ABSTRACT
Festivals work as blood for our culture and heritage. Janiskee (1980, pp. 96–104) clarified that festivals and events can be comprehended as ‘formal periods or projects of pleasurable movements, stimulation or festivals having a festive character and openly commending some idea, event or truth’. However, in the era of digitalization and modernization, the new generation appears to have limited or no interest in engaging in the traditional, local and small festivals, either as participants or audience. This is despite the fact that in a country like India, festivals have their own importance to educate people about our culture, traditions, values and beliefs. Certainly, the festivals of different states have diverse importance. This chapter aims to focus on the festivals and fairs of the Hadoti region of Rajasthan state. The state of Rajasthan is located in the northwestern part of the subcontinent. The state has an area of 132,140 square miles. The Great Indian Desert, also known as Thar Desert, is located in the west of Rajasthan. Hadoti region is located in the southeast of the state. The best season to visit Rajasthan and Hadoti region is from July to December. The Hadoti region is quite rich in culture and heritage tourism. Being on a research project searching for opportunities for tourism in the last two years, I have carried out fieldwork in some of the festivals and fairs with the objective of gathering information and records, such as photographic resources and other information related to the organisation and management of these festivals and fairs. Hence, my fieldwork gave me an opportunity to directly observe these festivals. Through the fieldwork observations, I found that the essence of tourism success and suitability lies in the festivals, fairs and events of this region. The music, songs, dance forms, costumes, jewellery, food and language are unequalled by any other place in the state. The festivals are so overpowering that no matter from where the tourists come, what are their language preferences, etc., the rhythm, sounds and environment will never fail to impress them. However, in spite of immense potential of festival tourism, the region is not benefiting from the potential advantages of and support for showcasing the hidden and unexplored festivals to the community at large. The aim of this research is to investigate in more depth issues related to festivals and tourism in Hadoti region of Rajasthan.
