Introduction and Syllabus Scope

Syllabus Coverage

This topic covers Rajasthan's fairs and festivals — their classification, geographic distribution, religious and socio-cultural significance, livestock/economic functions, and connections to Rajasthan's folk tradition (See Topic #6), tribal culture (See Topic #8), and religious heritage (See Topic #11).

The RPSC 2026 syllabus specifically includes "mele evam tyauhar" under Paper I, Unit 1 (History), reflecting an understanding that fairs and festivals are primary carriers of Rajasthan's living cultural tradition.

Scope Boundaries

The scope is explicitly Rajasthan-centric: national festivals like Diwali and Holi are relevant only insofar as Rajasthan has distinctive local variants.

The boundaries of this topic overlap with:

• Topic #6 — folk performing arts at fairs
• Topic #8 — tribal festivals like Beneshwar
• Topic #9 — tourism economics of heritage events
• Topic #11 — folk deities venerated at fairs like Ramdevji, Gogaji, Tejaaji

Questions requiring deep treatment of pilgrim economics or tourism revenue belong to Topics #9 and #34.

PYQ Tier and Exam Probability

This is a PYQ Tier 5 (New/Gap) topic — no direct questions in the five most recent RPSC Mains exams (2013, 2016, 2018, 2021, 2023/2024). However, festival content regularly overlaps with questions on folk culture (Topic #6) and religious beliefs (Topic #11).

The RPSC 2026 revised syllabus names it explicitly, signalling a strong likelihood of appearing as a "surprise" question. The most probable question formats are:

• (a) Classify and describe major fairs of Rajasthan (10 marks)
• (b) Describe the Pushkar or Beneshwar fair (5 marks)
• (c) Significance of Gangaur or Teej in Rajasthan's women's culture (5 marks)

---