Uttarakhand is a pilgrimage site located at the foothills of Himalayas. It enriches all visitors with its display of heritage and culture which is the richest in the world. Uttarakhand has everything in its store which a traveler expects while traveling. Let us know more about its places you must visit once in your lifetime.
Different melodies and moves have been kept alive on account of these fairs. In the past, when transportation were not very great these fairs was an open door for friends and relatives to meet routinely. Regardless of the considerable number of changes in our general lives, the custom of fairs has been kept up by the people.
The fairs like Jauljibi, Thal and Bageshwar have been firmly connected with the daily lives of the people of this region, while the fairs at Dwarahat, Syalde and Devidhura are important from the social perspective.
We all know Maha Kumbh Mela celebration which is held after 12 years in the city of Haridwar on the shores of the consecrated river Ganga which draws in ascetics from throughout the world. Indeed the Maha Kumbh Mela is the mother of all fairs in India. However, the fairs and other festivals of Uttarakhand are equally brilliant and unmistakable and are the blend of diverse social elements.
The people of Uttarakhand likewise celebrate all the major Indian festivals. Some of them are Basant Panchami, Bhitauli, Harela, Phooldei, Vatsavitri, Ganga Dusshera, Dikar Puja, Olgi or Ghee Sankranti, Khatarua, Ghuian Ekadashi and Ghughutia.
These are some of the major celebrations of Uttarakhand. We will now discuss about some of them in detail.
1. Bhitauli
Bhitauli is a popular festival of Uttarakhand, when the parents of the married girls visit their family and give them various gifts. It is essentially celebrated in the agriculture based locales in Uttarakhand, and the married daughters eagerly wait for this occasion. It involves a great deal of admiration to the daughters.
On the auspicious month of Chaitra, this festival is celebrated with great zeal and this epitomizes the love of parents and daughters.
2. Harela
Harela, which is observed in the Shravan month, points the appearance of the monsoon season and it likewise honors the wedding of Lord Shiva and Parvati. On this day, individuals make little Dikars (little symbols of divine beings and goddess made of earth) of Gauri, Maheshwar, Ganesha, to revere them.
The ladies sow seven sorts of grains in the mud. The crop is called khetri. The yellow leaves that are there in the plant during germination are called Harela. These Harela are cut on the tenth day and individuals place them behind their ears or on their head. The bullocks are likewise given hay on this day and the Harela is sent to loved ones.
The celebration is noteworthy in light of the fact that it gives a chance to the cultivator to test the nature of seeds that he has in his stock. Such festivals are marked by colourful fairs offering vibrant foods.
3. Vat Savitri festival
Also called Vat Purnima or purnima chavan or Wat Purnima, Vat Savitri is a festival observed by the married ladies in the Western Indian states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa and a few places of eastern UP. It falls on Purnima or full moon day during the three days of the long stretch of Jyeshtha month of the Shaka calendar (which falls in May-June in the Christ Era calendar).
During Vat Savitri, the married ladies tie a sacred thread around a banyan tree to denote their adoration for their better halves. The festival depends on the divine legend of Satyavan & Savitri as described in van-parva of the epic of Mahabharata.
4. Ganga Dussehra
Ganga Dussehra, otherwise called Gangavataran, is a Hindu celebration praising the avataran or descent of the sacred river Ganga. It is accepted by Hindus that the blessed river Ganga slides from paradise to earth on this day. Ganga Dussehra occurs on Dashami (10th day) of the descent moon (Shukla Paksha) of the Hindu calendar month Jyeshtha, which falls in May-June in the Christ Era calendar.
The celebration festivity keeps going ten days, including the nine days going before this blessed day. Especially in Haridwar, tourists come from around the globe to see the grand fair.
The Ganga Dussehra is celebrated in Haridwar with a great deal of zest and liveliness. On this, individuals from all over India and abroad visit here and to achieve blessings from Goddess Ganga. Individuals light up Diyas (Earthen Pots) and take around 10 dips in the water to wash off their wrongdoings. Numerous different ceremonies are likewise pursued.
5. Ramman
Every year, at the end of April, the twin villages of Saloor Dungra celebrate the Ramman, a religious festival in honor of the local tutelary divinity, Bhumiyal Devta, in whose temple most festivities are celebrated.
6. Ghughutiya
A sweet snack prepared in Makar Sakranti from whole wheat flour, jaggery, fennel seeds, and sesame seeds.
7. Olgi or Ghee Sankranti
Ghee Sankranti which is otherwise called Olgi festival is observed on the foremost day of Bhado (the longest day of August) in Uttarakhand. It is one of the most important celebrations in the state which is seen with a great deal of liveliness and delight from days of yore.
This oldest celebration is celebrated in the state of Uttarakhand during the time the crops are growing well and the milk-giving cattle are additionally health. Not simply this, even trees are weighed down with natural product.
It is essentially a celebration that means the gratitude of local people and families enjoyed the control of cultivating. The purpose behind the festival of this celebration is denoting the harvesting season and demonstrating gratitude for success.
The daily lives of Uttarakhandi people are packed with a continual progression of celebrations, the greater part of them includes festivals, fairs and the readiness of uncommon nourishments.
