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DURGA
PUJA,
West
Bengal
(October)
Durga
Puja is
one of
the
largest
and most
splendid
festivals
in the
country.
Community
pujas
(prayer
service)
in
Bengal
are
organized
in every
locality.
Families
visit
each
other
and
spread
the
communal
goodwill.
On
Bijoya
Day,
idols of
Durga
are
taken in
elaborate
processions
and
immersed
in the
river or
sea.
SONEPUR
CATTLE
FAIR,
Bihar
(26th
November
– 12th
December)
A
traditional
fair
that has
remained
pristine
in its
charm
through
the
ages.
Legend
has it
that two
brothers,
devotees
of Lord
Vishnu,
one wily
and the
other
honest,
cast a
spell
upon
each
other.
As a
result
of this,
one
became
an
elephant
and the
other a
crocodile.
On a
Kartik
Purnima
day, the
honest
elephant
went to
the
confluence
of the
holy
rivers
Ganga
and
Gandak
to bathe
and was
attacked
by the
wily
crocodile.
Lord
Vishnu
himself
intervened
and
delivered
good
from
evil.
The
central
draw of
the fair
is
cattle
trade.
All
species
of
birds,
poultry,
bovines
and
beats of
burden,
especially
elephants,
have a
market
here.
The fair
entertains
visitors
with
nautankis
–
typical
musical
drama
performances.
Other
attractions
are the
circus,
fortune-telling
parrots
and
peddlers
of fancy
goods.
BIHU,
Assam
(14th
April)
The
festival
ushers
in the
New
Year,
with
dancing,
music
and
feasting.
There
are
three
such
festivals
in Assam
in the
months
of
Bohang
(April),
Maagh
(January),
and
Kaati (Kartik
or
October).
Each
Bihu
coincides
with a
distinctive
phase in
the
farming
calendar.
The
Bohang
or the
Festival
of
Merriment.
True to
its
name, it
ushers
in the
period
of
greatest
enjoyment
and
marks
the
arrival
of
spring.
The
festival
lasts
for
several
days
during
“the
young
people
in the
village
may be
seen
moving
about in
groups,
gaily
dressed
or
forming
circles
in the
midst of
which
the
prettiest
girls
dance.”
(The
History
of Human
Marriage,
by
Edward
Western-March).
In towns
and
cities,
there
are
well-organised
Bihu
fairs,
where
professional
or
amateur
troupes
perform
songs on
stage,
with
accompanying
dancing.
Bihu
Kunwori
(The
Princess
of the
Bihu)
contests
are also
held.
Young
women
compete
in
dancing
to the
tune of
Bihu
songs.
The best
dancer
is given
the
title of
Bihu
Kunwor.
RATH
YATRA,
Puri
(July)
Every
year in
July,
the
sacred
coastal
town of
Puri
celebrates
the Rath
Yatra of
Lord
Jagannath.
According
to
popular
legend,
Lord
Jagannath
is said
to have
expressed
his
desire
to visit
his
birthplace.
Gundicha
Ghar.
Yet
another
mythological
story in
the
Bhagavad
Puran
attributes
the
festival
to Lord
Krishna
and
Balaram,
who went
to
Mathura
on the
invitation
of Kansa
(their
evil
uncle),
to
participate
in a
competition.
The
entire
Ratha
Yatra is
a
symbolic
humanisation
of God.
All
rituals
associated
with the
festival
demonstrate
an
attempt
to bring
god down
from His
pedestal
of glory
to a
more
human
level.
On the
day of
the
journey,
a
fabulous
choice
of Raths
is lined
up for
the
deities.
Three
chariots
– the
yellow
Nandighosa,
the blue
Taladwaja
and the
Deviratha
– lie
waiting
for them
outside
the
temple.
The
deities
are then
carried
to their
respective
modes of
transport.
Each
divine
rath is
swept
with a
golden
broom
and
blessed
with
scented
water,
by the
king of
puri
(the
human
representative
of Lord
Jagannath).
The
deities
finally
embark
on their
journey
to the
Gundicha
Ghar –
in
resplendent
chariots,
pulled
along by
enthusiastic
devotees.
KONARK
DANCE
FESTIVAL,
Orissa
(1st-5th
December)
The
Konark
Dance
Festival
brings
to fore
India’s
eminent
classical
dancers,
who
perform
against
the
backdropof
the
floodlit
Sun
Temple.
The
temple
has been
described
as a
poem in
stone
and is
one of
India’s
greatest
architectural
sights.
During
the
festival,
the
building
reverberates
with the
beats
Raga and
Tala, as
the
performers
present
their
interpretations
of
various
classical
dance
forms,
including
Odissi,
Bharat
Natyam,
Manipuri
Kathak
and
Chhau
Dance.
TEESTA
TEA
FESTIVAL,
Darjeeling
(November-December)
The
Teesta
Tea
Festival
commences
in
Darjeeling
and
Sikkim
and ends
in
Dooars.
The
Dooars
area,
which is
the
gateway
to
Bhutan,
is an
enchanting
land
encompassing
historic
plains,
tea
gardens,
rolling
hills
and
close
forests.
The
Teesta
Festival
includes
a
variety
of
cultural
programmes.
One can
enjoy a
pleasant
ride
through
beautiful
landscapes,
in the
toy
train at
Darjeeling,
recognized
as a
World
Heritage.
The
Teesta
Festival
includes
a
variety
of
cultural
programmes.
One can
enjoy a
pleasant
ride
through
beautiful
landscapes,
in the
toy
train at
Darjeeling
recognized
as a
World
Heritage.
The
Siliguri-Alipur
Dooars
Intercity
Express
runs
through
tea
gardens
and lush
forests.
It is a
delight
for
photographers
and
tourist
alike,
to click
wildlife
and
exotic
birds as
the
train
chugs
along
the
meandering
track.
GANGA
SAGAR
MELA,
West
Bengal
(14th
January)
This
festival
is
celebrated
on the
day of
Makar
Sankranti
at Ganga
Sagar
Island
in the
Ganges
delta.
People
convene
to take
a holy
dip at
the
confluence
of the
sea and
the
river
Ganga. A
large
fair is
held for
three
days
during
this
period.
DOVER
LANE
MUSIC
CONFERENCE,
Kolkata
(22nd-26th
Januray)
The
largest
Indian
classical
musical
event
inn
Kolkata,
the
Dover
Lane
Music
Conference
has been
taking
place
for the
last 25
years.
The
festival
is
presented
annually
at
Nazrul
Mancha.
NATIONAL
THEATRE
FESTIVAL,
Kolkata
(16th-25th
December)
This is
one of
the
largest
theatre
festivals
of the
country,
with
troupes
participating
from
several
neighbouring
countries.
HORNBILL
FESTIVAL,
Nagaland
(1st
-15th
December)
The
festival
showcases
Nagaland’s
heritage
in all
its
diversity
and
grandeur.
It is a
tribute
to the
Hornbill
the most
revered
bird of
the Naga
tribes
.
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