It's Festival Time in India

[Guest guest]

New Delhi (October 10, 2005): It's that time of the year again when

Indians, irrespective of their denomination or persuasion, are taken

over by a festive mood and the entire country appears to be

celebrating a religious or cultural occasion with prayers, food,

songs and dance.

 

Whether they are the Hindu festivals of Navratri, Durga Puja and

Dussehra or the Muslim observance of Ramzan, or Ramadan, the

religious element is integral to them.

 

The month-long festival gala, that began earlier this month, ends

with Diwali, the grand festival of lights.

 

Apart from the fasting and prayers by Hindus during Navratri and by

Muslims during Ramzan, the festivals are also major social and

cultural events where people congregate in hundreds in community

marquees, whether they be the Ram Lila and Navratri in the north and

south, the Dandia Raas in the west and the Durga Puja in the east.

 

In northern India, Ram Lila or the enactment of the Hindu epic

Ramayana, is staged in marquees across cities and even small towns.

Rehearsals start days in advance for the characters who play the

roles of Rama, Lakshmana, Sita, Hanuman and the demon king Ravana.

The final slaying of Ravana by Rama on Dussehra day (Oct 12) in a

blaze of fireworks marks the victory of good over evil.

 

Most south Indian homes are decorated with elaborate rangoli designs

of rice paste on the floors and mango leaves on the doors. Idols of

Hindu deities are arranged artistically for the Navratri 'golu'.

Women visit one another's homes, sing before the golu and exchange

gifts of coconut, vermilion and turmeric - considered auspicious by

Hindus.

 

In West Bengal and in places where there is a considerable Bengali

population, including in Delhi, the Durga Puja fever takes over. It

is a time for creativity as well with the idols of goddess Durga -

sitting astride a lion and slaying the demon Mahishasura - and also

of the rest of her pantheon in the forms of Lakshmi, Saraswati,

Ganesha and Kartik, crafted with great care and love by the artisans.

 

The five-day Durga Puja began in West Bengal Sunday with the priest

chanting religious hymns to invoke Goddess Durga. During puja time,

devotees make offerings of flowers and sweets to the goddess to the

beating of drums by the dhakis (traditional drummers). On the fifth

day of Bijoya Dasami the idols are immersed, marking the end of

Bengali's biggest carnival.

 

In Gujarat, Maharashtra and even in Rajasthan, it is dandia time. As

evening falls, colourfully lit marquees come alive with men and

women dancing with dandia sticks to traditional and Bollywood

rhythms late into the night.

 

In Mysore, Dussehra - locally called Dasara - is celebrated on a

grand scale and elephants decked in robes and jewellery are taken

out in a procession through the city's streets. Many people from all

over the country visit Mysore to watch the event. The 10-day

festival also includes cultural performances in the great Durbar

Hall of the Maharaja's Palace.

 

In Himachal Pradesh, a weeklong fair at Kullu is a part of the

Dussehra celebrations.

 

In Rajasthan, markets in major cities are buzzing with activity with

shoppers buying new clothes. Numerous fairs, exhibitions and sales

are on to entice consumers.

 

Aayudha Pooja, or worship of weapons, tools and other equipment and

vehicles form part of Dussehra celebrations in Andhra Pradesh.

Farmers clean, wash and decorate their ploughs, tills, tractors and

even cattle. People belonging to various trades also worship weapons

and their tools.

 

The Muslim holy month of Ramzan adds to the cosmopolitan nature of

the festivities. Muslim neighbourhoods across the country have shops

selling dry fruits and sweets that are eaten at 'iftar', the meal

for breaking the daylong fast.

 

Many Muslim men gather in the evenings at mosques to break the fast

together and to offer special prayers while others break the fast

with their families.

 

In Delhi, the area around Jama Masjid is colourfully lit up in the

evenings, with shops hawking cassettes of religious songs and

colourful clothes.

 

"The atmosphere here is electric in the evenings. One can listen to

qawwalis and eat some great food," said Mohammed Bashir, a

businessman who noted he makes it a point to visit the area around

the Jama Masjid every year both to pray and to eat out with his

friends.

 

Typical of Ramzan observance is the solemn spirit visible in the old

quarters of Delhi, Hyderabad and Kolkata or in Mumbai and the cities

of Kerala where hundreds of mosques are illuminated for the fasting

month and special bazaars are organised.

 

In Chandigarh, marketplaces are lit brightly with zillions of lights

and there is chaos at parking lots as people throng markets to buy

clothes and jewellery. Sales at leading shops are brisk and

shopkeepers expect more customers between Dussehra and Diwali (Nov

1).

 

Delhi, a cosmopolitan and multicultural city with people from all

over the country having settled here, is a true microcosm of the

national celebrations. From one end of this city of 15 million

people to the other, one can come across celebrations by Muslims,

Hindus and other sub-communities and cultural groups, each embodying

the spirit of the occasion.

 

Durga Puja is being celebrated at over 200 marquees all over the

city with the Bengali-majority Chittaranjan Park in south Delhi

being the prime attraction.

 

"For me and my family, it's the best period of the year with lots of

food, new clothes, meeting with friends and most importantly the

worship of goddess Durga," said Swapna Roy, while purchasing sweets

from a south Delhi market.

 

"I love this season - there is always festivity in the area during

this month-long period before Diwali. I along with my family visit

almost all the fairs," said Shilpi, a college student.

 

SOURCE: Hindustan Times, It's festival time in India By Ranjana

Narayan, Indo-Asian News Service New Delhi, October 10, 2005

URL: http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1516322,001100010012.htm