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The magnificent Vautha Fair is held every
year at Vautha, where two rivers, the Sabarmati and the Vatrak meet. Like
most fair sites in India, this also has both mythological and contemporary
religious associations.
The Vautha Mela site is 3 square miles in area. Legends hold that Kartik
Swami or Kartikeya, the son of Lord Shiva, visited the site. This is why
the fair is held during Kartika Purnima, the full moon night of the month
of Kartik, corresponding with November. The site, also known as
Saptasangam, is at the confluence of seven rivers. The most important
Shiva temple here is the temple of Siddhanath.
TRADE CATTLE:
What
is most significant about this fair is that it is the only major animal
trading fair in Gujarat and is on par with the
famous camel fair at
Pushkar
, Rajasthan .
Donkey, cattle and herds of camel are brought to the site to be traded, at
the confluence of seven tributaries of the river
Sabarmati. However, most of the times, the only animals traded here
are donkeys. About 4,000 donkeys are brought every year for sale, usually
by 'Banjara' (gypsy) traders.
The donkeys are painted in an array of colours, and decorated to suit the
occasion. Camels are also well decked up and sold on the sand dunes by the
river shores.
MERRIMENT:
On the day of the full moon night, pilgrims take dips in the holy river
confluence give offerings and pray. Handicraft and food stalls with tented
pastoral settlements come up during the fair. Kartika Poornima is also
celebrated with a camel fair at Sidhpur, a religious fair at Somnath and a
tribal fair at the historic temple of Shamlaji.
The pilgrims who visit Vautha during the fair are from several
communities and include farmers, labourers and people belonging to several
castes.