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NEWS: Elephants lead grand Indian parade to mark rains
In clari.world.asia.india, C-reuters@clari.net (Reuter / Phyllis Fang)
wrote:
JAIPUR, India, Aug 18 (Reuter) - Elephants with brightly
painted trunks and ornately decorated tusks led a procession on
Sunday in India's western state of Rajasthan to celebrate Teej,
an annual festival that celebrates the monsoon rains.
The two dozen elephants, draped in glittering coloured silks
and silver bells, were followed by a marching band and an
entourage of camels.
Thousands of people lined the streets and rooftops of the
state capital Jaipur, 180 miles (300 km) from Delhi, to catch a
glimpse of the procession.
Police estimated a crowd of more than 300,000 people
gathered to watch the three-kilometre (two-mile) procession,
which lasted close to two hours.
The two-day Teej celebration that ended on Sunday is also
known as a fertility festival, celebrating the union of goddess
Parvati and Lord Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction.
Women from villages wear a green piece of clothing to
symbolise fertility, hoping the gesture will bring them marital
bliss.
Traditionally, women and children also play on swings, tying
flowers and branches of green leaves on swings, to celebrate the
season, but continuous rains kept many inside this time.
The procession culminated at the entrance to the statue of
mother Teej -- an image derived from the goddess Parvati --
carried on the shoulders of four people in a wooden palanquin.
As the statue passed, hundreds of people tossed coins at it for
good luck.
The streets were also filled with stalls selling ghewar, a
thick pancake-like mixture made from cottage cheese, flour and
sugar, which is fried and dipped in saffron-flavoured sugar
syrup.
Every year the festival attracts thousands of villagers from
nearby farming towns, where agriculture is heavily dependent on
the monsoon rains, which last from June to September.
``We are hoping for a good monsoon,'' said Kesarlal, a
farmer who travelled two hours by bus with his wife and children
from Sumedhpur village to see the procession. ``But too much
rain could also be harmful for our weak crop.''
