Isar Gangaur Dolls - Hand-Painted Wooden Pair, 6 Colours

Isar and Gangaur are Shiva and Parvati as a married couple, and in Rajasthan they are made as a pair of standing wooden figures for the festival that carries her name. Women dress them, decorate them and carry them in procession through Chaitra, the fortnight after Holi. This is that pair: a 13-inch king and a 12-inch queen, carved from mango wood and painted by hand.

Product details

• Isar (king): 13.1 inches tall
• Gangaur (queen): 12.4 inches tall
• Weight: 950 g for the pair (approx. 2.1 lb)
• Mango wood, hand-carved and hand-painted
• Made in India
• Sold as a pair - one king and one queen
• Price is per pair - choose one colour above

What Gangaur is

Gangaur is Rajasthan's spring festival for Gauri - Parvati - and it runs for eighteen days from the day after Holi. Married women observe it for the long life of their husbands; unmarried women for a good one. The images of Isar and Gauri are washed, dressed in fresh clothes and jewellery, sung to, and finally carried to water on the last day. Jaipur's Gangaur procession, out of the City Palace, is the one people travel to see.

Why this one

950 g for the pair, in solid mango wood, standing 13.1 and 12.4 inches. The painting is where the work is: crowns, jewellery, the pleats of her lehenga and his jama, all laid in freehand over a single ground colour. Look at two boxes of the same colour side by side and the faces are subtly different people - that is a hand, not a mould. Six colours, and the pair always comes as a pair.

Which colour

• Red - the traditional festival colour, and the most-bought
• Yellow - warm and bright, good against dark wood
• Orange - the marigold shade, strong at Diwali
• Blue - the coolest of the six, easiest in a modern room
• Green - deep and quiet, pairs well with the red
• Pink - the softest, and popular for a girl's room or a nursery

Several of our customers buy two pairs in different colours and set them facing each other. Red and green is the combination that appears most often in the photographs on this page.

Where they go

On a console or a sideboard, either side of a lamp or a piece of wall art. On the pooja shelf during Gangaur and Teej. On a bookshelf, where the height difference between the two reads well against a row of spines. They also work in a child's room - they are figures rather than deities in the strict sense, and nothing about them is fragile.

Gifting

The obvious wedding gift: a married couple, given to a married couple, with the festival meaning attached. Also given at griha pravesh, at Gangaur and Teej, and as a Rajasthani souvenir for someone who has been there. They travel well - solid wood, no glass, no protruding parts.

Care

Wipe with a soft dry cloth. Keep water and cleaning sprays off the painted surface, and do not soak them. Painted mango wood does not like standing damp or direct all-day sun.

Frequently asked questions

Who are Isar and Gangaur?
Isar is Shiva and Gangaur is Gauri, or Parvati - Shiva and his consort, shown as a married couple rather than as deities in a temple pose. Gan-gaur is a compound of Gan, for Shiva, and Gaur, for Gauri.

Is this a religious object?
It is a folk representation rather than a consecrated murti. Households in Rajasthan do worship their Gangaur images during the festival, but these are sold as decorative figures and there is no consecration involved.

Do I get both dolls?
Yes. One king and one queen, in the colour you choose. They are not sold separately.

How tall are they really?
13.1 inches for the king and 12.4 for the queen, so about the height of a large book standing up. Together they weigh just over two pounds.

Will mine look exactly like the photograph?
Close, not identical. Every pair is painted freehand, so the faces, the jewellery and the border work differ a little between sets.

Do they stand on their own?
Yes, both are carved with a flat base and stand unaided on a level surface.

When is Gangaur?
It begins the day after Holi and runs eighteen days, so it falls in March or April depending on the year.

Can I order these in bulk?
Yes - they are a common wedding and function gift. Email contact@urliutsav.com with your quantity and date and we will quote you and confirm timing before you order.

What if they arrive damaged?
Shipping is insured. Photograph the damage, email contact@urliutsav.com, and we will replace them or make it right.

Can I return them?
Yes, within 30 days in original condition and packaging. Return shipping is arranged and paid by the customer.

Shipping and assurance

Free insured shipping across the USA and Canada. Ships from San Ramon, California, usually within one business day. If they arrive damaged, send us a photo and we will resolve it - transit damage is covered.

See more gifting pieces in our Indian Return Gifts collection.