India’s rich cultural and religious heritage and its multitude of gods and goddesses have laid the foundation for a festive calendar year replete with celebrations of all kinds. Some festivals such as Diwali, Holi, Raksha Bandhan, Id-ul-Zuha, Id-ul-Fitr and Christmas are celebrated at a national level; others are particular to a region, a state or a certain tribe. Hindus also dedicate special days for each one of their numerous deities, celebrating their birthdays, marriages and even their victory over an evil demon. In Bihar state, for instance, Chatt Puja, a popular festival devoted to the Sun God, is celebrated twice a year. There are also festivities to mark the start of the harvest season and the new year, which differ from region to region. The harvest festival of Onam is specific to the southern state of Kerala, while Ugadi, the Telugu New Year, is celebrated in neighbouring Karnataka. With the Indian calendar dependent on the lunar and solar cycles, there are no fixed dates for the various festivals, though they usually fall in the same month or period of the year.
Diwali, or Deepavali, is the biggest festival in the Indian calendar, and is celebrated with much fanfare in all the regions of the country where Hindus reside. It is also an important date for members of the Jain and Sikh communities.
The festival gets its name from the Sanskrit word dipavali meaning ‘row of lights’. On this day, people light up their homes with earthen lamps (diyas), candles, electric lights and firecrackers to express their joy and mood of celebration. Days preceding the festival are marked by spring cleaning, and decoration with rangoli to prepare the home for the goddess Lakshmi. Sweetmeats are also prepared or bought and distributed among family and friends in the general spirit of bonhomie. Diwali is also a time to wear new clothes, new jewellery and give gifts to near and dear ones.
The festival has its origins in a number of legends, the most popular being the story of Lord Rama from the Hindu epic Ramayana. According to one legend, Diwali commemorates the slaughter of the evil king of Pragjyotishpur by Lord Krishna. The evil king had kidnapped 16,000 daughters of the gods and stolen the earrings of Aditi, mother of the gods. The gods asked Krishna for help. After a mighty battle, he succeeded in killing the demon, freeing the girls and recovering the earrings. The victorious Krishna returned home and was bathed with scented oils, giving rise to the practice of having an oil bath on Diwali day in some parts of the country.
The festival is observed for five continuous days and usually takes place in the months of October/November. The first day of the festival is Dhanteras, and Hindus believe it is an auspicious day to buy gold, silver or some metal object for the home; the second day is Narka Chaturdashi or Choti Diwali and the third day is the actual Diwali, a new moon day and the most auspicious of the festival. It is the day of Lakshmi Puja, when Hindus pray to the goddess Lakshmi and light up their homes to welcome her. She is believed to enter the home and shower wealth and prosperity on the inhabitants. In the states of Bengal and Bihar, the people pray to the goddess Kali on Diwali, not Lakshmi. Some people also gamble on Diwali—according to a Shiva-Parvati legend, anyone who gambles on Diwali will prosper all year. The fourth day of the festival is known as Padwa or Varshapratipada. It marks the coronation of the legendary King Vikramaditya, as well as the start of the new year in the Hindu calendar. Hindus thus consider this day as an auspicious time to start a new venture. The fifth day is known as Bhaiya Duj in the Hindi-speaking belt and Bhau Beej in the Marathi-speaking community, and it celebrates the relationship between brothers and sisters.
What Diwali Means To Sikhs and Jains
Diwali is an important festival in Sikhism. Sikhs celebrate it for two reasons—to mark the release from prison of their sixth guru, Hargobind Singh, in 1619, and to mark the day the foundation stone of the holiest Sikh shrine, the Golden Temple at Amritsar, was laid in 1588. Jains celebrate Diwali because it was the day Jainism founder Lord Mahavira, attained moksha (freedom or salvation from the cycle of birth and death).
Celebrated in a variety of ways across the country, Dussehra is an important Hindu festival that symbolises the triumph of good over evil. This day marks the destruction of Ravana, demon king of Lanka, at the hands of Lord Rama (an incarnation of Vishnu). As related in the Ramayana, the war against Ravana lasted for ten days, with Rama finally vanquishing the demon on the tenth day. During the nine preceding days, Rama is said to have prayed to the mother goddess, Durga, for strength and success in battle.
Dussehra falls in the month of October every year at the end of the nine-day Navratri Festival (or Durga Puja in Bengal). The story of Rama and Ravana, known as Ram Leela, is enacted in dramas in cities, towns and villages across the country during the nine days of Navratri.
On Dussehra day, effigies of Ravana, his brother Kumbhakaran and son Meghnad are stuffed with firecrackers and set alight at sunset, as crowds gather to celebrate the victory of good over evil. In Bengal, the occasion is celebrated as the day Durga killed the terrible demon Mahishasur. In some homes on this day, all kinds of weapons, tools, instruments, pens and pencils are worshipped, because they are symbols of the means to fight injustice and evil, and are placed in front of the gods. In the army, police and paramilitary organisations, all vehicles are cleaned thoroughly and prayers are offered. Like other Indian festivals, this is also a day of family get-togethers and feasting.
In Bengal, where Durga Puja is the most important Hindu festival, temporary structures with large images of Durga, known as pandals, are set up for public veneration of the goddess. Community members get together every day during the festive period to celebrate with song and dance performances and feasting. In Kolkata, capital of Bengal, thousands of pandals are erected and people are known to go pandal-hopping in the carnival-like atmosphere, in a spirit of joy and celebration. On the 10th day of the festival—Dussehra day—huge images of Durga are carried through the streets in a procession and immersed in a nearby body of water.
Holi falls on the day after the first full moon in the month of March. It is a festival marked by colour, exuberance, joyous dance and play, as people get together to celebrate the end of winter and the start of the spring season. Holi has taken on a somewhat wild and riotous character in recent times, with participants throwing water balloons, squirting coloured water with water guns and even using buckets of water to drench others, in addition to smearing the traditional coloured powder (gulal) on each other. Thandai is a popular milk-based drink which is a favourite of revellers during the Holi festival, while the intoxicant bhang is consumed by the more adventurous.
A number of legends surround the festival of Holi and its origins. One revolves around the kingdom of the mythological King Hiranyakashipu, his sister Holika and his son Prahlad. Holika is said to have died in a fire while protecting Prahlad from the wrath of his father, who had declared himself as god. Prahlad, a devotee of Vishnu, remained unscathed in the fire. Holi is named after Holika, and her effigy is burnt in a bonfire on the eve of the festival in some parts of India. Another legend revolves around Shiva and Kama, the God of Love. Shiva is said to have burnt Kama for disturbing his meditation, hence the bonfire on the eve of Holi.
In the cities of Vrindavan and Mathura, in Uttar Pradesh state, Holi is associated with Hindu god Krishna and his companion, Radha. In this region, the birthplace of Krishna, Holi is celebrated over 16 days with colourful processions, folk songs and dances. Songs and dances also mark the festival of colours in the rural parts of Maharashtra state, where it is known as Rangapanchami. In Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, the Mandir Palace is a favourite spot for celebratory dances and folk songs amidst the profusion of coloured powder.
Popularly known as Rakhi, this Hindu festival falls in the month of August on full moon day. Traditionally, it commemorates the bond between a brother and sister, with the brother pledging love and protection for his sister. Unlike other Indian festivals, a simple ritual is performed to mark Raksha Bandhan, which literally means ‘ties of protection’. A sister applies a tikka, a red vermillion dot, on her brother’s forehead, says a small prayer for his health and well-being, then ties the rakhi on his wrist. The rakhi can take any form, from a simple thread to a more elaborate bunch of colourful strings decorated with stones and attractive motifs. She completes the ceremony by offering him some sweets. He in turn promises to love and protect his sister and gives her a gift, commonly of cash, as a token of his affection.
This festival has been given a broader interpretation with the sibling relationship extended to include ties between two friends who are like brother and sister, or even between a leader and his subordinate. Priests have been known to tie rakhis on members of their congregation, women tie rakhis on soldiers to wish them well on the field and members of the public congregate to tie the thread on local leaders and even the prime minister of India.
This festival, too, has its origins in Hindu mythology. According to one legend, Sachi, the wife of Sun God Indra, tied a thread around her husband’s wrist to ensure his victory in a duel with demon Vritra. Another legend from the Mahabharata revolves around Draupadi, the wife of the Pandavas and of Hindu god Krishna. Draupadi is said to have torn a strip of silk off her sari and tied it around Krishna’s wrist to stem the flow of blood after he suffered an injury in battle. Krishna promised to repay her for her concern. He was able to do so years later, when Draupadi was about to be disrobed by her brother-in-law, Duryodhana. Krishna came to her aid and ensured that her sari could not be taken off.
Exchange Of Rakhis Among Royalty
Historical records reveal countless instances of exchanges of rakhis among members of royalty. In one example from the 16th century, Queen Karnawati, anxious about an imminent invasion of her kingdom Chittor by Bahadur Shah of Mewar, sent a rakhi to Mughal Emperor Humayun. He accepted her as a ‘sister’ and immediately came to her rescue.
Baisakhi, or Vaisakhi, is a north Indian harvest festival with a special significance for the Sikhs, for it marks their New Year and the founding of the Sikh Khalsa. The Khalsa (The Pure Ones) is a brotherhood of Sikhs who have taken a vow to uphold the principles laid down by the 10th guru, Guru Gobind Singh. This is one of the few Hindu festivals that has a fixed date, falling on 13 April every year at the start of the solar calendar.
It was on Baisakhi day in 1699 that Guru Gobind Singh founded the Khalsa with the initiation of the Panj Piare, or Beloved Five, giving Sikhs an identity and a code of conduct to live by. The initiation ceremony took place in a tent. The guru, holding a sword in his hand, asked for volunteers who would be prepared to give up their lives if required. One by one, he led five men into a tent and, after the initiation ceremony with a sword, sprinkled holy water (amrit) on them and called them the Beloved Five. These men were to dedicate themselves to the service of others and to the pursuit of justice. They were required to wear the five symbols of their new identity: uncut hair, a comb in the hair, a steel bracelet, a sword and shorts.
The Sikhs celebrate Baisakhi by thronging Sikh temples, known as gurudwaras, where they pray and make offerings. Processions of Sikh devotees who sing folk songs and perform the energetic Bhangra dance are also common.
Vesak, which falls between April and May, is celebrated as Buddha Poornima or Buddha Jayanti in India. It is the most important day for Buddhists because it commemorates the birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha.
To participate in the Buddha Poornima celebrations, Buddhists from all over the world congregate at Bodh Gaya in the Indian state of Bihar, where Siddhartha Gautama achieved enlightenment under a bodhi tree. The celebrations include prayer meetings, religious discourses, recitation of Buddhist scriptures and meditation. The Mahabodhi Temple complex in Bodh Gaya, which houses all the sacred spots where the Buddha meditated after his enlightenment, is decorated with colourful flags and flowers as part of the celebrations. Pilgrims pray at the bodhi tree, which has been replanted many times in the 2,500 years since Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment under it. Under the tree lies the rectangular slab of sandstone known as the vajrasana, or diamond throne, placed at the exact spot the Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment.
Other important centres in India where Buddhist pilgrims congregate for Buddha Poornima celebrations include Sarnath, where the Buddha gave his first sermon, and Kushinagar, in Uttar Pradesh state, where he died in c. 486 bc.
Mahavira Jayanti is the birth anniversary of Lord Mahavira, the founder of modern Jainism, and is celebrated in March or April by Jains everywhere; it is observed with particular fervour in the states of Rajasthan and Gujarat, where large numbers of Jains reside.
Grand chariot processions with the images of Mahavira, temple ceremonies and the reading of Jain scriptures are some of the ways in which Jains celebrate the festival at pilgrimage spots such as Girnar and Palitana in Gujarat, Mahavirji in Rajasthan and Vaishali, the birthplace of Mahavira in Bihar state. Palitana has over 1,000 Jain shrines and 800 temples and is considered one of the most important pilgrimage spots for Jains.
Navroz, which means ‘new day’, marks the start of the new year for the Zoroastrian Parsi community. It coincides with the spring equinox and is a time for wearing new clothes, feasting and exchanging gifts and greetings with friends and family. According to popular legend, Navroz, or Jamshed-e-Navroz as it is also called, is named after the mythical Persian King Jamshed. He was the first to celebrate the festival to mark the change of seasons from winter to summer.
People visit fire temples on this day. At home, they prepare a special Navroz table that is covered with a white cloth and holds a number of items, each with a special significance. These include a copy of their scriptures, the Gathas; a lit lamp; a bowl of water with live fish; an earthenware plate with sprouted wheat or beans to signify prosperity; flowers; a silver coin to symbolise wealth; painted eggs for productivity; and sweets and rosewater for happiness.
The table also holds seven foods beginning with ‘sh’ in Persian: sharab (wine), shakar (sugar), shir (milk), shirinberenj (sweetmeat), shirin (sweet), shira (syrup) and shahad (honey). There are also seven things that start with ‘s’: sirocco (vinegar), samna (sumac), seibu (apple), sir (garlic), senjed (sorb tree berry) and sabzi (green vegetables). Fruits, dried fruits, nuts and pumpkin seeds symbolising creation complete the spread. Visitors on Navroz day are first taken to the Navroz table where certain rituals are performed, after which they are taken to another table where a meal has been laid out for them.
Rituals on Navroz
On Navroz, it is customary for the woman of the house to first make visitors smile into a mirror to ensure they smile throughout the year. She then asks them to look at a silver coin, so that they may have wealth all year round, and sprinkles rosewater on their hands for good health.