Tarnetar Mela

Tarnetar Mela

August-September; three days in the Hindu month of Bhadrapada

This famous fair is held in Tarnetar, a small town in India's Gujarat State. People from area tribes wear their most exquisite clothes for the three-day event, particularly young unmarried people, since the fair is mainly an occasion for them to find spouses. Young men carry magnificently decorated chhatris (umbrellas)—a sight for which the fair is renowned—to signal their availability to young women. The Trinetreshwar, or temple of Shiva, provides the grounds for the fair, which abound in food stalls, craft and cattle exhibits, sporting events, and lots of dancing.
Adding to the prospective matrimonial atmosphere is the traditional belief that connects Tarnetar with the marriage between Draupadi and Arjuna, the warrior-hero of the Hindu epics, the Mahabarata and the Bhagavad Gita .

CONTACTS:
Gujarat Tourism Corporation
Nigam Bhavan
Sector 16
Gandhinagar, Gujarat 382 016 India
91-79-3222029; fax: 91-79-3222189

SOURCES:
WildPlanet-1995, p. 255