Gujarat: Life Traditions, Fairs, Festivals, Food and Costumes

What the official syllabus says

GPSC Main Examination, Paper IV: General Studies-I, (B) Cultural Heritage.

• Life traditions of Gujarat, Fairs, Festivals, Food, Costumes, etc.

Topics in detail

This is the everyday culture of Gujarat. Learn each fair with its place, season and community, and be ready to explain what traditions say about society and economy.

Fairs (melas)

• Tarnetar fair at the Trinetreshwar temple (Surendranagar): embroidered umbrellas, rural youth
• Vautha fair (Ahmedabad district) on Kartik Purnima: trade in donkeys and camels
• Bhavnath fair at the foot of Girnar (Junagadh) at Mahashivratri
• Madhavpur Ghed fair (Porbandar) at Ram Navami: the wedding of Krishna and Rukmini
• Shamlaji fair (Kartik Purnima) and Ambaji's Bhadarvi Poonam fair
• Tribal fairs: Dang Darbar at Ahwa, Chitra-Vichitra fair (Sabarkantha), Kavant fair, Gol Gadheda fair

Festivals

• Navratri and Garba; Uttarayan and kite flying; Diwali and the Gujarati New Year (Bestu Varas)
• Janmashtami at Dwarka and Dakor; Holi and tribal Holi customs
• Jain Paryushan; Parsi Navroz; Eid and Urs at Sufi shrines
• Tourism festivals: Rann Utsav, the kite festival, the Modhera dance festival, Saputara's monsoon festival

Food

• Regional cuisines: Kathiyawadi, Surti, Kachchhi, North Gujarat
• Typical dishes: dhokla, khandvi, thepla, undhiyu, khichdi-kadhi, bajra rotla, fafda-jalebi
• The Gujarati thali and the balance of sweet, sour and spicy
• Food and religion: vegetarianism, Jain dietary rules, dairy and cooperatives

Costumes and ornaments

• Women: chaniya-choli, the Gharchola and Panetar bridal saris, Patola
• Men: kediyu, chorno, pagdi or safa
• Pastoral dress of the Rabari and Bharwad; mirror-work and embroidery as identity
• Silver ornaments of rural and tribal communities

Life traditions

• Life-cycle rites: simant, naming, wedding customs such as mameru
• Kuldevi worship, folk deities, sant-vani and lok-dayro
• Mahajan institutions, panjrapol (animal shelters) and charity
• Folk tales and oral traditions of the Charans and Barots

Fairs at a glance

Traditional knowledge and community life

• Water wisdom: stepwells, kunds and village ponds
• Cooperation: the dairy cooperative tradition and village institutions
• Folk medicine and craft knowledge passed down in families
• Hospitality and the custom of sadavrat

Folk performing and oral traditions

• Dayro: evenings of folk tales, songs and humour
• Bhajan mandalis and sant-vani
• Duha and chhand of Charan poetry
• Folk literature collected by Jhaverchand Meghani (Saurashtra ni Rasdhar)
• Lullabies, wedding songs (fatana) and work songs

Food by region

• Kathiyawadi: bajra rotla, ringan no olo, sev tameta, buttermilk
• Surti: undhiyu, locho, ghari
• Kachchhi: dabeli, kadhi-khichdi
• The farsan tradition: fafda, gathiya, khaman, handvo

Overlaps

• Prelims General Studies: life traditions of India and Gujarat; life of Adivasi (tribes).
• Tribal and coastal communities are on Cultural Landscape of Gujarat: Coastal, Tribal and Other Communities.