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R a j a s t h a n
F a i r s & F e s t i v a l s
Camel Festival
 A lively and colourful event, the Camel Festival
is organised by the Department of Tourism, Art & Culture, Rajasthan in
Bikaner every year. January is just the right month for a desert spree,
and Bikaner just the right place to see the Ships of the Desert. In the
camel country Bikaner, these desert leviathans pull heavy cart loads,
transport grain and even work at the wells.
The Camel Festival begins with a colourful procession of bedecked camels
against the red sandstone backdrop of the Junagarh Fort, the festivity
advances to the open sand-spreads of the grounds, followed by the best
breed competition, the tug-of-war contest, camel dance and acrobatics,
etc.
The camels display amazing footwork, dancing gracefully to the slightest
direction of their trainers. Bridal, bridles, bejewelled necks, jingling
anklets and long, lanky camel shadows on dusky sands cast a magical spell.
Hundreds of tourists and thousands of locals and dignitaries revel in this
man-and-animal affair organized especially for the tourists.
The
evenings close with a different tenor and tempo altogether: a traditional
rendezvous of renowned artistes of Rajasthan and the local folk
performers.
The jubilant skirt-swirling dancers, the awe inspiring fire dance, and the
dazzling fir | 
