Lifestyle of Rajasthan

Rajasthan comes alive with exuberant folk dances, melodious music and spectacular festivities. Typically, men still wear twirling moustaches and women adorn themselves in multihued costumes. The people speak local dialects, and an old saying explains that the dialect and the men's turban change every 24 miles. The group of dialects spoken in Rajasthan is called Rajasthani.

Traditional Rajasthani music is very typical. The folk music has a very melodious and typically local flavour. Bards sing ballads of local heroes in this musical style. This has also attracted the attention of modern day music composers. Music also received the patronage of the kingdoms of Rajasthan till recently. This led to the development of classical Hindustani music in the courts of the Palaces.

Rajasthan has a fair for every religious occasion, for every change of season and for every harvest. The people of Rajasthan work hard, are peaceful and law abiding and enjoy their culture, their music, festivals and fairs.

The 2001 Census of India enumerated 56.5 million people in Rajasthan. About 70 per cent of these live in eastern and south-eastern regions of the State. Hindi is the predominant language spoken. Besides, Rajasthan and several dialects of Hindi are widely spoken. Business is conducted in Hindi and English. Literacy is 61 per cent. The prominent religions practised are Hinduism, Islam, Jainism and Sikhism.

There are 32 administrative units, Districts, in Rajasthan. Jaipur is the Capital of the State.

The High Court is situated at Jodhpur, with a bench at Jaipur.