London Gangaur – A joyous celebration of womanhood

March 30, 2022

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Gangaur festival is all about honoring the Goddess’s Gauri or Parvati and
celebrating marital bliss during the month of Chaitra (as per the Hindu or
Lunar calendar). The event ‘London Gangaur’ was organized by the
Rajasthan Association UK (RAUK) on 26th March 2022 in London, which
received an overwhelming response by the community, volunteers and
members of all age groups and was attended by 500 plus people. It is one
of the biggest Rajasthani events outside India.
RAUK was founded in 2015 to bring together all the Rajasthani’s living in
the UK on to a common platform to celebrate the rich culture and traditions
of Rajasthan in the UK and also to give them a sense of belonging and
cohesiveness.

‘London Gangaur’ brought Rajasthani culture and heritage to London. Both
married and unmarried women participated in the festivities with full
enthusiasm to celebrate womanhood.
On a cold spring day, the warmth and hospitality of the volunteers filled the
event with passion and excitement. The guests enjoyed the Sawari
(procession) of ‘Isar-Gaur’ (symbolic of Shiv-Parvati) where RAUK’s own
musical band ‘Marudhar Express’ performed the drums and other
instruments. The band is formed of ladies, men and children who are
trained to perform at future events too. Thereafter, it was a grand puja
ceremony by all the women performing rituals and singing the famous
Gangaur song ‘Gor Gor Gomati’.

Everyone relished the authentic Rajasthani food like Daal, Baati, Churma,
Gatte, Lahsun chutney etc and Pakode with Indian tea. There were some
lovely performances by Saanvi, Kunjal and Maanvi on (Ghoomar), Jaya
Sharma (Aur rang de), Nikita Pareek (Aaj mere piya ghar), Priyanka
Jadhav (Gori gori gajban), and special performances by Vivek Sharma and
Anjali Sharma Tiwari. The programme ended with a long celebratory
traditional dance – Maha Ghoomar, where the ladies danced with joy for 1.5
hours.
“This well organized event brought back many fond memories of Gangaur,
I made new friends, Rajasthani food was delicious and the people are
amicable”, said Mayuri (a guest).
Along with Gangaur, guests celebrated ‘Mother’s Day’ (In the UK, Mother’s
Day is celebrated in March) where children made beautiful cards for their
mothers. Also ‘Rajasthan Diwas’ was celebrated, marking the unification of
the erstwhile princely states into the state of Rajasthan.
RAUK believes in connecting Rajasthani’s living in the UK back to their
roots and hence the army of volunteers always strive to provide a
welcoming atmosphere in all the events where the true heritage which is a
great hospitality, colorful dresses, warmth in the hearts and a purpose of
serving the community is well displayed.

“We wanted to showcase the festival Gangaur, its ancient significance and
how it is still relevant in the present times to people. We welcomed our
guests from all over the UK, high profile people from other community
groups and non-Rajasthani too, so they can witness our traditions and feel
the spirit of the festivities” said the Team Kunbo (the RAUK organizing
committee) At the end, they conveyed a vote of thanks to everyone who
came to the event.
‘London Gangaur’ gave a true flavor of vibrant Rajasthani culture and a lot
of memories to cherish forver.

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