Tarnetar Fair: A marriage fair in Gujarat!

Tarnetar Fair is organised every year in Gujarat in the months of August-September and attended by thousands of participants, travelers and photographers. The fair is basically a marriage fair where matches are made and people from nearby villages get married. Located at a distance of about 39 kilometres from Chotila in Surendranagar District in Gujarat, the event is a must-visit for any photography enthusiast.

Here is a detailed account from the trip to Tarnetar!

A classic pose, I think she had no clue how good she looked that day!

One of my favorite, this woman laughed uncontrollably...finally spilling her chai also :)

Planning for Tarnetar Fair

The planning to attend Tarnetar marriage fair started in office in July itself as many of us had heard about it and wanted to attend it. After much persuasion our entire group agreed to some and we booked two SUVs and were all set to go!

None of us in the group were married, though some are close to getting hitched soon. As the fair is a marriage fair, people come there to get married. Both the men and the women try to draw attention of the member of the opposite sex, and this is the fun part to watch. The men make umbrellas, and bigger the size, higher is his chance of getting a woman of his dreams. The women, on the other hand, wear red skirts which means that they are available for marriage.

For us men it was impossible to make an umbrella and declare our availability, so we insisted that the girls wear red skirts and pretend to be available. The plan didn't work out and we all looked completely out of place and like regular urban visitors (from US or at least Mumbai, or so I was told).

This is from a distance, this girl had no idea I was clicking her

Perhaps the most scandalizing, yet pretty picture on my blog!

She had a sad face, but I really liked the colors on her

A few women, many layers of clothes

Tarnetar Fair - a brief history

The tarnetar fair is believed to have been happening forever as per the prevalent legends, espeiclaly if you ask any Rabari here. As per the Gujarat Tourism, the event started only about 200-250 years back.

The fair draws inspiration from the concept of swayamvar, which is a concept from ancient India where women chooses a husband from a number of potential suitors once she reaches the marriageable age. Back then the society was much evolved, and it was women who led in the selection of partner in marriages. A good example is Sita's swayamvar to Ram in Ramayana. It was done as a large ceremony organised by the girl's father and many potential grooms would come to attend it. At times the men were asked to compete for the task and then the winner would get to marry the girl. Of course, this was done mainly by the kings for their princesses.

Tarnetar draws inspiration from another famous swayamvar from the epic - Mahabharata where Arjuna pierces the eye of a rotating fish and then marries Draupadi 

The lady was pretty but stern

The pretty little girl, the only one I saw dressed in dull clothes...

Present day Tarnater Fair

The main celebrations of Tarnetar are centered around the Trinetreshwar Mahadev temple (temple of the three eyed god - Shiva) and it's almost impossible to do darshan there. I sat for quite sometime near the men's bathing pond and clicked them diving into the pool. The area was also much cooler due to water, which is a scarcity in the entire ground.

It's not just marriages, but the fair is a lot about food and fun also. There are many food stalls selling all possible types of food, and there are multiple rides to make anyone go gaga. Manoj and I tried a few, but I wasn't very sure about the safety so stopped after a while.

Unfortunately, we didn't really see any marriage ceremony as they start much later in the day and we had already planned to go back the same day. We did see a few men with their umbrellas getting ready to show off their 'size', and I could only wish them luck.

The other thing that we didn't see was the Rahado - the circular folk dance of the Rabari women. This is where men come to see the women - a woman in black skirt is married and the one in red is unmarried.

Such a serene face...

The husband in the foreground, I loved the pose...

Most had their head covered due to the heat...

Two women fighting the sun!

Photography at Tarnetar

Women watching came to me much later, only after we were completely exhausted in the sun and running dangerously short on our water supplies. And as soon as I started clicking, others called for an end to the stay at the fair. Of course I found this to be a good time to disappear with my camera.


While the rest of the group waited in the hot cars, and cursed me, I went away and clicked. When I was alone, the women opened up to me and happily posed. I also did quite a bit of candid photography, which was cool.
Sometime around this time Roshni almost collapsed and Tej came to her rescue by giving her company in our blazing hot Tavera along with Khalbali. Oh by the way, the two of them actually got married a few years later in Ahmedabad. With Manoj, Vishakha and Bijoy missing and still looking for the elusive umbrellas and red skirts, I got some more time for conversations and occasional pictures. Dead with the heat and lack of water, I gained some energy with the huge bananas on sale there!

Shortlisting the pictures was the toughest part of making these posts, and I ended up using those that I connected with the most. While some of these ran away from me, most warmed up to have small talks. Almost none of them had a problem with me clicking them, including the men with them. Often others around them would tease them, and then I would have to click many many more of them. But I loved it all, and I hope so did they.

She was dressed in red and was eating bright red watermelon...

Ah the smile! Wonderful!

I didn't exactly give her any money, but I think she was happy with the pics :)

Another one of my favorite...She had beautiful light on the hair

Practical information:

When: August-September every year
Where: Tarnatar fair ground - located about 39 kilometres from Chotila in Surendranagar District in Gujarat.
How to reach? The best way is to reach Ahmedabad and then take a cab and come here. The distance is about 200km and the roads are brilliant.
Dates:
2016 - 5th September to 7th September
2017 - 25th August to 27th August
Tips:
- Carry lots of water
- Have a zoom and a 50mm prime handy
- Smile and pick conversations - people are generally very freindly
- Try some rides :)

Read more on their website here - Tarnater Fair.