FairGujarati · Hindu
Tarnetar Mela
Trinetreshwar Mela
Next date
Saturday, 4 September 2027
In short
Three days at Trinetreshwar where a young man carries an embroidered umbrella to say he is looking for a wife.
The story
Tarnetar is a small place in Surendranagar with a Shiva temple called Trinetreshwar, and tradition puts Draupadi's swayamvar here - the test of shooting a turning fish while looking at its reflection. The fair that grew around that story is still a marriage fair. A Bharwad or Rabari man of marriageable age carries a chhatri, an embroidered umbrella he or his family has worked on for a year, and the umbrella is the announcement. Women look, families talk, and the rest is raas, hudo and three days of noise around a temple pond.
Why it matters
It is one of the last fairs in Gujarat where the original purpose is still the actual purpose. The embroidery is now collected and exhibited, which is a sign of how quickly that could change.
What people do
A bathe in the Trinetreshwar kund on the first morning. The chhatri is carried through the ground rather than displayed on a stall.
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