Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India encyclopedia

FESTIVALS AND FAIRS

January (folk dances, etc.,). Tibetan New Year (mid-February - mid-March) - folk dances in the monasteries. Pedong near Kalim- pong (February); agricultural fair. Sikkim New Year - Gangtok (December - January) - Lama and Devil dances. Birthday of Dalai Lama (mid-June): processions from the monasteries. Calcutta : The Goddess Durga is propitiated during Durga Puja held in September/October. Hardly a day passes without a ceremony at a temple or shrine during these two months. Lakshmi, Goddess of prosperity, is made welcome by all households during Diwali (October/November) with small, twinkling oil lamps. At Belur, the Ramakrishna Mission observes Utsab during February/ March while all of Calcutta's population is drawn into celebration of the Bengali New Year, the Baisak (April/May). SIKKIM Tibetan New Year (Feb/March) - folk dances in monasteries. Pedong near Kalimpong (Feb.), Sikkim New Year - Gangtok (Dec./ Jan.). Lama and Devil dance. Birthday of Dalai Lama (June) - processions from monastery. The main festivals are Maghey Sankranti, Losar, Chaita Dasai, Durga Puja, Laxmi Puja, Losoong, Namsoong, Saga Dawa, Drukpa, Tseshi, Pang Lhabsol and Rumtek Chaams. ASSAM The Bihus are the festivals of the Assamese people. There are three Bihus in a year. Of these the Bohag Bihu is the main festival. It is celebrated with due eclat with the advent of the Assamese New Year which is in mid-April. The tribal people both of the hills and plains have a large number of festivals in which their distinctive folk dances and folk songs predominate to the accompaniment of their indigenous musical instruments. The "Kherai Puja" of the Bodos, the "Nongkrem Puja" of the Khasis (in June); the ” Wangala" of the Garos are a few of such festivals. MEGHALAYA Nongkren Dance (October/November), one of the two important festivals of the Khasis is a five-day- long religious festival annually held giving thanks to God for a good harvest and praying for peace and prosperity. Maidens dressed in colourful costumes participate in the dance with men accompanied by drums and flute. The Jaintias celebrate Behdien khlam (July). Only young and old men participate in dancing to the tune of drums and flutes. The evil spirits are driven away by beating the roof of every house with bamboo poles. Wanga- lais, the harvest festival of Garos, lasts for several days. The ceremony known as Rugula followed by Sasat Soa is performed in the house of the village chief. MIZORAM Mizos are basically agriculturists. "Kut" is the Mizo word for festival. The major festivals are Chapchar Kut, Mim Kut and Pawl Kut. MANIPUR A popular Manipur saying is "Thirteen festivals in twelve months". Every month is associated with a festival or two meaning dances, songs and sometimes sports. The important festivals are Dal-Yatra, Lai Haraboa, Heikru Hitogba, Cheiraoba, Ningol Chak-Kouba, Rath- Jatra, Kut, Gang-Ngai, Id-ul-Fitr and Christmas. In Manipur, "Ras Lila" is celebrated in great pomp and the Manipur dancers enact scenes from Lord Krishna's life from mid-October to mid-November.

Thyagaraja festival (January) - South Indian musicians gather at the composer's memorial at Tiruvaiyaru, 13km (8 miles) from Tanjore. The festival is in honour of Tyagaraja, the famous musi- cian - composer and saint (b. 1767).

ANDHRA PRADESH Ugadi, Telugu New Year's day (March/April)

Brahmotsavam, the ten day festival held in March-April and De- cember - January at temple of Tirupati. The intricately carved figurines of temple deities are beautifully dressed seated in splendid carriages taken out in procession led by beautifully decorated elephants Fire-walking festival, twelve "hero-youths , performing the feat go from the temple in a procession to bathe followed by a decorated image of the temple deity held over the priest's head. PONDICHERRY Pongal is celebrated in January. A three-day festival of harvest and thanks giving. Freshly harvested rice with palm sugar is cooked in brand new pots and offered to surya (sun god). The joyful cries of 'Pongal! Pongal' fill the air. This is followed by mattu pongal on the next day when the oxen and cows are bathed and decorated with garlands of bells, flowers, beads and leaves. They are paraded around in the villages and stamped. Young men wrestle for the prize-money tied to the horns of the oxen or cows. Being formerly colonised by the French, Christian festivals like Christmas, Easter and St. Mary's festival are predominant. LAKSHADWEEP The month of Ramzan is sacred when strict fast during the day is observed, after sunset Namaz is offered and then fast is broken. This begins with a new moon and ends with the next moon. On the final day lamb and sheep are sacrificed and food prepared is shared among relatives and friends. Muharram is observed with fast, Namaz and mourning. Onam, Vishu, Christmas and Easter are also celebrated with equal gaiety. ORISSA Car festival at Puri (June/July). The deity Jagannath, his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra placed on colossal chariots each 13.7 m (45ft) high with wheels having a diameter of 2.1 m(7ft). Hundreds of devotees from all over India go in procession from the temple in Puri to Gundicha Mandir. After a seven-day stay in Gudicha Mandir the deities are carried back to their temple. WEST BENGAL Hindus all over Bengal celebrate the Durga Puja (September - October), the most spectacular of all festival occasions in this region. The Santhals, attractive tribal people who live in remote villages of both Bihar and West Bengal, have some interesting community dances, but the highlight in this respect are the dances performed in and around Darjeeling by the various ethnic groups. Here is a timetable of their festivals: New Year of the Lepchas and Bhutias, 1 st week of January, Makar Sankranti — Fairs all along the Tista River. Benimela - 2 miles from Tista Bazaar, biggest fair held in the 2nd week of EAST