Fairs & Festivals of India 2011

[NabinPradhan]

The fairs and festivals either celebrate the change of seasons or are of a religious nature. For instance, Mewar Festival and Holi are celebrated to mark the coming of the spring season. Teej of Rajasthan marks the onset of the monsoon. On the other hand, Onam in Kerala and Bihu in Assam are celebrated to mark the harvesting season. Other festivals, like the konark Dance Festival, promote the culture of India. Religious festivals are innumerable over here. Durga Puja, Ganesh Chaturthi, Janmastami, Christmas, Eid-ul-Fitr, Rath Yatra, Vasant Panchami, Ram Nabami and others are some of the popular religious festivals of India. Apart from these, the other festivals that are celebrated include Desert Festival, Elephant Festival, Raksha Bandhan, Nouroz, Diwali and Dusssehra amongst others.
A large number of fairs are also held in India from time to time. People from far and wide come to take part in these fairs. In fact, many tourists plan their vacations according to the time of occurrence of these fairs. Pushkar Fair, Urs Ajmer Fair and Surajkund Crafts Fair are some of the famous fairs of India. The Kumbh Mela and the colorful and grand Goa Carnival are extremely popular among the locals as well as the tourists.