A Rainbow of Feasts

A chronicle of the festivals of India

When you travel across India from east to west or traipse from north to south it is possible to find some festival going on in some little corner of the country that is not being celebrated elsewhere. The meaning of each festival varies from community to community, from street to street, even from person to person. Some of these feasts are small affairs that involve a special prayer in front of the shrine at home. Others are gigantic, ear splitting pageants disrupting normal life and brimming with colour, pomp, gaiety… and chaos.

In a continuing series, Rediff On The NeT highlights the festivals that colour India.

April May June

Important Festivals in April, May and June

April

Shad Suk Mynsiem, April 1, 1997: In Meghalaya this is a day of thanksgiving celebrations. Marathon sessions of folk dancing take place and can go on for two days.

Gudi Padva, April 8, 1997: It is a day of rejoicing that celebrates the victory of Ram over the demon king Vala and the beginning of a new year. On this day a pole or padva is set up on which a gudi or metal vessel and sweets are hung. Special celebrations take place in Maharashtra.

Lai Haraoba, April 8, 1997:A dance festival commences on the Baishakhi -- which is on April 8th for the Manipuris -- in Moirang in Manipur and lasts for 15 days. The fierce Thang Ta dances are performed during which spears and swords are artfully maneuvered. And puja of the Lai deities is performed

Nobo Borsho, April 14, 1997: The Bengali new year which is marked by feasting, community gatherings, puja of the family deity and donning new clothes. Baishakhi, April 14, 1997: It is a festival that marks the solar new year and the sowing of the new crop for most communities in India. The date varies from state to state. Baishakhi falls on April 14 in Punjab and is the Punjabi new year and the start of the harvest of wheat in the state. The traditional Punjabi dance, Bhangra that is performed on this day all over Punjab is the harvest dance of the state.

Magh Bihu, April 14, 1997: The beginning of a week-long new year celebration of dancing and singing in Assam to celebrate the sowing of the new crop.

Amir Khushrau's Birthday: This is the day to fete one of India's most famous poets. Major celebrations occur at the Nizamuddin masoleum in Delhi, where his tomb is located.

Tamil New Year, April 14, 1997: The new year begins in April in 1997 according to the Tamil calendar. The Tamil new year is a day of puja and feasting. It is important to offer fruits to the gods and goddesses on the eve of the new year. The special eats of the day are payasam or the South Indian-style vermicelli pudding and and urad vada. But each dish cooked is garnished will a little bit of bitter dried neem leaves. This ritualistic gesture is a reminder that life too is bitter-sweet.

Karaga: Worship of Draupadi, the daughter of fire, is the theme of Karaga in Karnataka where temple processions are the order of the day.

Dhrupad Mela: A festival of music that celebrates the dhrupad school of music that takes place in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.

Ramnavmi, April 16, 1997: This holiday celebrates the birth of Ram, the Hindu mythological hero. Reading of the Ramayan is obligatory and as is attending, in the evening, a local Ramlila, stage performances that centre around episodes from the Ramayan.
Ashtami and Navmi were two minor gods. Ashtami, which translates to eighth day, is a god that represents or personifies the eighth day of the month. And Navmi, which translates to ninth day, is a god that represents or personifies the ninth day of the month. As the legend goes they both approached Lord Vishnu and complained that they were considered them inauspicious days of the month. Vishnu promised a celebration on these two days, to make them popular. And when he came to earth to be born as Lord Ram, he arrived on Navmi, or the ninth day.

Bohag Bihu or Rongali Bihu: In Assam, a week-long festival of dancing and singing to welcome the new year.

Puram, April 17, 1997: One of the largest festivals in Kerala, Puram was introduced by the Travancore raja, Shaktan Tampuran, in the 18th century. On Puram, large processions of caparisoned elephants bearing temple deities and priests are taken out, to the accompaniment of Kerala-style orchestras and fireworks. The very colourful Thrissur Puram is a grand celebration and is not worth missing. For more information on how Puram is celebrated click here.

Chitra Festival at the Madurai Temple, commences on April 14, 1997: A showy festival that lasts for nearly a fortnight, it begins on the Tamil New Year. Chitra celebrates the marriage of Meenakshi to Shiv and brims with pomp. Festivities include a spate of dramas depicting Meenakshi's life history.
On the eighth day a procession of elephants and chariots transport the nuptial pair through the town streets and to the banks of the Vagai river to meet Meenakshi's brother Lord Kallalagar (an avatar of Vishnu) who is transported there from his hilltop abode at Algarkovil, outside Madurai. This ceremonious meeting -- the logistics of which are mindboggling -- has more than its usual quotient of Indian-style pandemonium. For more information on how Chitra is celebrated click here.

Vishu: A Kerala festival to welcome the monsoons and celebrate the sowing of the year's first rice crop. Firecrackers are lit to chase away evil spirits and an elaborate ceremony of offerings take place.

Kullu Cattle Fair: A three day mela in Himachal Pradesh that draws crowds and is also something of a cultural event.

Id ul-Zuha or Bakri Id, April 18, 1997: A Muslim festival that honours Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Ismail at divine behest. The day is marked by sacrifice of bakris or goats. The special dishes of the day are exotic lamb recipes and sevaiya or vermicelli pudding.

Mahavir Jayanti, April 20, 1997: The birthday of Lord Mahavir, the 24th tirthankara of the Jains is celebrated with show by this commuinity of India and is their biggest day. There are special celebrations in Gujarat, Bombay and at Parasnath Hill, Bihar, where 22 tirthankaras achieved moksh.

May

May Day, May 1, 1997: The international labour day that is given much importance in India. Labour unions all over the country celebrate by taking out rallies and offices and factories are most certainly closed.

Moatsu, May 1,, 1997: The sowing of the new crop calls for a six day celebration in Nagaland and hence the importance of Moatsu. The Naga celebrate with a series of dance marathons.

Sikkim Flower Festival: Held near White Hall, the governor's residence in Gangtok, this festival honours Sikkim's famous orchids.

Dhungri Forest Festival: The Dhungri fair and festival revolves around the celebrated Hadamba Devi Temple of Kullu, Himachal Pradesh. A carnival for the hill tribe women, it goes on for three days and is an occasion of much gaiety and colour.

Shivaji Jayanti, May 8, 1997: Chatrapati Shivaji Bhosle was the leader of the Marathas. The bravery, courage and cunning with which Shivaji fought the Mughals who once ruled his Maratha homeland are legendary.
Every year his birthday is celebrated with much pomp in Maharashtra. It is an occasion to honour the hero and every street corner sports a papier mache fort, that resembles the kind of forts Shivaji utilised in the battles he waged with Muslim armies.

International Spice Festival: Pungent and vivid, this festival in Cochin resembles a spice bazaar.

Muharram, May 18, 1997:A day of processions, especially in Lucknow, of inspired flagellation by the devout to honour the martyrdom of Hussain, Prophet Mohammed's grandson. The Shias, the sect of Muslims who honour Hussain, fast for 10 days. The wee town of Churu, in Rajasthan, famous for its percussion talent, celebrates with a pageant of drumming.

Buddha Jayanti, May 22, 1997: A full moon festival that marks the birth of Lord Buddha, it is the most significant festival of his followers.
There is much celebration in Buddhist centres like Bodh Gaya, Bihar and Sarnath in Madhya Pradesh and in Buddhist pockets in the northeastern states and Ladakh. In Arunachal Pradesh, the breathtakingly beautiful Tawang monastery conducts a round of festivities. In Sarnath, a procession of Buddhist relics is taken out, which are not for viewing at any other time of the year.

Saga Dawa, May 22, 1997: In Sikkim to celebrate the birth of Buddha, the Buddhist monks take processions of the holy books through the streeets of Gangtok, Sikkim.

Buddha Mahotsav, May 18 to 22, 1997: A special festival is arranged by the Uttar Pradesh tourism department at Buddhist holy places like Sarnath and Kushinagar.

June

Jagannath Temple Rath Yatra: This is the famous chariot festival of Puri, Orissa. A procession of chariots bearing Lord Jagannath and his two unprepossesing siblings -- huge idols from Puri's famous Jagannath Temple -- are pulled by hordes of devotees to their "summer cottage" one mile away over a period of 24 hours.
The word juggernaut in the English language gets its meaning from this festival. Music, elephants, royalty, plenty of colour and organised anarchy are a sideshow to this unmissable event which is repeated nine days later when the Jagannath family returns home from their vacation.
Legend has it that the journey of the Jagannath trio symbolises or mimics Krishna's journey -- Jagannath is an avatar or reincarnation of Vishnu, as is Krishna -- from Gokul to Mathura to kill his wickedly powerful uncle, King Kans. Areas of Bengal and Bihar also celebrate their own home grown version fo the festival.

Badrinath-Kedar Festival, June 3 to 10, 1997: This is an important music festival. The location of the festival in the snowy Himalayan towns of Badrinath and Kedarnath makes the event quite memorable; better than even Yanni Chryssomallis live in front of the Taj Mahal! The festival is organised by the Uttar Pradesh tourism department.

Ganga Dusshera, June 6, 1997: The arrival of the goddess Ganga on earth or, in real terms, the arrival of the Ganga at Hardwar, upstream, after the snow melts in spring is reason to celebrate, hundreds of miles downstream, at Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.

Dikhanti, June 6, 1997: Celebrations honouring the birth of the Ganga in spring take place upstream in Hardwar too, but the festival here goes under the name of Dikhanti. Bathing in the river is mandatory during these festivities.

Summer Festival: Warm summer days in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, are enlivened by art, singing, dancing and a handicraft fair, as well a food bazaar.

Marriage Market: Maithili Brahmin parents gather at Saurath in north Bihar for a fortnight with the horoscopes of their children to arrange marriages. Atmospheric!

Hartali Teej: It is a festival that marks the forced exile of Ram and Sita into the forest for vanvas. The day is celebrated by fasting, reading of the scripture or the Ram Charit Manas and decorating homes to resemble the jungle that the pair were exiled to for 14 years.

Rumtek Chaams: The incredible masked dances that take place at the Rumtek Monastery in Sikkim during this festival are renowned in these parts. The dances honour Guru Padmasambhava, who brought Buddhism to the Tibetans.

International Mango Festival: Hundreds of varieties of mangoes are on show at this festival in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh where Mangifera indica is kind. Coinciding with this festival is an exhibition of mangoes at Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi.