Fairs and Festivals of India

Festivals and fairs are an intrinsic part of Indian life, an outpouring of belief, season and community. India is a secular country, so public holidays are declared for festivals across many faiths. People of one community routinely join the celebrations of another. Broadly, festivals fall into two groups: religious festivals, observed by those who follow a particular faith, and secular festivals, enjoyed across communities. Standing apart are the three national festivals: Republic Day on 26 January, Independence Day on 15 August, and Gandhi Jayanti on 2 October. They mark events of national importance. For the exam, focus on names, dates, the state or community involved, the legend behind each festival, and any unique ritual.

Religious festivals are tied to a particular belief system, though others freely join in. The most exam-relevant ones, grouped by faith:

Hindu festivals

• Diwali (Deepawali): the "Festival of Lights," on the new-moon (Amavasya) of Karthik (Oct–Nov). It marks Lord Rama's return to Ayodhya after fourteen years of exile. The main worship is of Goddess Lakshmi (in Bengal, Goddess Kali). Jains observe it as the day Mahavira attained Nirvana.
• Holi: the "Festival of Colours," in Phalgun (late Feb–early March), marking the arrival of spring. It is preceded by Holika Dahan. Special regional forms include Lathmar Holi (Vrindavan, Mathura) and Basant Utsav / Dol Jatra (West Bengal, Assam).
• Makar Sankranti: dedicated to the Sun God, marking the Sun's movement to the northern hemisphere (Uttarayan). It is a harvest and kite-flying festival, usually on 14 January.
• Janmashtami: birth anniversary of Lord Krishna in Shravan (Jul–Aug). It is celebrated as Dahi-handi in Maharashtra (human pyramids to break a hanging pot of butter).
• Dussehra (Vijayadashami): Rama's victory over Ravana, on the tenth day after the nine-day Navratri. Effigies of Ravana, Meghnad and Kumbhakaran are burnt.
• Ram Navami: birth of Lord Rama in Chaitra (March–April). The chief centres are Ayodhya and the Kanaka Bhawan temple in Puducherry.
• Durga Puja: Goddess Durga's triumph over the demon Mahishasura, in Sept–Oct. In Bengal the clay idol is immersed on the tenth day. It is called Navratri (with Garba and Dandiya) in Gujarat.
• Ganesh Chaturthi: birth of Lord Ganesha in Bhadra (Aug–Sept). It was revived as a public festival by Bal Gangadhar Tilak in 1893. It ends with the Visarjan (immersion) of idols.
• Karva Chauth: observed by Hindu women for the well-being and long life of their husbands, in Karthik (Oct–Nov).
• Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath: the chariot festival at Puri, Odisha, in Ashadha (June–July), carrying the wooden idols of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra in three great chariots (Nandighosha, Taladhwaja and Devadalana).
• Mahashivratri: annual night of worship of Lord Shiva in Magha (Feb–March), recalling his manifestation as the flaming Jyotirlinga.
• Chhath: devoted to the Sun God, six days after Diwali. It is the state festival of Bihar, with offerings to the rising and setting Sun.

Muslim festivals

• Eid-ul-Fitr: marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan (Ramzan), the ninth month of the Islamic calendar.
• Id-ul-Zuha (Bakr-Eid): the festival of sacrifice, honouring Prophet Ibrahim's devotion, on the tenth of Dhu-al-Hijjah. It also marks the start of the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.
• Milad-un-Nabi (Barah-wafat): birth (and death) anniversary of Prophet Muhammad. A key observance is at the Hazratbal Shrine, Srinagar, where the Prophet's relic is displayed.
• Muharram: a day of mourning marking the martyrdom of Hussain at the Battle of Karbala. Tajia processions are taken out.
• Shab-e-Barat: the "Night of Emancipation," when destiny is believed to be determined.
• Shab-e-Miraj: the "Night of Ascent," commemorating the Prophet's spiritual journey to the Almighty.

Christian festivals

• Christmas: birth of Jesus Christ, on 25 December, beginning with the midnight mass.
• Easter: the resurrection of Christ. The Council of Nicaea (325 AD) fixed its date as the first Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox.
• Good Friday: commemorates the crucifixion of Christ, in April.

Sikh festivals

• Gurpurab: birth anniversaries of the ten Gurus, most importantly Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh. Celebrations include Akhand Path, Prabhat Pheris and langar.
• Maghi: at Muktsar, in memory of the forty Sikh martyrs (Chalis Mukte), on 14 January.
• Hola Mohalla: the "Sikh Olympics" of mock battles and martial display, started by Guru Gobind Singh at Anandpur Sahib.
• Vaisakhi: the Sikh New Year and spring harvest festival, marking the founding of the Khalsa Panth, on 13–14 April.
• Lohri: a bonfire and fertility festival on 13 January, a day before Makar Sankranti.

Jain festivals

• Mahavir Jayanti: birth of Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara, in Chaitra. Major centres are at Pawapuri (Bihar), Hastinapur (UP) and the Parshvanath temple, Kolkata.
• Paryushana: the chief annual Jain festival. It lasts eight days for Svetambaras and ten for Digambaras. It ends with Kshamavani, the day of forgiveness ("Micchami Dukkadam").
• Mahamastakabhisheka: the holy bathing of the 57-ft Bahubali statue at Shravanabelagola, Karnataka. It is held once every twelve years.

Buddhist festivals

• Buddha Purnima: birth of the Buddha, in April–May. It is called Vishakha Puja in the Theravada tradition, with chief centres at Sarnath and Bodh Gaya.
• Hemis Gompa: at the Hemis monastery, Ladakh, marking the birth of Guru Padmasambhava, with the famous mask dance of the Lamas.
• Losar: the Tibetan New Year, spread over three days, celebrated by Mahayana tribes of Arunachal Pradesh.

Sindhi and Parsi festivals

• Cheti Chand: the Sindhi New Year, honouring the birth of Jhulelal, the patron saint of the Sindhis, on the first of Chaitra.
• Chaliha Sahib: a forty-day fasting festival of the Sindhi community, observed in honour of Jhulelal. Devotees keep austere vows through the forty days.
• Jamshedi Navroz: the Parsi New Year, marking the start of the universal dawn. Parsis visit the Fire Temple.

Examiners often pair a pilgrimage with the wrong community. Fix the correct match for these two:

• Nanda Raj Jaat Yatra: the grand pilgrimage of the Garhwali people of Uttarakhand, held roughly once every twelve years in honour of Goddess Nanda Devi. It belongs to the Himalayan Garhwal region, not to the Gonds.
• Wari-Warkari: the pilgrimage tradition of Maharashtra. Devotees called Warkaris walk in procession (the Wari) to the shrine of Vithoba (Vitthala) at Pandharpur. It is a Maharashtrian bhakti tradition, not a Santhal one.

These festivals cut across religious lines and are often tied to the harvest or the regional New Year:

• Gangaur: a spring festival of Rajasthan, honouring Goddess Gauri (Parvati), rooted in Rajput tradition.
• Khajuraho Dance Festival: instituted in 1975 to promote tourism and showcase classical dance against the Khajuraho temples of Madhya Pradesh.
• Regional New Year: the same spring New Year is celebrated under many names. It is called Ugadi in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, Gudi Padwa in Maharashtra, Poila Boishakh / Naba Barsha in West Bengal, Puthandu in Tamil Nadu, and Vishu in Kerala.
• Teej: a women's monsoon festival of Rajasthan, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, in three forms (Haryali, Kajari and Hartalika Teej).
• Phool Walon Ki Sair (Sair-e-Gulfaroshan): Old Delhi's flower festival of communal harmony, from the Khwaja Bakhtiyar Kaki dargah in Mehrauli to the Jogmaya temple.
• Tyagaraja Aradhana: a Carnatic-music festival near Thanjavur on the Kaveri, honouring the saint-composer Tyagaraja. He is one of the Trinity of Carnatic music, along with Muthuswami Dikshitar and Shyama Sastri.
• Raksha Bandhan: the "bond of protection" between brothers and sisters, on the full moon of Shravan.
• Onam: the state harvest festival of Kerala, celebrating the homecoming of King Mahabali. The festival is famous for the Vallamkali (snake-boat race) at Punnamada Lake, home of the Nehru Trophy.
• Pongal: the Tamil harvest festival (13–16 January), marking Uttarayan. "Pongal" means "to boil," and the boiling of the first rice is its key ritual.
• Sarhul: the New Year of the Munda, Oraon and Ho tribes of Jharkhand, meaning "worship of Sal." Mother Earth is revered.
• Tree-planting festival of the Gonds and Korkus: the Gond and Korku tribal communities of central India (the Madhya Pradesh region) observe a month-long, ecologically important festival. During this month they plant saplings of fruit-bearing trees, renewing the green cover around their villages.

The North-East has a rich cluster of tribal, harvest and New-Year festivals worth knowing state by state:

• Saga Dawa (Sikkim): a Buddhist festival on the full-moon of the "month of merits," commemorating the Buddha's birth, enlightenment and parinirvana.
• Losoong (Sikkim): the Sikkimese harvest New Year of the Bhutia and Lepcha communities, in December, with the Cham (Black Hat) dance.
• Bihu (Assam): the state's chief festival, in three forms: Bohag/Rongali Bihu (the New Year, from 14 April), Kati/Kongali Bihu, and Magh/Bhogali Bihu. The Gamosa towel and the Bihu dance are central to the celebration.
• Hornbill Festival (Nagaland): a week-long festival from 1 December at the Kisama Heritage Village. All the major Naga tribes gather here.
• Kharchi Puja (Tripura): a ten-day festival in July honouring fourteen deities, originally of the royal family. It is held at the Puran Haveli in Old Agartala.
• Cheiraoba (Manipur): the Manipuri New Year in April, linked to the household deity Sanamahi.
• Wangala (Meghalaya): the Garo post-harvest festival honouring the deity Misi Saljong, known as the "100 Drum Wangala festival."
• Kang Chingba (Manipur): Manipur's eight-day Rath Yatra in July, beginning from the Sri Govindajee temple in Imphal.
• Ambubachi Mela (Assam): held at the Kamakhya temple, Guwahati, in June. It is a fertility festival dubbed the "Mahakumbh of the East."
• Sekrenyi (Nagaland): a purification festival of the Angami tribe in February, including the Dzuseva bathing ritual.
• Lui-Ngai-Ni (Nagaland): a seed-sowing festival of the Naga tribes, on 15 February.
• Chapchar Kut (Mizoram): the chief spring festival of Mizoram, celebrated in March. It marks the completion of the jhum operation, the clearing of jungle for shifting cultivation.
• Dree (Arunachal Pradesh): the Apatani harvest festival in the Ziro valley on 5 July, with prayers to four gods and the distribution of cucumber.

Two Manipuri traditions travel with the festivals and are tested as state-tradition pairs:

• Khongjom Parba: a ballad-singing tradition of Manipur. Singers narrate the heroism of the 1891 Battle of Khongjom, fought against the British.
• Thang-Ta: the traditional martial art of Manipur, performed with sword (thang) and spear (ta). It belongs to Manipur, not Sikkim, a pairing examiners use as a trap.

A fair (mela) is a temporary gathering, religious, commercial or for entertainment. The most exam-relevant:

• Kumbh Mela: the largest religious gathering in the world. It is held by rotation at four sites: Allahabad (Ganga–Yamuna–Saraswati confluence), Haridwar (Ganga), Nashik-Trimbak (Godavari) and Ujjain (Shipra). The timing is determined by the positions of the Sun, Moon and Jupiter.
• Sonepur Mela (Bihar): one of Asia's largest cattle fairs, at the Ganga–Gandak confluence on Kartik Poornima. Notably, it is the only fair where elephants are sold.
• Chitra Vichitra Fair (Gujarat): the largest tribal fair in the state, of the Gharasia and Bhil tribes, held after Holi.
• Shamlaji Fair (Gujarat): a tribal fair revering Lord Shamlaji ("the Dark Divine") on the Meshwo river, peaking on Kartik Poornima.
• Pushkar Fair (Rajasthan): one of the world's largest camel and cattle fairs, from Kartik Poornima. It is famous for camel races and moustache and turban competitions.
• Desert Festival (Rajasthan): a three-day cultural extravaganza at Jaisalmer in February.
• Kolayat (Kapil Muni) Fair (Rajasthan): at Bikaner, with a holy dip in Kolayat Lake on Kartik Poornima, named after the sage Kapil Muni.
• Surajkund Crafts Fair (Haryana): an international crafts fair near Faridabad, from 1 February, showcasing regional and international handicrafts.
• Gangasagar Mela (West Bengal): at the mouth of the Hooghly, with a holy dip on Makar Sankranti, marked by the presence of Naga sadhus.
• Goa Carnival: a festival introduced in the Portuguese era, held forty days before Lent. It features masks, floats and parades that reflect Goa's Portuguese heritage.