Manka Khala's annual celebrations

Perhaps more than any state in India, Rajasthan epitomizes the essence of joyfulness very well that are present in each and every sweet moments of life. And Rajasthani people love to cherish all these moments to the hilt with utmost enthusiasm and gay spirits. They indulge their heart and soul to these colorful and spectacular events completely, forgetting all their worries and tensions.

People of Rajasthan loves to celebrate all festivals elaborately following all the traditions and rituals. These fairs and festivals are an ideal source of building the feeling of brotherhood in every community. There is a fair for every religious occasion, every season change and every harvest. Lunar calender decides the exact date and time of every festival which are of great religious significance. Some of the prominent fairs and festivals of Rajasthan are :

Pushkar Fair-Pushkar

Time – October- November

The famous Pushkar fair is organize on the occasion of the Kartik Purnima when thousands of pilgrims comes at Pushkar to have a holy dip at the lake. It is believed that a holy bath at the lake is equivalent to several yagnas. This is one of the world’s largest cattle fair. Camel race, camel parade, folk dance and music performances, bridal competition, moustache contest, tug-of-war and bazaars are the highlights of Pushkar fair.

Camel Festival – Bikaner

Time – January

The year begins with the colorful Camel Festival at Bikaner in January. This camel festival creates joyous ambiance. The main highlights of this festival are the camel races and camel dances. Decorated and graceful camels famously called as the “ships of deserts” fascinates the onlookers at the very first sight.

Desert Festival – Jaisalmer

Time – Full Moon of February

The golden city of Rajasthan, Jaisalmer awakens with the Desert Festival which coincides with the full moon in February month of every year. It is a three day festival. With the rhythm of folk music and innumerable Rajasthani dance forms like Ghoomer, Gangaur, Gair Dhap, Moria, Chari and Tehratal, this desert city attracts thousands of international and national tourists. The special highlights are Gair dance and the Fire dance. It is the best platform for the folk performers like musicians, ballad singers, snake charmers, and puppeteers to exhibit their traditional skills.

Other exciting attractions includes camel dances, camel acrobatics, camel races, and camel polo, competitions for the best decorated camel, tug-of-war between musclemen, a turban tying competition and a Mr. Desert contest. The cumulative effect of sound and light on a moonlit night amidst sand dunes mesmerizes every spectator.

Gangaur Festival – All over Rajasthan

Time – March-April

Gangaur festival is one of the most important local festivals of Rajasthan. It is a spring festival celebrated in the month of March-April. This festival is dedicated to Gauri, another form of goddess Parvati and the consort of Lord Shiva. It symbolizes conjugal bliss and marital happiness. A festival both for the maidens and married women, it begins on the day following Holi, and is celebrated for 18 days. While married women pray for the well being of their husbands, young girls pray for a groom of their choice. This festival is celebrated in every region of Rajasthan.

Nagaur Fair – Nagaur

Time – Between January and February

Every year between late January and early February, Nagaur a small town half way between Bikaner and Jodhpur, comes to life with the annual animal fair. The main attraction of the Nagaur fair are the cattle, horses, and camels who are accompanied by their turbaned owners. Countrymen comes here to buy and sell their live stocks at a good price. Various sports, tug-of-war competitions, camel races, strains of ballads creates an atmosphere of joyfulness.

Elephant Festival – Jaipur

Time – March

Celebrated in March around Holi, the Elephant Festival held at Jaipur is a fantastic festival to enjoy. The decorated and large elephants are the center of attraction and exhibits their decorated trunks and tusks during parade. A procession of elephants, camels and horses followed by folk dancers initiates the festival. Lord Ganesh, the elephant son of Shiva and Parvati is worship during the festival.

Urs Ajmer Sharif – Ajmer

Time – Set according to the lunar calendar

Urs Ajmer Sharif, held according to the lunar calendar, in remembrance of the saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti,. He was great helper of the poor. Urs Ajmer Sharif, celebrated at Ajmer, one of the biggest Muslim fairs in India.

Teej Festival – All over Rajasthan, mainly in Jaipur

Time – August

Teej, the festival of swings which marks the arrival of the monsoons is celebrated in every part of Rajasthan but mainly in Jaipur. Like Gangaur, this festival is also dedicated to the Goddess Parvati. On On the third day of the Shravan month (August), this festival is celebrated to observe the occasion of union of Goddess Parvati’s with Lord Shiva after an agonizing separation.

The Edinburgh Festival is celebrated in Edinburgh, Scotland during the month of August. Though the festivals are typically celebrated in August, there are a number of other festivals that are celebrated around the year. It is recorded as being the largest art festival in the world. It was established in 1947 by the Edinburgh International Festival (EIF). One of the aims of this organization is to “Provide a platform for the flowering of the human spirit”. The artistic goals vied for in the festival would also serve to attract tourists from all over the world.

It is considered as a very important cultural celebration. Typical activities during these festivals revolve around classical music, opera, theatre and dance. There is a very high standard of artistry involved, with the best artists all over the world being highly sought after. The EIF’s assigns an Artistic Director, whose job is to invite artists suitable enough to meet their standards.

The Hub, also known as the home of the EIF, was opened in the year 1999. It was formerly known as “The Highland Tooth”. It is considered to be the best place to find information on all of the festivals occurring. It is a towering Gothic Building situated near the Edinburgh Castle. It is a very popular tourist attraction, while serving as the focal point for the celebrations itself. There are ticketing centers and cafes, with a smattering of arts and craft. The Main Hall is host to a variety of events, namely concerts, banquets and parties. Ceilidhs, which are informal social gatherings involving Scottish folk music, dancing and storytelling, are also typical events.

There are many festivals during this period, with most happening simultaneously. Here is a list of the more well known of the festivals.

1. Edinburgh International Festival

This is the original festival started by the EIF to achieve its goals. Since then, it has been celebrated every August month. The festival pertains to performing arts, with only the most highly regarded artists from opera, theatre, music and dance being invited by the General Director to perform for the festival. There are also workshops and lectures throughout the year to further the spread of information regarding this festival.

2. Edinburgh Fringe

This festival, also known simply as “The Fringe”, is widely considered as the largest arts festival in the world. This event typically revolves around performing arts related to comedy and drama. Some theatre events involve the works of William Shakespeare and Samuel Beckett. Unlike the other festivals, there is usually no selection committee approving entries, hence, there are a wider array of events possible. Because of this, experimental works are often performed in this festival.

3. Edinburgh International Book Festival

Taking place in the last few weeks of August, this book festival is located in Charlotte Square, which is situated near the center of Edinburgh. The festival is attended by renowned authors all over the world. Recent attendees include J.K. Rowling and Ian Rankin. In 2001, additional events such as debates and discussions were introduced to the program. Authors and tourists alike are able to participate in discussions regarding important issues all over the world.

If you have a good story to tell there is no reason why you should not make it into an independent film. With the right film production techniques, the right script, the right people working with you and a relatively small amount of money you can make a low budget movie that can compete with the best of them on the festival circuit at places like Cannes, Toronto, Telluride and the Sundance Film Festival. If your story is compelling enough people will forget that the production value is a bit challenged.

There are people all over this world who never gave up on their dreams to make films, despite the difficulties that came with working outside of the mainstream film industry. They are passionate filmmakers who believe that anyone with a compelling story to tell has a right to make a movie. Through their struggles these diehard filmmakers have created cheaper ways to make movies. This revolution was born out of frustration due to decades of having their creative voices shunned by the big film studios who favored commercialism over creativity.

The commercialism associated with the films that are being released by the major Hollywood film studios these days is very frustrating for any filmmaker who considers their work to be art. Nowadays movies are tested extensively beforehand to ensure that the studio committing hundreds of millions of dollars to it will not lose money. This kind of testing tends to narrow the field down to only a few kinds of movies that they will invest in which means there is no room for new ideas. True artists can never be happy when there are constraints imposed on their methods and subject matter.

Although the film industry is a merging of story telling and commerce, the story telling part has always been the most important half of the equation for the audience. The big movie studio executives seem to have forgotten this fact as they continue to produce movies that have more style than substance. People would much rather see a good movie with a low production value than they would a bad movie with a high production value.

Talent and a good storyline are generally worth more to movie audiences than an expensive look. If you can just get a good story committed to film and submitted to film festivals, then people will take notice. If a buzz is created about your movie, it can lead to a distribution deal that is worth many times more than the money you invested.

After you have finished with all phases of the film production process you need to find places that will show your film to the public. There is a thing called the film festival circuit and it is the last bastion of hope for people who want to make independent films. Sure, the celebrities and big studios have recently invaded the larger events like Toronto, Cannes and the Sundance Film Festival, but they still make room for the little guys. Independent filmmakers are still the focus of film festivals no matter how much publicity they receive.

Films like The Blair Witch Project are a perfect example of how a film with a very small budget but a very clever story can make it to the big time.

This very independent film was a big hit at The Sundance Film Festival in the late nineties and it was all because of the storyline. The Film was shot and edited on video and transferred to 16mm film only for the print that was needed for screenings at the festival. The independent filmmakers that made this film only spent about 40,000 dollars to make it and get it ready for Sundance. The production value was very poor but people could not stop talking about how the story ended. It received a lot of publicity and was subsequently sold to a major film studio for one and a half million dollars. The studio made 150 million dollars on the film when they blew it up to 35 millimeter and distributed it to theaters nationwide.

Film festivals are places where the playing field is leveled for all the players in the film industry. It is a strange nexus between people who are hungry to get into the film industry and people who have had too much of it and just want to be a little less full of it. They long for the days when filmmaking was more of an art form and less commercialized. The result is that they embrace independent filmmakers in their raw form. When this happens there is always a chance that one of the little guys could be suddenly held up to the spotlight by the big players and glorified. If this does occur it is always because the storyline of the film created a buzz, not the production value.