|
Festivals
India is a land of plentiful festivals and fairs. There are many different types, some celebrate religious occasions, birthdays of divine beings, others for various seasons. Some are celebrated in certain parts of India only, several others are common to all parts in India and some of these called by different names in different parts of the country. But the one universal celebration is one of the victory of good over evil.
|
|
|
Diwali
The festival of lights which symbolises the victory of righteousness and the lifting of spiritual darkness. This is the day when Rama entered Ayodhya after 14 years of exile. The word Diwali literally means rows of divas (clay lamps).
|
Navaratri
The festival of nine nights and is celebrated to honour the goddesses Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati. This is celebrated by traditional dancing using Dandias. The tenth day is Dussehra.
|
|
|
|
Dussehra
A most significant festival which marks the triumph of Lord Rama over the Ravana the demon king - victory of good over evil. |
Janmashtami
Celebrates the birth of Lord Krishna. Ram-lila (folk dances of Krishna) is performed to recreate incidents from the life of Krishna and to commerate his love for Radha. Festival is celebrated by fasting followed by feasting and merriment.
|
|
|
|
Holi
The festival of colours. It is celebrated at the end of winters and heralds the start of spring. |
Maha Shivaratri
The height of the worship of the great Shiva. The pious stay awake all night and chant prayers.
|
|
|
|
Ram Navami
The day of Rama's birth and is celebrated as a day of great piety, with the chanting of prayers and the singing of ballads |
Raksha Bandhan
An integral part of the Hindu family structure whereby a woman ties a rakhi or decorative thread on the wrist of her brother to remind him to protect her if the need arises. In some parts of the country this festival is celebrated to honour the sea god Varuna. In the days when gods warred with demons, the consort of Indra tied a rakhi around his wrist by virtue of which it said the god won back his celestial abode from his enemies.
|
|
|
|
Ganesh Chaturthi
Celebrated in honour of Ganesha, the elephant-headed god who is worshipped as the remover of obstacles. In Maharashtra, huge images of Ganesha are carried in procession. On specific dates in the following ten days, these images are immersed in the sea or rivers with thousands of worshippers dancing and singing after them |
|
Hanuman Jayanti
This celebrates the birth of shree hanuman, who worked in the service of lord Rama, performing any task. Through this service of devotion and friendship he has earned a place in our hearts. He battled to save sita and burned all of lanka and confronted the evil ravana himself.
|
|
