Experiencing the festive India

India, the land of cultural diversity has a varied range of festivals. The entire year has many festivals lined up from Lohri in January to Christmas ( not a native festival) in December. The winter festive season (mostly sunny) is filled with enthusiasm and fun, a time full of celebraiton, lights, shopping, home renovations, and much more. The following are the most prominent festivals in the country.

NAVRATRI (9 NIGHTS)

The season starts with the 9 day festival, ’Navaratri’ which is celebrated for worshiping three divine goddesses, Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati. This dancing festival is celebrated all over India in different ways. In places like Gujarat and Mumbai, celebrations are done with traditional dances known as agrGarba and Dandiya raas. In south India (Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh), Navaratri is known as Golu and is celebrated by the display of dolls. The dolls are symbolic of feminine power. During the festival, women visit each other’s homes to view the displays and exchange sweets. The last four days of Navratri are celebrated as Durga Puja in the eastern parts of the country. The goddesses are worshipped by keeping a nine day fast.

DUSSEHRA

Dussehra, the tenth day, is the most important day of the festival. The tenth day of the Navaratri festival is known as Dussehra. It’s devoted to celebrating the defeat of the demon king Ravan by Lord Rama in the holy hindu text, the Ramayana. In northern India, plays and dance performances known as Ramaleela, depicting the life of Rama, commonly take place in the lead up to Dussehra day. Then on Dussehra, huge effigies of the demon Ravana are burned all over India. Dussehra is predominantly a north Indian festival.

Delhi and Varanasi are popular places to witness the celebrations.

DURGA PUJA

Durga Puja is a celebration of the Mother Goddess, and the victory of the revered warrior Goddess Durga over the evil buffalo demon Mahishasura. The festival honors the powerful female force (shakti) in the Universe. At the end of the festival, the statutes are paraded through the streets, accompanied by music and dancing, and then immersed. Durga Puja is celebrated during the last five days of Navaratri and Dussehra. Durga Puja is celebrated in West Bengal, particularly in the city of Kolkata. It’s the biggest and most important occasion of the year there.

DIWALI After 21 days comes the biggest celebration time, the festival of Diwali. This is the most awaited period by millions of Hindus in the country. In fact, the festive mood engulfs one and all, irrespective of their religion and beliefs. During the months of October and November.

Every place has its own peculiar way of celebrating. In Varanasi, a special aarti is performed at Ganga ghat, steps leading to the river are lighted with beautiful diyas. In Amritsar, the Golden Temple is lighted with diyas and it surely is a beautiful sight, it also coincides with Sikh Festival Bandi Chor divas . In Rajasthan, specially Jaipur the pink city comes alive with streets and markets lighted with beautiful diyas is Rajasthani style.

The festival marks the end of winter and the abundance of the upcoming spring harvest season.Traditional Holi celebrations are the biggest at Mathura and Vrindavan, four hours from Delhi.

Special Holi events with music, rain dances, and colors are organized in large cities across India — particularly in Delhi and Mumbai. It’s possible to celebrate Holi with a local Indian family in Delhi and in Jaipur.

The myriad of these glorious festivals of India boast of the nation’s rich and varied culture and the religious sentiments of the people. This list of festivals in India should surely spark an urge to travel to different places celebrate.

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