The annual fair at Gujarat’s Saraswa village is a gala affair of song and dance. Tribals from Rajasthan and Gujarat visit the fair every year. Shops are decked up with musical instruments as they are widely used in the region during Holi festival.
The fair, held on the ‘ekadashi’ ahead of Holi, is strongly related to former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.
Gandhi visited Saraswa village in Kadana taluka of Mahisagar district on March 22, 1986, during his tour of Gujarat. The village was facing a severe water crisis and did not have basic facilities like electricity and roads. The villagers made representations regarding this to the late PM.
“Work began on various facilities after his (Rajiv Gandhi’s) visit. The village got power connection, water and a road too,” said former sarpanch and Congress worker Mahendra Sangada. He added that when Gandhi visited the village, his father Dhula Sangada was the sarpanch. A pond was also dug up in the village at that time.
The village falls under the Santrampur assembly constituency and Dahod Lok Saba seat. On both these seats, the BJP has been winning for the last two assembly and parliamentary elections. The BJP also holds the taluka panchayat seat here but the villagers here remain indebted to Rajiv Gandhi and organise the fair in his memory.
The fair was started in 1987 by Dhula Sangada and other villagers to commemorate Gandhi’s visit and the work he did for the village. The temple in the village near which the fair is held has a picture of Gandhi placed near the deity.
“The fair has been held every year since then, barring two years of Covid-19 pandemic. We started the fair again in 2022. The number of visitors increased significantly after the two-year break and has been rising consistently every year,” said Mahendra.
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