Fairs and Festivals Of North India

India is a land full of fairs and festivals and these fairs and festivals has undoubtedly enhances the beauty of our country 100 times. These fairs and festivals occurs in rhythm with the cycle of various seasons and also with sowing of seeds and harvesting of crops.

Indians love to celebrate these fairs and festivals with utmost joy and gaiety, forgetting all their tensions and worries. Breaking all their shackles, people from every caste and creed completely immerse themselves in these vibrant fairs and festivals of the land. Every part of our country has some special fairs and festivals that reflects the joyful nature of people and culture of the region. Even northern part of our country also has some colorful fairs and festivals which are celebrated with much pomp and show.

Prayers, chanting of mantras, singing of bhajans, sound of instruments, fragrance of incense sticks, and flowers, colorful processions, new attires are the main elements of these fairs and festivals. Apart from the common festivals like Diwali, Holi, Dusshera, Ramnavami, some of the special fairs and festivals of North India are:

Dusshera of Kullu Valley: Dusshera festival of Kullu valley of Himachal Pradesh is differnt from the Dusshera festival of other regions of India. It begins on the day of Vijaya dashami, when the dusshera festival in other parts of India ends. During this Dusshera festival, some 200 deities of nearby villages were brought to Dhalpur ground in decorated palanquins to pay obeisance to Lord Raghunathji( Lord Rama), who is the supreme deity of Raghunath temple of Kullu valley. Every year a colorful fair is organizes during this seven day long festival. People dressed in new attires celebrate this festival with lots of enthusiasm and participated in local folk dances.

Baisakhi of Punjab: Baisakhi, is the name for new year celebration for the people of Punjab. It falls on the month of mid-April. It is a festival that is related to harvesting of crops. On this occasion, people visit temples and Gurudwaras to pay homage and thanksgiving for nice crops. The two main folk dances namely Bhangra and Giddha are the prime attractions of Baisakhi festivals. Men folks indulge themselves in bhangra dance on the tune of drums and the ladies engage themselves in giddha to accompany the men folks, wearing colorful dresses. Preparing and eating delicious dishes and wishing one another is also part of this festival. In some part of Punjab, Baisakhi fairs are also organizes.

Teej of Haryana and Rajasthan: Teej is a north Indian festival that is celebrated mostly by the ladies of Haryana and Rajasthan. It is celebrated during the month of July-August, to welcome the monsoon season. So, it is also known as 'Sawan festival'. Teej festival is celebrated to observe the union of Goddess Parvati with Lord Shiva after penance of hundred years. During this festival, married women keep fasting and pray to both the deities for the well being of their husbands. They applies heena on their palms, wears new sari. There are three types of Teej festivals namely Haryali Teej, Kajari Teej and Hartalika Teej.

Lathmar Holi of Braj Bhoomi (Barsana): Apart from the common festivals, Uttar Prdesh is also famous for some special festivals that attract the globetrotters. One of such festival is Lathmar Holi. It is an unique kind of Holi celebration that take place at Barsana. Located just 48 km from Mathura, Barsana is the birth place of Radhaji. This special Holi celebration has an interesting legend attached to it. It is believed that Lord Krishna along with his friends(gopis) used to visit Barsana to play holi with Radhaji and her friends(gopias). After merriment, the gopias used to chase the gopis with lathis or bamboo sticks. Hence, the name. Till today, the men and women folks of Nandgaon and Barsana follows the tradition.

Maha Kumbha Mela of Allahabad: Maha Kumbha mela of Allahabad is largest Hindu pilgrimage that takes place once in every twelve years. Million of saints and yogis and ardent Hindu devotees from all across the globe makes it a point to visit this spiritual fair at least for once in their lifetime. It take place at the bank of confluence of three holy rivers namely Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati. This religious fair continues for more than 45 days during the month of January-February. It is believed that a holy dip at the confluence at this occasion washes away all past sins. The next Kumbha mela will take place in 2010.

Apart from them, there are some more colorful unique festivals that are celebrated in northern part of our country such as Hemis festival, Gangor festival, Pushkar festival, Urs fair of Ajmer.

Fairs and festivals of North India
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