Festival to promote Jaipur in summer

Jaipur will be promoted as a destination for summer and monsoon tourism and witness a melange of cultural evenings dove-tailed with a wide array of Rajasthani cuisine at the City Palace and Hotel Clarks Amer, an official said Wednesday.

The event, christened 'Jaipur by Nite' July 26 and 27, is targeting domestic tourists, especially the National Capital Region (NCR). It has been jointly initiated by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Young Indians (YI) and the Department of Tourism (DoT).

Rajasthan's principal secretary, tourism, Rakesh Srivastava said: "'Jaipur by Nite' is an attempt to give a fillip to summer tourism in Jaipur. The two-day event will showcase Rajasthan's art, culture, handicrafts and cuisines to domestic tourists."

All the programmes will be held after 7 p.m.

"CII has taken up the challenge to create tourism in summer months to promote the long weekend and summer tourism as also to showcase it as an option for short breaks," said Ratnesh P. Kashyap, chairman of CII Rajasthan.

"Pleasant mornings and evenings during summer and cheaper hotel rooms are factors for promoting this Jaipur," said Kashyap.

The gala evenings will have performances by Bollywood and Sufi singers like Padaanyaas, Shweta Pandit and Krishna Beura, among others. Rajasthan will showcase its rich cultural talent through Samandar Khan, Kamli Sapera, and dance performances of Chari, Dhol, Gair and Ghoomar, etc.

There will also be puppet shows, parrot card reader, turban tying, mehndi stalls, etc. Award winning artisans of Rajasthan will showcase their products through stalls set up by Rural Non-Farm Development Agency. Tourists can also visit sound and light shows at Amber and Jantar Mantar and go for heritage walks.

Keen interest has also been evinced by he various foreign embassies. France, Italy, Algeria, Uganda, Turkey, Singapore, Bangladesh, Morocco and Botswana have already confirmed their participation.

The first 'Jaipur by Nite' event was organised by CII in 2008 and had proved to be a tremendous success.