Top 16 festivals that a traveler must experience during India tour
India has a unique culture and every tourist visiting is amazed by the diversity of its culture holiday in India is incomplete without experiencing India’s festivals, find below a list of most popular festivals in India:
#1 – Makar Sankranti
Makar Sankranti (mid-January): Marks the transition of the Sun from the house of Sagittarius to Capricorn (Makar). It is celebrated by the devout taking a dip in the Ganga at Allahabad and Varanasi, while youngsters take part in kite-flying contests. Gorakhpur’s famous Guru Gorakhnath Temple hosts the immensely popular month-long Khichadi Mela.
#2 – Kumbh
Kumbh (January): Kumbh Mela, held every 12 years at the holy sangam in Allahabad, is said to be the largest human congregation on earth. The Ardh Kumbh, much smaller in magnitude, takes place every six years.
#3 – Magh Mela
Magh Mela (Jan-Feb): Called mini-Kumbh by many, the Magh Mela witnesses the devout come to Allahabad to take a dip in the holy confluence at Prayag. The festival begins on the day of Makar Sankranti and continues till Maha Shivratri.
#4 – Maha Shivratri
Maha Shivratri (Feb-March): Maha Shivratri literally means the night of Shiva. Festivities in Shiva temples, throughout the country, begin early in the day and continue through the night. Holi (March): The sound of singing resonates in every alley and the streets are a riot of colour in Krishna’s Brajbhoomi during the festival of Holi. While the festival is celebrated throughout the country, thousands come to Mathura, Vrindavan and Barsana, to watch women shed all their inhibitions, and mock-hit men with sticks recreating Krishna’s endearing relationship with the gopis. Rama Navami (April): Ram Navami marks the birth of Lord Rama, and is celebrated with prayers and celebrations at Rama temples throughout.
#5 – Janmashtami
Janmashtami (August): Lord Krishna’s birthday celebrations fall on the eighth day of the Hindu month of Bhadrapada. Celebrations peak at midnight, believed to be the hour of Krishna’s birth, and the devout sing bhajans all night long.
#6 – Ramlila
Ramlila (October): Performed during the holy period of shawl t7avratras, this dramatic representation of the epic Ramayana is held over a period of ten days and concludes on the day of Vijaydashami. Although performed all over the state, the most elaborate celebration is in Ramnagar, near Varanasi.
#7 – Dussehra
Dussehra (October): During the same time as Ramlila, over nine days of the navratras, Hindus celebrate the victory of Goddess Durga over the demon Asura.
#8 – Diwali
Diwali (Oct-Nov): Marking the victory of Lord Rama over Ravan, and his return to Ayodhya after years of exile, the festival of lights begins with the celebration of Dhanteras and continues for five days. The day after Diwali is observed as Bhaiya Dooj when sisters pray for the well-being of their brothers and put the customary vermilion tilak on their foreheads. Govardhan Puja or Annakut follows Diwali festivities as well, and is the worship of mount Giriraj in Govardhan.
#9 – Dev Deepawali/ Karthik Poornima
Dev Deepawali/ Karthik Poornima (Nov-Dec): Celebrated on the fifteenth lunar day of Kartik in Varanasi, this festival is referred to as the ‘Diwali of the Gods’. Festivities run over five days, as the ghats of Varanasi resonate with the chants of Vedic mantras and the waters of the Ganga shimmer with the light of thousands of flickering diyas.
#10 – Christian Fair
Christian Fair (November): On the first Sunday of November, Sardhana’s famous church, the Basilica of Our Lady of Graces, built by Begum Samru, holds an annual Christian Fair.
#11 – Christmas
Christmas (December 25): The birth of Jesus Christ is celebrated with a lot of enthusiasm all over the world. The churches dotting the landscape of the vast state of Uttar Pradesh sport a festive look with cheerful baubles, twinkling lights, decorated Christmas trees, caroling and all-night masses.
#12 – Eid-ul-Fitr
Eid-ul-Fitr (according to the lunar calendar): This significant day marks the end of the month-long fast of Ramadan. Muslims offer salat (prayer) on this day and commemorate the end of their fasting with a celebratory feast. It is also known as meethi Id as sweet vermicelli is prepared in every Muslim home on this day.
#13 – Eid-ul-Adha/Bakr-id
Eid-ul-Adha/Bakr-id (according to the lunar calendar): Known as the Feast of Sacrifice, this festival celebrates the devotion of Ibrahim, who was ready to sacrifice his first-born to Allah.
#14 – Muharram
Muharram (according to the lunar calendar): Muharram, considered the first month of the year according to the Muslim calendar, is a sacred month for Shia Muslims. Ten days are devoted to prayer and remembrance for the sacrifice of the Prophet’s grandson, Hussain Ibn Ali, and on the tenth day, the Day of Ashura, the devout take out a procession to mourn.
#15 – Yoga Festival
Yoga Festival (February): A week-long Yoga event is organised alternately in the cities of Allahabad and Varanasi, attracting both locals and foreigners.
#16 – Sankat Mochan Music Festival
Sankat Mochan Music Festival (April): This extravagant music festival is held to commemorate the birth anniversary of Lord Hanuman, and takes place in the premises of the famous Sankat Mochan Temple at Varanasi. Now into its 91st year, this five-day festival sees performances by some of the biggest exponents of Indian classical music.
Language
Though it is called the ‘Hindi heartland of India’, Uttar Pradesh is also known for its refined Urdu, and has spawned many well-known dialects such as Awadhi (Lucknow, Rae Bareli, Gonda, Sravasti, Jaunpur, Bhadohi, Mirzapur), Bhojpuri (Gorakhpur), Braj bhasha (Agra, Mathura, Aligarh, Etah) and Khari boll (Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Aligarh). These, have steadily made their way into popular culture, literature and music.
Written in Devanagari script, and spoken almost throughout the northern, central and western parts of India, Hindi was the principal literary instrument during the Bhakti Movement of thel4th-17th centuries. But its rise as a language of the masses began only during the Indian struggle for Independence when —divided by caste, creed, religion, language and distance — India found its answer in Hindi, and adopted it as the medium of communication against their English-speaking oppressors.
Through centuries, Hindi and Urdu have had many distinguished writers, poets and singers promoting these languages through their works. From Sant Kabir whose couplets or dohe gave spiritual guidance to many, to fiction writers like Munshi Prem Chand (Bade Ghar ki Beti, G’odan), Rahi Masoom Raza (Topi Shukla, Adha Gaon), Mirza Hadi Ruswa ((Jmrao Jaan), and unforgettable poets such as Mir Anis, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Mahadevi Varma, Sumitranandan Pant and Maithilisharan Gupt, several literary geniuses were born here.
Music
Uttar Pradesh is also celebrated for its soulful music. Rasiya bhajans, ghazals, khayal, marsiya, nautanki, qawwalis, ramlila, raas leela, swang – for centuries Uttar Pradesh has produced outstanding music and several internationally acclaimed artists such as Ustad Bismillah Khan (moved to Varanasi at age 6), Pandit Ravi Shankar (Varanasi), Hari Prasad Chaurasia (Allahabad), Girija Devi (Varanasi) and Begum Akhtar (Faizabad). From the medium-paced Rampur-Sahaswan gharana, to the soulful Kirana gharana, and the lively Benarasi thumri, all originated in Uttar Pradesh!
For more information on tours to India during Fairs & Festivals Tour contact Swan Tours, one of the leading travel agents in Connaught place, Delhi, India established in 1995.
Swan Tours - Blogs 