Live singer in Mount Abu

Mount Abu rises from the Aravalli range as a green plateau, and its climate has made it Rajasthan’s only hill station. The Dilwara Jain temples, with their marble carving, the Nakki Lake, Sunset Point and the Guru Shikhar peak are the landmarks, and the Brahma Kumaris’ global headquarters brings spiritual visitors from around the world.

The town’s closeness to Gujarat is its great feature. Families from Ahmedabad, Surat and Vadodara drive up for the summer, for the holidays and for weddings and engagements in the hotels and resorts, and the visitors fill the town’s streets in May and June. The Summer Festival in June, with its folk music and fireworks, is the town’s main event.

Mount Abu offers an easy setting for Gujarati-language and Hindi evenings. Garba is popular, and a set that includes garba, Hindi film songs and a few bhajans is well suited to the visitors. Hotels set their own rules on sound, and the evening cool is welcome.

The busiest months are April to June, when Gujarat’s heat sends families up the hill, and the Summer Festival in June fills the town with folk and film music. Navratri and Diwali bring more visitors, and the cool winters host weddings and retreats. The monsoon is wet and misty, with fewer events.

The pace is relaxed and the visitors are largely vegetarian. Jain customs are widely observed, with some families eating before sunset, so events are timed accordingly. A singer who offers a mix of Gujarati and Hindi songs and who respects the quiet of the temple areas is welcomed.

Visitors from Gujarat arrive in the mood to sing along, so a Mount Abu set leans on garba and Gujarati favourites alongside Hindi film songs. A typical evening might open with Vaishnav Jan To for the elders, run through Kesariya and Tera Yaar Hoon Main, and finish with a short garba round on the hotel lawn before the cool night air and the hotel’s noise limit bring it to a close.

Mount Abu’s celebrations use its hotels and resorts, many with lawns that look out over the valley, and a few heritage properties built as summer homes by former princely families. Gatherings near Nakki Lake and the Dilwara temples follow the quiet customs of the town.

The town is a short drive from the Gujarat border, so most guests come from Ahmedabad, Palanpur and Mehsana. The road up from Abu Road takes about an hour, and evenings are cool even in May. Hotels set early finishing times for music, and a garba round on a lawn is popular with visiting families. The band travels from Ahmedabad or Udaipur the day before.