the arrival of monsoon.

It is also a custom for the mothers to send a gift pack called Sinjara to their married daughters. The Sinjara consists of items such as bindi, vermilion, mehandi or henna, bangles, ghevar, the famous Rajasthani sweet and lahariya which is a multicolored saree.