Ningol Chakouba

Ningol Chakouba is a social festival of merriment celebrated in the state of Manipur. It is mainly celebrated by the Meiteis or the Vaishnavites. The significance of the festival can be well understood by its name itself. The meaning of “Ningol” is married women and “Chakouba” is going to parent’s house. Thus, the festival involves the married women going to their parent’s house.

The festival of Ningol chakouba is an extremely loved and widely celebrated festival among the Meities community. The married women, who are married to distant places return to parent’s house along with their children.

At their parent’s place, the women are pampered with food, gifts and total comfort. Mothersdaughters. Parents warmly welcome their daughters and grand children. are seen preparing lavish and extensive meals for their

The reason behind the fondness of the festival is the effect it has on strengthening the family ties. It is basically a source of family reunion and get- togethers. The festival proudly portraits the affection parents have for their daughters and vice-versa. The women in Manipur fondly wait for this festival giving them a reason to reunite with their parents living far away. Earlier mainly observed by the Meities community in the present times this festival is observed by the Pangals or the Manipuri Muslims to some extent.

Manipur is a place of merriment, fun and traditions. Over the years the traditions and culture of numerous festivals is still maintained and preserved. Having a look at the festival celebrations here one can understand the passion and zeal of people out here. There are a series of fairs and festivals that are celebrated round the clock here and all with equal zeal.

Time of Celebration:

The Ningol Chakouba Festival is celebrated on the second day of the New Moon in the Manipuri month of Hiyangei which is November.

Seng Kut Snem

Meghalaya is also known as a “Tribal Land” with a number of tribal communities living here. As different tribal groups have different traditions and customs associated with them, all the major festivals celebrated here are based on the religious and spiritual sentiments of localites here. 

Among all the tribal groups existing in Meghalaya, the Khasi community is one of the largest and has its own culture, religion, beliefs and identity. The Festival of Seng Kut Snem is celebrated in Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya. It is an annual indigenous festival held in the month of November.

Seng Kut Snem is a festival of Khasi Community which is largely celebrated to preserve and exhibit their culture and traditions. The festival not only is a preservative for the culture of Khasi community it also acts as a reminder to all cultures across India to retain their cultural and religious significance.

The festival acts as a means of fun and entertainment for the Khasi Community as they sing, dance, play music and have great merriment. Sound of different musical instruments fill the atmosphere with fresh vibrancy. Kids, adults, men and women all come together to celebrate this festival and make it memorable.

Earlier simply a religious act, the festival of Seng Kut Snem has slowly grown in its popularity and entire Shillong waits for this festival year long. Not only for the locals of Shillong, but tourists from outside find it very attractive and interesting.

Vaikathashtami Festival

The festival popularly known as the “Ashtami Festival” is dedicated towards worshipping Lord Shiva in the form of Shivlinga. The festival is celebrated at the Vaikom Mahadeva Temple in Kerala which is one of the oldest and extremely popular temples of Kerala both from religious and social perspectives.

The festival of Vaikathashtami or Vaikkath Asthami, celebrated in the Malayalam month of Vrischikam (November – December). It is majorly a Hindu Festival. Lord Shiva, the main deity in the temple appears in three forms in a day namely- morning he is Dakshinamoorti, noon he is Kiratamurti and in the evening he is Sambhashivan along with Goddess Parvati.

The temple of Vaikom Mahadeva is held in very high esteems among the Hindus. The Shivalinga established here is five feet in height, and is believed to have formed during the Treta Yuga.

Although the festival of Vaikathashtami is celebrated for a period of 12 days, but the Ashtami is the most important day. The sacred Ashtami day celebrations are held during the dark lunar fortnight of the Malayalam month Vrischikam (Sagittarius).

Colorful processions are carried out from one place to another, joined by different deities. The festival celebrations also include Dance performances and musical shows spreading throughout the night. Popular dance forms like Kathakalli are also performed here.

How to Reach?

Nearest railway stations: Ernakulam, about 36 km towards the north; Kottayam, about 40 km towards the south.

Nearest airport: Cochin International Airport, about 56 km away.

Ngada Festival

Ngada Festival is an annual celebration of the Rwengma Nagas observed towards the end of November or December. It is believed that during this festival, the spirits of the dead visit their graves and the homes of their relatives.

Ngada Festival is one of the popular festivals of Nagaland. The festival is mainly celebrated by Rengma tribe of the state.

The eight day long festival is celebrated towards the end of November or in the beginning of December every year with lots of joy and merry making.

The festival is mainly the post harvest festival of Nagaland and marks the end of the agriculture season.

The Rengmas holds a strong belief that spirits of the departed souls of their family members visit their graves and houses during this festival of Ngada.

The eight day long festival is celebrated with high festive spirits and togetherness. All eight days of the festival have its own significance and peculiar rituals. People remain indulge in different rituals and celebrations all the eight days.

• The first day of the Ngada festival is spent in preparation of rice-beer by every household.
• Second day of the Ngada festival is spent in collection of banana leaves from forest.
• Third day of the Ngada festival is marked by visit of relative’s graves by womenfolk. Women place rice-beer wrapped in banana leaves on the graves.

• All male members visit their relative’s graves on the fourth day, all moves together at their respective khel morungs known as "Rensi" in the early morning, with their own rice-beer and meat and have their food there while at mid day all male members roam in the village in their ceremonial and warrior finerie followed by women with rice-beer in their mugs to offer them drinks.
• The fifth day is witnessed by the lively procession of all males of the village accompanied with loud voice of songs and folk dances. They visit all houses in the village, and receive something as a token of appreciation.
• Sixth day is marked by the custom of visiting all houses and greeting each other irrespective of their tribe and feast together and enjoy the festivity.
• Seventh day is marked by the preparations for the grand feast and collection of firewood, banana leaves and vegetables from the forest.
• Eight day holds the major celebrations of the festival which includes grand feast and few rituals for the better future. The whole village feast on the food collected during the fifth day procession. People hold strong belief that souls of the departed ones move to the other world and leave village after the grand treat.

The other significance of the last day of the festival is practice of the three special rituals for the betterment of village and families of the tribe.

• The first rite is the peace concurrence with fire with the aim to avoid fire accident in the village.
• The second is ritual of agreement with the rats, for preventing crops or household goods from rats.
• The third rite is performed to drive out evil spirits from all houses and the entire village.

This concludes the celebrations of the eight day long Nagda Festival of the Rengma Nagas in Nagaland.

 

 

Thalfavang Kut

Mizoram is extremely famous for its culture and natural beauty. Beautifully land-scaped Mizoram is famous for its dances and festivals. There are a number of fairs and festivals celebrated in Mizoram.

Mizos practice what is known as ‘Jhum Cultivation’. They slash down the jungle, burn the trunks and leaves and cultivate the land. All their other activities revolve around the jhum operations and their festivals are all connected with such agriculture operations.

The festival of Thalfavang Kut is an extremely popular and widely celebrated festival in Maizoram. It is an annual festival, held in the month of November. Unlike other harvest festivals that are celebrated after the successful completion of harvest, the festival of Thalfavang Kut is celebrated before harvest.

Apart from Thalfavang Kut other important festivals of Mizoram include Pawl Kut, Mim Kut, Chapchar Kut,

Specifically speaking the festival is celebrated after the weeding is completed as a process of preparing the land for next harvest. It is also known as the “Autumn Festival”. Thalfavang Kut is extremely successful in depicting the cultural heritage of Mizoram. It also culminates the traditional games of Mizoram.

This festival is not only significant for its cultural aspects but also for the social ties it strengthens. The society through festivals like these gets an opportunity to renew their old ties and cherish the present social bonds.

How to Reach?

Mizoram is surrounded by Myanmar, Bangladesh, Tripura, Assam, and Manipur. Mizoram is situated in the North eastern zone of India. Reaching Mizoram is not a problem at all. Following are various means to reach here.

By Air:

Aizawl, the capital of Mizoram is the nearest airport to Mizoram. Several airlines operate regular flights to and from Aizawl.

By Rail:

The state does not have any Railway Station in its boundary. The most convenient Railway Station is Silchar, which is a 6/8 hours drive from Aizawl. Silchar is serviced by important trains and is linked to the rest of India with convenient Railway network

By Road:

The road network in the state is quite convenient. National Highway 54 connects the capital city Aizawl with the rest of the country through Silchar. Aizawl is also accessible from other important northeastern cities in India like Shillong (450kms) andGuwahati (506kms).

Godachi Fair

The Godachi fair is a major fair of Karnataka and is organized in Godachi village. The village is located near Ramdurg Taluk in Belgaum District of Karnataka. This fair is held in honor of Shri Veerabhadra and it is organized by government of Karnataka.

Shri Veerabhadra is believed to be one of the imperative attendant spirits of Lord Shiva.

 He is considered to have been born out of Shiva's hairlock and the deity is worshipped in temples at different places with great dedication.

Godachi fair also marks the tribute to this deity. 

Godachi Fair is celebrated with great devotion and joy. The fair is held during the months of October or November. According to hindu calendar, the fair falls in the hindu month of Kartik.
 

Jhiri Mela

Jhiri Mela- A tribute to a legendary farmer is an annual fair held in Jammu every year in the months of October-November. The fair is celebrated to salute the courage of a farmer, his sacrifice for the liberation of the farming community. The Samadhi of Baba Jit Mal, popularly known as Baba Jitto at Shama Chak Jhiri, about 22 km from Jammu. He had laid down his life after he was cheated by the Kardar of the area.
Lakhs of tourists from all over the India gather during the Jhiri Mela to pay tribute to the Samadhi of this legendary farmer.

History:
According to an ancient legend, there was an honest, truthful and uncomplicated farmer called Baba Jitu. A Brahmin and devotee of Mata Vaishno Devi and Raja Mandalik Jitu used to live in Aghar village near Katra, Vaishno Devi.

He grew Fed up with the attitude of his aunt Jojan and decided to leave the village. He met Mehta Bir Singh, the Kardar of the Ambgrota in Jammu and urged him to provide him a piece of land for tilling. But Bir Singh gave him a piece of barren land after signing an agreement, which was written and signed by King Ajaib Dev. Jitto was asked to give one-fourth of his produce to the King.

He worked hard day and night and transformed the barren land into lush green fields. His dream was realized when he had a luxuriant yield. As soon as, Bir Singh got the news regarding the good yield, he arrived at the fields along with his men and asked them to lift three fourth of the crop and leave only a quarter with Jitto.

However, Baba Jitto prayed to follow the terms of the agreement but all his requests fell on deaf ears. Most of the farmers from nearby areas, who gathered could not stop Mehta due to fear of the King’s men.

Left with no solution and no means of help, he committed suicide leaving all surrounding grains red with blood.

Celebrations:

 

People from all over India come to Jammu during the time of Jhiri Mela to pay homage to Baba Jitu and his holy soul.

During the fair exhibitions are organized that cater to diverse variety of articles ranging from Pottery, vases, utensils and toys to books on Baba jitu.
 
For the people coming from all over India, one important ritual during the Jhiri Mela is to take a holy dip in Babe- da- Talab’ which is known to have miraculous powers for curing skin disorders.

Time of Celebration:

Jhiri Mela is celebrated every year in the months of October November. It lasts for many days and is an exemplary experience for all its visitors.

Metemneo Festival

Nagaland celebrates many festivals which are associated with agriculture and pre or post harvest of crops and Metemneo Festival is one such festival.

The five day long festival is celebrated in Nagaland after the harvest of millet crop in the region.

Metemneo Festival is mainly celebrated by Yimchungers tribe of Nagaland.

The festival is celebrated with great fun and gaiety. Tribal people of Yimchungers tribe get involved in merriment with high festive spirits on the occasion.

It is generally believed that the Metemneo Festival brings is the time to forgive each other reconciliation of past differences.

The five days of the festival are considered very auspicious for binding knots between young boys and girls of the tribe so engagement ceremonies of young couples are held during the festive atmosphere of Metemneo.
As the festival is coupled with the harvest of millet crop, there is general trend of worshipping the agricultural implements during the festival and people also pray to the departed souls of the family and near ones on the festive occasion of Metemneo.

Summer Festival

MOUNT ABU

The Summer Festival is held every year in the month of Aashadh (June). The steep rocks, tranquil lakes, picturesque locations and the pleasant climate of Mount Abu make it an ideal location for the festival. The three-day festival is a feast of folk and classical music and a window to the tribal life and culture of Rajasthan. The festival begins with the singing of a ballad, which is followed by Gair, Ghoomar and Daph folk dances which enthral the spectators.

Sporting events such as the boat race on the Nakki Lake add variety to the festival. The Sham-e-Qawwali is a much-awaited musical extravaganza as renowned qawwals regale the audience.

The grand finale of the festival is a display of dazzling fireworks which adds to the tourist's fantasy.

TAMIL NADU

There are several beautiful hill stations in Tamil Nadu. With the Summer Festivals on, the hills are even hospitable to welcome the visitors coming from india and abroad. The summer festival is held in the 'Queen of Hill Stations' the evergreen Ooty, the exquisite Kodaikanal or the salubrious heights of Yercaud - where boat races, flower and fruit shows are specially organized.

Tourists also get a splendid opportunity to go trekking in any of Tamil Nadu's other hill stations that promise unforgettable holidays off the beaten track. Cultural programs, adventure sports, boat races, flower and fruit shows add to the splendour of the festival.  

Buddha Purnima

Buddha Poornima, which falls on the full moon night in the month of Vaisakha (either in April or May), commemorates the birth anniversary of Lord Buddha, founder of Buddhism. Notwithstanding the summer heat (the temperature routinely touches 45 degrees C), pilgrims come from all over the world to Bodh Gaya to attend the Buddha Poornima celebrations. The day is marked with prayer meets, sermons on the life of Gautam Buddha, religious discourses, continuous recitation of Buddhist scriptures, group meditation, processions, worship of the statue of Buddha. The Mahabodhi Temple wears a festive look and is decorated with colourful flags and flowers. The Chinese scholar, Fa-Hien has recorded celebration of this festival. 

It is an important to give a summarized description on the Buddhist festivals in India, especially in the main places of worship. The principal annual ceremony for all the Buddhist is the Vaisaka Purnima known in Sri Lanka as Wesak festival and in India as Buddha Jayanti. Vaisaka Purnima day is fixed by the full-moon day of the month Vaisaka, which falls in May. Like all other Buddhist festivals it falls according to the Lunar year. It was of this day of the year, according to the year.

He attained Supreme Enlighten or Buddha hood, beneath the Bodhi-tree at Boddha Gaya. Forty-five years later at the age of eighty, he finally passed away in Parinivana on the same day of the year at Kushinagar. Vaisaka Purnima is celebrated especially in Boddha Gaya, Lumbini and in Kushinara as they are the holy places that were connected with the blessed ones birth, enlighten and the Parinirvana. Buddhists in Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Tibet, China, Korea, Laos, Vietnam, Mongolia, Bhutan, Cambodia, Nepal, Japan and quite a number of western Buddhists participate 'Vaisaka' Purnima Day religious activities in a festive mood. Sarnath the capital of Buddhism too celebrates Vaisaka Purnima day in a grand way.

The great Buddhist festival 'Vaisaka' ,although is an occasion for rejoicing doesn't encourage hectic gaiety and abandon. The happiness that the Buddhists feel when they are celebrating it is a tranquil, peaceful joy. The festival has its gay side as well. In most of the Buddhist countries the villages, roads, streets, temples and houses are brightly illuminated with color Lanterns, electric lights and colorful decorations. 

Rajyotsava Day

The Rajyotsava Day is the state festival of Karnataka and is observed on November 1st every year. The day is celebrated to commemorate the birthday of Karnataka or formation of the state. The Rajyotsava day is marked as a government holiday in the state of Karnataka.

History

In 1950, India became republic and different provinces were formed in the country on the basis of language spoken in the particular region and this gave birth to the state of Mysore including various places in south India, which were earlier ruled by the kings.
 

Later in the year 1956, all Kannada speaking regions of South India were merged into one state. The new state was named after Mysore, which by itself was a princely state. The name Mysore was not accepted by some regions like North Karnataka and Hyderabad of the present time and people residing these areas demanded the change in the name of the state.

Finally after the prolonged discussion over the issue, in the year 1973 the state of all kannada speaking people was renamed as Karnataka on the first day of November, 1st November. The credit for this landmark decision owes to Late Devaraj Urs the then Chief Minister of state and every year the November 1st is celebrated as Kannada Rajyotsava or Karnataka Rajyotsava meaning "State festival" of Karnataka.

Celebration

The Rajyotsava day is celebrated with great joy and vigor all over the state of Karnataka. The state government asserts Rajyotsava awards on this day, which are awarded to people responsible for great contributions in the development of Karnataka.

The entire state wears a festive look on this day as Kannada Flags are hoisted at different strategic locations across the state and people of Karnataka can be seen decked up in red and yellow colored traditional attire. Males can be seen dressed in yellow and red turban while females delightfully carry yellow and red colored saris. The celebrations are marked by multicolored tableaux carrying the picture of the Goddess Bhuvaneshwari mounted on a fabulously decorated vehicle.

The colorful procession is also accompanied by stunning performances of the folk artists in the fields of drama, dance, classical music etc.