Online booking for elephant ride at Amber Fort
Jaipur | January 15, 2007 9:15:06 AM IST

Enthused by the good response from online booking of wildlife safari in Ranthambore national park, the Rajasthan government plans to have a similar facility for elephant rides at the famous Amber Fort here.

The tourism department is preparing a record of all the 110 elephants to be used for riding. The database involves the name of elephants, mahouts and their rotation number.

"We are planning to systematise the elephant riding here. Special booking counters would be set up. We would also prepare a draft for online booking," Pawan Jain, assistant director of the department, told IANS.

Most of the mahouts have also welcomed the possible changes in elephant riding at the Amber Fort.

"The online booking facility would certainly increase the customer base as people would be able to book tickets without standing in a queue. It would also give a huge exposure to elephant rides," says Shayam Gupta, an elephant owner.

The ride in the fort costs Rs.600 per elephant for two persons.

Animal activists criticise Elephant Festival
Jaipur | March 05, 2007 9:15:06 PM IST

Animal activists have criticised the Elephant Festival organised here by the state government, saying it was cruel to the animals.

Tug of war, elephant beauty contest and elephant polo were the major attractions of the weekend festival.

"Despite the worldwide objections on elephant polo tourism department organised this event, which is shameful", Naresh Kadyan, chairman, People for Animal, Haryana said in a statement. He alleged that that the poor elephants were forced to do things against their capacity.

Elephant polo is criticised worldwide by all major animal welfare groups, including Peta India, an animal rights group. Animal activists points out that elephants are highly intelligent and sentient animals.

"To force them to perform physically uncomfortable tricks or obey confusing commands, trainers use extremely cruel methods that inflict pain and instil fear. Many trainers beat elephants with bull hooks and keep them chained for long periods of time", Peta India said in a statement.

"Nearly all captive Indian elephants have been captured from the wild. Taken from their natural homes and families, captive elephants suffer from chronic physical ailments, social and emotional deprivation and premature death", Peta said.

Kumbh Mela: five million take holy dip at Sangam
Allahabad | January 14, 2007 10:15:06 PM IST

Over five million devotees from around the world braved winter chill and took a dip at the confluence of three rivers - Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati - here on Makar Sankranti, an auspicious bathing day of the 42-day Kumbh Mela.

Mammoth crowds, totalling to the population of a city, trudged along for miles to fulfil their spiritual urge to take a dip, with the belief that it would wash away their sins and pave their path to salvation.

However, the much-awaited shahi snan, or royal bath, to be led by revered naked monks, will take place Monday morning, while Makar Sankranti continues.

"It is transition of the sun from Sagittarius to Capricorn that marks Makar Sankranti - which is observed across the country in different forms," said Ram Naresh Tripathi, a well-known scholar.

"While people take a dip in different rivers across the country, a bath at the Sangam here carries very special significance and that too during the Kumbh Mela," he said.

The auspicious bathing period that commenced here Sunday morning and will continue until Monday afternoon, was expected to draw more than 10 million people.

Coming from different corners of the country, many were seen camping on the chilly riverbanks right from late Saturday night.

"I decided to come here along with my family in the night itself so that we could all bathe well before the bigger crowds begin to converge," said Ram Nath Pandey, a former soldier who came from Bihar.

Huddled up under a single blanket, the family of six including two children and an old mother and aunt, spent the winter night singing hymns. "That was to keep us warm and awake," Pandey told IANS.

Local trader Ram Kumar took a dip shortly after midnight to avoid the morning crowds. "I live in Allahabad itself and have been used to bathing in the holy Ganga, but the Kumbh Mela is very special for us and since Makar Sankranti began shortly after midnight, I chose to bathe right then," he said.

Apart from him, his 10-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son also took the dip. "It is a great feeling of fulfilment that words cannot describe," Kumar exclaimed.

Crowds began pouring in from 5.15 a.m. and the flow increased through the unusually bright and sunny day.

All vehicular movement had been stopped not only in and around the sprawling Kumbh territory but also on all major thoroughfares leading to the area. Clearly, it was their sublime faith that propelled them to tread long distances on foot. And the spirit was amply visible in men and women, the young and the old.

Those who could not make it on foot were seen being carried on the back of their kin, while little kids were perched atop the shoulders of their parents.

The bulk of the crowd was from rural parts of the neighbouring states like Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi, as well as from Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and West Bengal.

Allahabad Commissioner R.N. Tripathi, who heads the administrative set-up taking care of the six-yearly festival, expressed satisfaction that a large number of devotees had taken holy dip and the day had been "incident-free".

"Despite our best efforts to ensure a smooth flow of people we keep our fingers crossed. I am grateful to the god almighty for seeing through the second auspicious bath today," he told media persons.

Monday would be a still bigger occasion when all the celebrated congregations of Hindu monks, the Naga Sadhus in particular, will march down in their colourful and musical processions for shahi snan.

Authorities expect the heaviest rush of people on Jan 19, the Mauni Amawasya (no-moon night), when 15 million to 20 million people are expected to bathe.

Island Tourism Festival begins in Andamans

The much awaited Island Tourism festival began today in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, with the lighting of lamp by the Lt Governor Lt General (Retd) Bhopinder Singh here this evening at ITF ground.

Speaking on the occasion Lt Gen Singh promised islanders that all tsunami related development work will be finished by the end of 2007. He also promised to oversee all the development and rehabilitation work by himself.

The 14-day long event is usually organised in December every year but this year the event was organized in January. Only in 2004 the administration could not organised the ITF because of tsunami disaster but from 2005 the ITF was back.

Beside famous artists and poets, the Andaman and Nicobar Administration would also invite nearly 300 cultural and folk dance artists from Mainland India to perform in ITF, for which the administration has already tied up with the North, South, West and East Zone Cultural Centers.

Bollywood stars like Udit Narayan, Anu Mallick and Johny Lever are expected to perform during the ITF.

Gangtok winter festival kicked off

The annual Gangtok Winter festival has been kicked off with a glittering street carnival,"Himalayan Wedding." Participants representing different ethnic communities attired in their traditional costumes participated in a procession last night showcasing their marriage customs, traditions and culture.

The four-day festival which would end on January 11, was aimed to woo tourists to the state in the lean winter season.

State Urban Development Minister D.D.Bhutia, who inaugurated the festival, blessed the mock couples participating in the carnival representing the Gurung, Lepcha, Mangar, Tamang, Limboo, Nepali, Rai, Marwari and Christian communities.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Bhutia appealed to the people to maitain peace and reap the benefits of tourism boom in the state.

State Tourism Minister R.B.Subba said the state had already made mark in the field of tourism in the national and international arena. Due to the agressive marketing, the number of tourists visiting the state was likely to cross three lakh by the end of this financial year.

Tourism Secretary A.Srivastava said the objective of organising different festivals was not only to woo tourists but also to educate the younger generation about their tradition and culture.

He said over the last few years, the number of festivals had increased from two to eight now with the Union government financing six of them.

Mr Srivastava said the number of tourists had registered a 20 per cent hike in 2006 over its previous year and the tourism sector had generated a revenue of Rs 140 crore last year.

He stressed for community participation to give a further boost to the tourism sector.

International camel fest begins in Bikaner
Bikaner | January 02, 2007 10:40:58 PM IST

Dancing camels, decked-up camels and camel bride and grooms enthralled the tourists and natives at the International Camel Festival, which took off here today amid much fanfare.

The festival, being held in the Karni Singh stadium, was inaugurated by Air Marshal A K Singh, (Western Command). He was given a salute by a caravan of decorated camels.

The camel procession marked the beginning of the festival.

The first day witnessed camel dance performances, bride contests, Miss and Mr Beautiful camel contests, which received applause from the tourists.

Border Security Forces' 15 camels and jawans impressed the audiences with their unique antics. Artistes from different districts also rendered their performances.

The camel festival, which has been on for the past 17 years, will end on Thursday.