Shekhawati Festival

Location - Shekhawati village, Rajasthan
Highlights - Fine glimpse into the rich Rajasthani arabesque, Cultural Programmes, Camel and Jeep rides across the agricultural fields, Sports activities and different Competitions

The Shekhawati Festival held on 12th and 15th February every year is organised jointly by the State Department of Tourism, District administrations of Sikar, Jhunjhunu and Churu.
Shekhawati, already famous for its frescoes, is fast becoming a rural tourism destination too. Travelling on horse back, the tourists get a closer view of the countryside and the people. And they return with an indelible imprint of not only the friendliness of the people but also of the agricultural revolution sweeping the villages -- the region now exports 80 per cent of its crops whereas only a few years ago it could meet only 10 per cent of its requirement through local production. For a broad-based discovery of Shekhawati's culture, the festival is spread over a number of venues - Nawalgarh, Sikar, Jhunjhunu and Churu. The programmes include a one day tour of the region, camel and jeep safaris, farm visits, rural games, cultural programmes, haveli competitions and fireworks.

Nawalgarh is the central venue of the festival and can be reached comfortably by train and road from Jaipur (140 kms by Road). Nawalgarh also has some of the finest frescoes of Shekhawati. The Clock Tower is a famous landmark and the Roop Niwas Palace hotel occupies a place of pride in the town.
Shekhawati is in a way a dreamy place and so completely drenched in the traditional art, architecture and culture that it is considered to be among the world’s best and ultimate heritage terminals. Shekhawati province is quite strikingly situated in the triangular region between Delhi, Bikaner and Jaipur and is quite easily commutable for all. This fest celebrated the true cultural and traditional vivacity of the place and beautifully showcases the picturesque colorful forts, palaces, Havelis or mansions, temples among the other majestic monuments/ buildings of the region.

The fine artistic work which adorns these ancient masterpieces like the mansions of the previous Rajput Maharajas, is delightful to see, touch, understand and adore. The place is quite famous for its popular frescoes and is increasingly climbing the ladder to becoming a good alternative for rural tourism destinations. It is quite a scene and an enjoyable ride around the place to get a nice glimpse of the countryside while perched on the back of a horse. Tourists are sure to return with an enduring impression of the extremely nice sociality and liveliness of the local people as well as with a permanent picture of the remarkable agricultural revolution sweeping the villages. Its sheer evidence lies in the rapid increase in the percentage of its crops which are utilized for exporting aside from the in-house requirement to as much as 80 percent.