FAIRS AND FESTIVALS

FAIRS AND FESTIVALSPresented by:-Nishant Kumar OraonSagar AnandFAIRS AND FESTIVALS IN INDIAIndia is worldly known as a land vibrant celebration.One can see the culture and life of India during the celebrations of various fair and festivals, celebrated with high sprit in each and every town in India.Festivals in India continues through out the year.There are noble cause and meaningful identity behind each fair and festivals, based upon rituals, traditions, legends, monsoons, history, while many express devotion to the deities of different religions.All festivals denote vivacity, colour, high sprit, dedication, ebullience, peace, power, humanity messages, appetizing foods, artistic performance, prayers and rituals.

CONTD...When it comes to tourism, fairs and festivals are on the priority among the tourist to coincide the trip to witness amazing festivals of India.All Indian fairs and festivals have lots of diversity according to culture, lifestyle, language, religion of each states.The fairs and festivals of this country are some of the prime contributors to the image of Incredible India.If some wants to see the deep roots of the culture, belief, life style, living, food, art, traditions of India the fairs and festivals are the window to view the true colour of India.

3Impact of festival in tourismFestivals can be those determinates that cause people to travel to the other countries in order to know local art, culture and history.Development of local festivals increase culture tourism and provides tourist destinations with economic and cultural benefits.Economic benefits of festival tourism is connected with decreasing a level of unemployment and increasing income of a country.According to the Ministry of Tourism (MoT), Govt. of India, fairs and festivals are rising in popularity and are generating demand among tourists, along with creating trends in the Niche Tourism segment.Indian Festival Tours, which has been operating in Fairs and Festival Tourism segment since 2009, has noted steady 10-15 per cent increase in demand in the past three years.In 2013, foreign tourist arrivals was 6.58 million and Foreign Exchange Earnings from tourism in India was Rs 17,737 million, out of which a considerable percentage were contributions from Fairs and Festival Tourism. The USA and UK were and are the main source countries to send festival tourists to India.SOME MAJORS FAIRS AND FESTIVALSDurga Puja (Navaratri)Durga Puja - the ceremonial worship of the mother goddess, is one of the most important festivals of India.Durga Puja is celebrated every year in the Hindu month of Ashwin.The rituals entailsten daysof fast, feast and worship, the last four days are celebrated with much gaiety and grandeur in India and abroad, especially in Bengal, wherethe ten-armed goddess riding the lion is worshipped with great passion and devotion.Raja Kangshanarayan of Taherpur or Bhabananda Mazumdar of Nadiya organized the first Sharadiyaor Autumn Durga Puja in Bengal in1606.Ganesh ChaturthiIt is Celebrated as the birthday of the god of wisdom, knowledge and prosperity, Lord Ganesha.According to Hindu calendar month of Bhaadrapada, starting on the shuklachaturthi. The festival lasts for 10 days, ending onAnant Chaturdashi.Ganesh Chaturthi is said to have been celebrated since the days of Maratha rulers: Satavahana, Chalukya and Rashtrakuta.Mainly celebrated in the states of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh with a lot of zeal and splendour.This festival brought in a feeling of unity and togetherness in Indians that helped in revival of their patriotic spirit.Diwali or DeepawaliThe origin ofDiwalican be traced back to ancient India, when it was probably an important harvestfestival.There are various legends pointing to the origin of Diwali or Deepawali.Some believe it to be the celebration of the marriage of Lakshmi with Lord Vishnu.Whereas in Bengal the festival is dedicated to the worship ofMother Kali, the dark goddess of strength.Lord Ganesh, is also worshiped in most Hindu homes on this day.In Jainism, Deepawali has an added significance to the great event of Lord Mahavira attaining the eternal bliss ofnirvana.Diwali also commemorates the return ofLord Rama along with Sita and Lakshman from his fourteen year long exile and vanquishing the demon-king Ravana.Holi (Holika)It aspring festival also known as the festival of colours or the festival of love.It is celebrated at the end of the winter season on the last full moon day of the lunar month Phalgun.In 17th century literature, it was identified as a festival that celebrated agriculture, commemorated good spring harvests and the fertile land.Hindus believe it is a time of enjoying spring's abundant colours and saying farewell to winter. Holi also show the victory of good over evil and also the triumph of devotion.A 16th century panel sculpted in a temple at Hampi, capital of Vijayanagar, shows a joyous scene of Holi.PongalPongal is a harvest festival celebrated with religious fervor across Tamil Nadu.Pongalis also the name of a sweetened dish of rice boiled with lentils that is ritually consumed on this day. Symbolically,pongalsignifies the gradual heating of the earth as the Sun travels northward toward the equinox.The origin of Pongal can be traced back to Sangam Age, a period extending from 200 BC to 300 AD.Pongal is typically celebrated from 13th of January to 16th of January, every year.First day is Bhogi the day when people burn the old and unwanted materials, like clothing and furbishes. The next day is observed as Surya Pongal, the day dedicated to honor Sun God. The third day of Pongal is known as Mattu Pongal, wherein people worship farm animals.The fourth day is observed as Kaanum Pongal, marks the end of pongal festival for the year.OnamIt is the annual harvest festival of the state Kerala.The festival falls in the month of August to September according to the Gregorian calendar.Onam has been found belongs to the reign of Kulasekhara Perumals i.e. around 800 AD.The celebrations of Onam include elaborate rituals, music, dances, sports, boat races and of course foods.Vallamkali or the Snake Boat Race is the most enchanting facet of the festival of Onam. The event is promoted as a major tourist attraction of the state of Kerala and draws a large number of domestic and international tourists.Onam celebration two significant one is celebrated as annual harvest festival and second is related to the demon king, Mahabali. According to Malayalee calander it was believed that Mahabali kind hearted king of Kerala come back to earth and the entire festival is celebrated to welcome their dear king Mahabali to earth.

Goa CarnivalThe funkiest fest of India, Goa Carnival is a three-day long festival.This carnival cum festival was first started in Goa in the year 1961.It was initially celebrated by King Momo, one of the legendary Chaos kings of the state and is one of the Portuguese festivals.Goa Carnival reflects the rich tradition and culture of the state of Goa.The different kinds of celebrations in the Goa Carnival include singing, dancing, drinking, feasting and various other types of merry making. All major streets of the state become lively with the graceful dances, strumming of guitars, lively processions and many more. Apart from the non-stop festivity, the streets are decorated with vibrant colours and floats.Car Festival (Ratha Yatra)Ratha-Yatra, at Puri in the state of Odisha, India. The oldest, biggest and most visited Rath Yatra in the world. It attracts a large crowd.TheJagannathtriad are usually worshiped in the sanctum of thetempleat Puri, but once during the month ofAsadha they are brought out onto the Bada Danda and travel (3km) to the ShriGundicha Temple, in huge rath.To kill Lord Krishna and Balram, Kansa, their maternal uncle, invited them to Mathura. He sent Akrur with a chariot to Gokul. As asked, Lord Krishna, along with Balram, sat on the chariot and left for Mathura. The devotees celebrate this day of departure as Rath Yatra.

Pushkar FairPushkar has the only temple of Lord Brahma in the country. And the holy pushkar lake has 52 ghats surrounding it.Pushkar Fair celebration held on Kartik Purnima.Every year thousands of devotees throng the Pushkar lake around the full moon day of Kartik Purnima in October-November to take a holy dip in the lake.It is the world's largest camel fair held in the holy town of Pushkar in Rajasthan.Competitions such as the "Matka Phod", "moustache", and "bridal competition" are the main attractions of the Pushkar camel fair which attracts thousands of tourists.13Kumbh MelaIt is the religious festival that is celebrated four times over the course of 12 years, the site of the observance rotating between fourpilgrimageplaces on four sacred riversat Haridwar on the Ganges River, at Ujjain on the Shipra, at Nashik on the Godavari, and at Prayag (modern Allahabad) at the confluence of the Ganges, the Jamuna, and the mythical Sarasvati.The major event of the festival isritual bathingat the banks of the river in whichever town Kumbh Mela being held.Kumbh Mela is celebrated at different locations depending on the position of the planet of Brhaspati(Jupiter) and the sun. When Jupiter and the sun are in the zodiac sign Leo (Simha Rashi) it is held in Trimbakeshwar, Nashik; when the sun is in Aquarius (Kumbh Rashi) it is celebrated at Haridwar; when Jupiter is in Taurus (Vrishabha Rashi ) and the sun is in Capricorn (Makar Rashi) Kumbh Mela is celebrated at Prayag; and Jupiter and the sun are in Scorpio (Vrishchik Rashi) the Mela is celebrated at Ujjain.Some other important festivalsRepublic Day: Republic Dayhonours the date on which theConstitution of Indiacame into force on 26 January 1950 replacing the Government of India Act(1935) as the governing document of India.Independence Day: Celebrated on August 15, Which is the anniversary of the day in 1947 when independence was formally granted at midnight to India.Shivaratri: It is observed as the night, when lord shiva danced the tandav his cosmic dance.ChallengesA proper promotional strategy with special focus on Festival Tourism is necessary to create more awareness about the fairs and festivals of India.Another important challenge is safety of travellers, especially women travellers.Crowd management is an aspect that has to be provided with special attention, especially for fairs like the Kumbh Mela, which attracts a vast number of tourists from all over the world.