Thousands of foreign and domestic tourists participated in the elephant festival at the famous Rambagh Polo Ground in the city on Wednesday. The festival, organized by the department of tourism, was inaugurated by beating of traditional drums. It began with a spectacular procession in which as many as 90 elephants participated.
Elephants were elegantly dressed like brides. The procession had in its midst cultural performances like Gair dance, Kalbeliya dance, Chang Dhap, Braj Ki Holi and Bum Rasia among others.
Always held one day before Dhulandi, foreign tourists also played Holi by sprinkling colors on each other. The tourists also had a whale of a time participating in tug-of-war as well as the Matka race. The gulal fireworks as well as the band recitals also won the hearts of the visitors who thronged the polo ground.
In the elephant decoration competition, Champakali won the first position while Shanti and Rani ranked second and third positions respectively. Laxmi was given the special mention on account of the jeans apparel.
