Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India encyclopedia

FESTIVALS AND FAIRS

colourful Holi festival (February-March) is best seen at Barasana, 20 miles from Mathura. BIHAR Sonepur cattle fair is held at the time of Kartik Poornima. In the month long fair cows and oxen participate coloured in bright shades of yellow, red and purple. Their horns are gilded and they are decorated. GUJARAT The usual Hindu festivals are observed in this region; Navratri, held in Ahmedabad, in honour of the Goddess Ambaji (September/ October), lasts nine days and on consecutive evenings women in colourful costumes perform the garba dance in the streets. An outstandingly colourful event is the 3-day fair held at Tarnetar 75 km from the nearest airport at Rajkot. A lunar festival during August or September, the fair brings together the exuberant tribal folk from all over the region for dancing, trading and a religious pilgrimage. DAMAN & DIU Holi is celebrated with the burning fire of Holika, the previous evening. The following day leads to the colourful celebration with smearing of colours over themselves and others around, sweets are shared and poojas are attended to. Janmashtami : The birthday of Lord Krishna is celebrated with enthusiasm with fairs in a festive mood. Also celebrated are Makar Sankranti in January and Navratri in September/October. MAHARASHTRA Bombay : Exact dates follow the lunar calendar. February/March: Mahashivaratri - Hindu devotees worship at temples dedicated to Shiva. February/March : Holi, a spring festival, the time for merry- making. August/September : Gokulashtami, the birthday of Lord Krishna. July/August: Coconut Day marks the end of the monsoon; mass bathing in the sea; Brahmins change the sacred thread they wear around their neck. August/September: Ganesh Chaturthi, the most spectacular of this region's festivals. Clay images of the elephant god are brought to Chowpatty Beach and immersed amid much rejoicing. October : Dussehra, a ten-day festival; October/November :Diwali, the festival of lights. Christian and Muslim festivals are also celebrated in this cosmopolitan community. DADRA & NAGAR HAVELI The Varli and Kokna tribes celebrate Diwali in the name of Barash. Akha Trij is celebrated by Kokna tribes where ladies are the main participants. Diwaso is celebrated by Dhobia and Vaiji tribes. Dhobias celebrate Raksha Bandhan. Other festivals among Varli and Koli tribes are Bhawada, Kali puja after harvesting crops and Gram Devi before harvesting crops. GOA A religious feast is often a fine reason for singing and dancing and holding village fairs. The Goans love music and you ought to hear a mando - not quite waltz and not quite Portuguese fado but with strains of both. Some of the Christian fetes are the Reis Magos WEST

In and around Bikaner lives the community of Sidh, famous for their yogic feats. One of their turns is the fire dance, which is performed on special occasions: drums and pipes play the music while a group of men dance merrily, jumping in and out of the flames. The most popular community dances of Rajasthan are the ghumar and ginda, danced usually a fortnight before Holi (end of February or early March). MADHYA PRADESH Bhagoria is celebrated by the tribals of the western regions on the occasion of Holi. The tribals of southern Madhya Pradesh celebrate Dussehra with unity and faith. Gangaur, the spring festival held in Chaitra (March-April) in honour of Gauri, the Goddess of abundance . Teej festival held in Asarh (June-July) in honour of Devi (Par- vati). UTTAR PRADESH Apart from the festivals celebrated all over India, here are the fairs (melas) peculiar to the region. Kumaon Hills: Uttarayan is a religious fair held in January at Bageshwar, 37 miles from Almora. Devotees come in thousands to have a dip in the Sarayu River. Fasting and chanting at the temple of Shiva characterise the occasion. Nanda Devi is the most impor- tant and colourful of the fairs in the Kumaon region (August - September) held in Almora, Ranikhet and Naini Tal, but its best observances take place in Almora in honour of the "Patron deity" Nanda Devi, the goddess identified with Parvati, Shiva's consort. Women in colourful costumes and glittering silver ornaments, men and children singing and dancing to the accompaniment of the local hurka (drum) present a rare spectacle of gaiety. Doon Valley: Tapkeshwar Fair. There is a temple 3 miles from Dehra Dun in the Garhi Village known as Tapkeshwar. Every year on the occasion of Shivaratri a colossal fair is held here. Tens of thousands of people in their colourful costumes throng the village streets. Jhanda Mela is perhaps the biggest and the best-celebrated fair in the Doon Valley. To commemorate Guru Ram Raj, a flag is hoisted on a very long flag-staff every year on the 5th day after Holi (early March) in the Jhanda Muhulla area. The fair lasts about 10 days. Colourfully dressed people from neighbouring districts pour in, par- ticularly from the Punj ab. Agra Region : Mathura and Gwalior are known for their local festivals. In March/April, at Brindavan, about six miles from Mathura, glittering chariots carry the image of Krishna and his consort through the streets for ten days. Sometime in April a com- memorative Urs is held at Gwalior at the tomb of that great musician Tansen. A fair is held in Mathura in October/November. Dussehra is celebrated with special pomp at Agra and Gwalior in October and Gwalior holds an annual mela (fair) from 20th Decem- ber to mid-January. The Shivpuri mela is held in February. On Chabina (remembrance) day the ex-Maharajah of Gwalior goes in procession to pay homage to his ancestors. (August). Mathura is closely associated with the Krishna cult. Naturally enough, the most popular dances of this region are the Ras Lila series which depict his adolescence and early manhood, his frolics with the gopis (milkmaids) and his passionate love for Radha. At Kailash, 8 miles from Agra, there is an autumn fair, in August-September. The