Holi,
the
festival of colors...continues
to be celebrated with great vigour through out
India but very much popular in North India and
Rajasthan. Its been an important spice for most
of the hit Indian movies since the bigining
of Bollywood. Indians all over the world eagerly
await the
Festival of Colours,
as bonfires are lit to banish the cold dark
nights of winter and usher in warmer spring.
Dhulendi, day after Holi, is the actual festival
of colours, when everything in sight is covered
in a riot of colours. Celebrations start a week
earlier than rest of India. Men of Nandagow
raid Barsana with hopes of raising their flag
over Shri Radhikaji's temple. They receive a
thunderous welcome as the women of Barsana greet
them with long wooden sticks. The men are soundly
beaten as they attempt to rush through town
to reach the relative safety of Shri Radhikaji's
temple. Men are well padded as they are not
allowed to retaliate. In this mock battle the
men try their best not to be captured. Unlucky
captives can be forcefully lead away, thrashed
and dressed in female attire before being made
to dance.
Holi ranks as the most colourful. It celebrates
the arrival of spring and death of demoness
Holika, it is a celebration of joy and hope.
Holi provides a refreshing respite from the
mundane norms as people from all walks of
life enjoy themselves. In a tight knit community,
it also provided a good excuse for letting
off some steam and settling old scores, without
causing physical injury.
Diwali
or Deepawali Festival, also
very much popular as "the festival of
light" all overthe world Deepavali or
Diwali, is one of the most popular festivals
of India and of Hindus. It is also one of
the most eagerly awaited festivals in the
Indian subcontinent. Business men and commercial
establishments, consider it as an opportunity
to boost their sales and increase profits,
while individuals use the occasion to celebrate
life and strengthen relationships. For children
it is a great opportunity to experience the
joys of growing up and get acquainted with
all types of fire crackers. It comes in the
Hindu month of Ashwayuja, (also known as Ashwin
or Aippasi), as per the lunar calendar and
corresponds roughly with either October or
November depending upon the movement of the
sun and the moon and their relative positions
in space and time.
The first day of the festival is known as
Dhanteras or Dhantrayodashi. Dhan means wealth
and Trayodashi means 13th day. The second
day of the festival is known as Naraka Chaturdasi.
Narak means purgatory or hell and chaturdasi
means the fourteenth day). The actual Diwali
is celebrated on the third day of the festival,
when the moon completely wanes and total darkness
sets in the night sky. It is in this darkness,
that Diwali finds its true expression. On
this day people worship Lakshmi, the goddess
of wealth and express their gratitude for
previous favors. Usually the pooja is performed
both in the morning and again in the evening
when the sun is ready to set or has already
set. It is believed that the Goddess would
not visit a devotee's house, if it is not
kept clean and properly lighted. So every
one strives to keep their houses clean, the
doors and windows open and all the lights
and lamps glowing brightly. During the worship,
devotes make offerings to Lord Vinayaka and
Mother Goddess also, in addition to the principal
deity, with traditional chants, rituals, purified
water, new clothes, fruit and flowers, sweets,
light, sandal paste, incense, rice, turmeric
and vermillion. Money and valuables are placed
before the principal deity during the invocation.
Laddakh
Festival, is an important
festival in Himalayan area which has worldwide
recognance for its cultural richness. The
blend of various cultures of Central Asian,
Tibetan, Northern India are found in Ladakh.The
duration of Ladakh festival is of 15 days
i.e From the 1st to the 15th of September.Various
sports such as polo and archery are conducted.
Folk dances and songs, its age-old social
And cultural ceremonies, its art and handicrafts,
all come alive in a colorful kaleidoscope.
Kullu
Dussehra Festival, this is
the religious festival dedicated to goddess
equally enjoyed by every tourist who comes
to Himachal Pradesh. Dussehra of Kullu has
got its own significance and it commences
on the tenth day of the rising moon, i.e,
on 'Vijaya Dashmi' day itself and continues
for seven days. There is no 'retelling' of
the Ramayana. On the first day, the idol of
Raghunathji saddle on a gaily attired chariot
and attended to by village gods mounted in
cofourfuI planquins, is pulled from its fixed
place in Dhalpur Maidan to another spot across
the Maidan by big ropes. The pulling of ropes
is regarded sacred by the local people. This
forms a huge procession. All the gods of the
valley have to visit Kullu on Dussehra in
order to pay their homage to Raghunathji.
On the following days in the mornings and
evenings the gods are invoked and paraded.
The people remain busy buying, selling, singing
and dancing during all the seven days of the
festival which concludes with the burning
of Lanka.
Christmas
in India, during Christians
peoples in India love to decorate banana or
mango trees. They also light small oil-burning
lamps as Christmas decorations and fill their
churches with red flowers. They give presents
to family members and baksheesh, or charity,
to the poor people. In India, the poinsettia
is in flower and so the churches are decorated
with this brilliant bloom for the Christmas
Midnight Mass. In South India, Christians
put small clay lamps on the rooftops and walls
of their houses at Christmas, just as the
Hindus do during their festival called Diwali.
Sindhu
Darshan Festival, this festival
is dedicated to "Sindhu" river of
Punjab. As many rivers and river valleys worldwide
have played a significant role in the evolution,
sustaining and development of civilisations.
Notable amongst these are the Nile, Tigris
- Euphrates, Sindhu (Indus) and Hwang Ho-Yang
Tse Kyang. Mighty civilisations grew up on
the banks of these great river systems. These
rivers not only catalysed the production of
crops but also facilitated their growth of
trade by providing convenient transport lines.
The mighty Sindhu (Indus) River symbolises
the power and permanence of the ancient Indian
civilization, which evolved over a period
of thousands of years. The archaeological
discovery of the Indus Valley civilization,
which flourished along its banks, has reinforced
the antiquity of the Indian civilisation.
Kumbha
Mela, is enjoy being the largest
religious gathering in the world. According
to astrologers, the 'Kumbh Fair' takes place
when the planet Jupiter enters Aquarius and
the Sun enters Aries. Kumbha (Kumbha means
pot) Mela (means fair) is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage
that takes place at the following four locations
of India :
Prayag, Allahabad (in the state of Uttar Pradesh)
at the confluence of three holy rivers - Ganga
(Ganges), Yamuna and Saraswati
Haridwar (in the state of Uttar Pradesh) where
the river Ganga enters the plains from Himalayas
Ujjain (in Madhya Pradesh), on the banks of
shipra river, and
Nasik (in Maharashtra) on the banks of Godavari
river.
The pilgrimage occurs four times every twelve
years, once at each of the four locations.
Each twelve-year cycle includes the Maha (great)
Kumbha Mela at Prayag, attended by millions
of people, making it the largest pilgrimage
gathering around the world.
Id
Festival
