Indian
Festival
India
is a country of colours and festivals. It is said that there are seven days in
a week but nine festivals. They mark the grand, gay and happy occasions in the
life of Indian people. These are celebrated with gay abandon. Great preparations
are made well in advance to observe festivals. These are the occasions of
family gatherings, exchange of greetings and sweets, joy, praying, fasting and
feasting. People visit temples, holy places, worship gods and invoke their
favors. Festivals come round the year and add colour, joy, happiness, variety
and spice to life. Man is a celebrating being. He celebrates birth, marriage
and even death. In India
there are a number of festivals, fairs, and days of celebration. Celebration
and festivity is in Indian blood and psyche. These have close links with our
religion, myths, changes of season, harvesting and anal events. Most of the
Indian festivals follow lunar religious calendar. Festivals in India
are of great social, cultural and national value. They help people to forge
greater and stronger national and cultural ties with one another. Festivals are
a great factor to unite such a large population into one country and nation.
Their mass recreational appeal is irresistible. The people are in their best clothes
on this occasion. Even the poor get new clothes sewn for festivals. Their
enthusiasm and preparations are seen to be believed on festive occasions. There
are various communities in India.
They have their respective festivals but they all participate in one another’s
festivities with much delight and jest. Holy, Deepavali, Janmashtami, Dessert,
Christmas, Id, Muharram, Mew Year are the main festivals celebrated on a vast
scale. Besides, there are scores of other local and regional festivals. 15th
August and 26th January are the national days of celebration and festivity.
Holy, the most colorful festival marks the advent of spring and ripening of
crops. It is also the most boisterous occasion. During the night bonfires are
there, and then the next day there are a lot of singing, dancing and throwing
of colours on one another. Sometimes the reveling is too much which turns into
hooliganism, mud throwing and singing of obscene songs. However, it is an
occasion when people of all classes mix-up with one another freely and enjoy
singing and exchange of greetings and sweets. It is a special occasion in
Gould, Matura and Barman, the places closely associated with the life of Lord
Krishna and his consort Radar. Dessert is another great festival of India.
It is celebrated to mark the victory of good over evil. It was on the
Vijayadashmi that Rama defeated the ten-headed demon King Ravenna. During these
days of festivity, the epic Ramayana is presented in dance-drama form on the
stages all over the country. It is popularly called Camilla. On the final day
of the festivities, the huge effigies of Ravenna,
and his brother Kumbhkarna and son Meghan are burnt and there are fire-works.
It is followed by Bharat Mila, an occasion of family reunion. In Mysore,
a great royal and colorful procession is taken out on this occasion. In Kula
also a special festival is celebrated on this day. In West Bengal
it is observed as Durga Puja festival. Next comes the Deepavali, the festival
of lights and fireworks. At night, earthen lamps and candles are lit to
illumine the dark night of Amanas, the night before the new moon. Greetings and
sweets are exchanged and Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth is worshipped. The
businessmen close their old accounts and open the new ones. It is believed that
Rama was crowned on this day after his triumphant return to Aloha from Lanka,
foemen people also indulge in gambling on this occasion. Houses are cleaned,
repaired and white-washed, and people wear new and colorful clothes on this
day. 26th January is a major national Day when spectacular parade is held in Delhi
along the Rajah. In state capitals also the day is celebrated with much
enthusiasm and joy. Folk-dances are performed, processions taken out, parades
held, and the National Flag is hoisted on this day. Then in the night there are
fire-works and illumination of government buildings. It was on this day that
our constitution came into being and India
became a Republic. It is the most celebrated occasion for the Muslims in India.
It comes after the month long fasting and praying of Raman. The Muslims visit
mosques and Ideas to offer their prayers in their new and {east clothes. They
embrace one another, exchange greetings and sweets, give alms to the poor and
enjoy feasts. On Christmas, the Christians celebrate the event with much joy,
jest and festivity, and exchange greetings and sweets. Special prayers and
Teases are held in the churches on the occasion. New Year is celebrated with
much jest, joy and enthusiasm by the people of all communities. Batsakis,
Rachis, Roth Yare, Panama,
Oman, Ganesha
festival are some of the other important festivals of India.
All these are the occasions of merry-making, feasting, holiday and celebrations
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