Eid Mubarak!

Festivals give us the opportunity of celebration, the reason to think that life has got happiness and some moments to think about ourselves. In today's rushy life when everyone has to pace through the competetive edge, the festivals give us a break to relax and spend time with our family and friends. One such festival is “Eid-ul-Fitr”. Though basically it is a festival of people who follow Islam but in a secularist country like India, we Indians celebrate all the festivals regardless the fact that which festival belongs to which community or caste.



In short, Eid-ul-Fitr is known as Eid and is celebrated in the end of the month of Ramadan. It is an Islamic holy month of fasting in which the muslims follow the fasts for 30 days. The word Eid means festivity and fitr means to break fast. So as a whole it is the celebration of breaking the fast period. The month of Ramadan and the keeping of fasts remind us that what is the true importance of food and water in life. Also it is not only about the fasting from food but one has to keep away from everything bad like telling a lie, getting angry or using abusive language.

The Eid-ul Fitr is also called the great Eid, that is, bari Eid. On this day muslims offer a special prayer together in the mosque. A special dish from sewaiyaa is prepared which is called “Sheer Khurma” and the celebration lasts for around three days.

Pushkar Mela

Pushkar ka Mela or Pushkar Fair is a five day camel and livestock fair,organised annually in the town of Pushkar,Rajasthan,India.It hs become a major tourist attraction besides being a day for selling and buying livestock.The "Bridal Competition","Longest Moustache" and "Matka Phod" are the main attractions of th fair which gather a huge crowd.




The festival is celebrated for five days from Karthik Ekadashi to Karthik Poornima,a full moon day in the hindu calendar.The full moon day is considered auspicious for the festival because legend has it that Hindu God Brahma ascended from the waters of Pushkar lake.

People in large numbers(in thousands) go to the banks of Pushkar lake where the fair takes place.Menfolk buy and sell their livestock including camels,sheep,cows and goats.It is a tradition to decorate one's camel to make it appealing to the prospective buyers.The women on the other hand set up stalls with clothes,jewellery,textiles and fabrics.

The fair kicks off with the camel race and is followed by music,songs and exhibitions.Between the events,the most awaited moment is when the crowds gather to see how the camels bring the items.

Now a days,the fair also includes a cricket match between the local Pushkar club and a team of randomly selected foreigners.

Pushkar Lake:
It is a sacred spot considered as old as the Hindu scriptures themselves.The lake is surrounded by 52 bathing ghats where devotees take a dip during the Pushkar mela.

According to Padma Purana (a Hindu religious text),lord Brahma was looking for a suitable place for a vedic Yagna.meanwhile,the lotus in his hand fell on earth and water spurted from three places,one of which was Pushkar.Lord Brahma then decided to perform his Yagna there.

Bihu-Celebrating New year

Bihu is taken from the Sanskrit word "Visuvan " which defines a series of festivals in India that are related to the occurrence of equinox. Equinox happens two times in a year when the Earth's axis is neither close nor far from the Sun. Bihu is a celebration of three different types of Bihu in a year Bohaag Bihu or Rongali Bihu,Kati Bihu or Kongali Bihu and Bhogali Bihu or Magh Bihu.




Like most Indian festivals, Bihu is a celebration related to farming.

Kongali Bihu or Kat Bihu is celebrated in mid October when the paddy grown in Assam is in the growing stage. This particular Bihu has less fun and frolic attached to it as compared to other Bihus, as the granaries are void of any grains. One can see people lighting earthen lamps on the foot of the house, near the tulsi plant and the paddy fields. The tradition of whirling a piece of Bamboo and chanting "Rowa Khowa" to save the maturing crops from the evil eye.
The practice of lighting lamps on the tip of a Bamboo pole is also done to show the way to heaven to souls of the dead.

Bhogali Bihu or Magh Bihu is celebrated in mid-January.The word Bhog in Bhogali Bihu comes from "Bhog" which means eating and making merry. This marks the end of the harvesting season. A huge feast is prepared as the granaries at this time of the year are full. In the evening, the men folk build a temporary cottage known as Bhelaghar and “Meji” with hay bales. The night is spent singing bihu songs on dhol and dancing around bonfire. The night when the singing and dancing takes place is called “Uruka”.

The morning that follows the “Uruka” has people offering prayers to the God of Fire by burning the main “Meji” and throwing beetel nuts and rice cakes known as Pithas.The residue of the burnt meji is taken home and the same is thrown around the fruit trees for prosperous results. Games like cock fight and buffalo fight are played to continue the merry making.

Rongali Bihu or Bohaag Bihu is the most popular Bihu of the three Bihus. It is celebrated in mid April marking the onset of spring and Assamese New Year which is around April 15 as the first day of the Hindu Solar calendar.
Paddy grown on the fields is cultivated and there is a blissful feeling around. “Larus” which is made out of rice and coconut , “pitha” and Jolpan as delicacies are prepared to celebrate the season. The first day is the Rongali Bihu is called as “Goru Bihu” where cows are washed thoroughly and worshipped. “Goru Bihu “ is followed by “Manuh Bihu”(when people wear new clothes and celebrate new year) and “Gosai Bihu” (statues of Gods are worshipped in every house).