Gleaming diyas, glittering lamps, colorful rangoli, succulent sweets, firecrackers and likes – these all make a composite picture of extravagant Diwali celebration in urban India. But, you will find absolutely different pictures of the festival in the rural backwaters of the country where tribal communities live. Indian Eagle explores the rural interiors of India to collect the striking glimpses of Diwali celebration by the tribal people whose multi-ethnic identity and culture are distinctly defined in contrast to the harmony of various cultures in a cosmopolitan society. Lets see how tribal India celebrates the Festival of Lights…

Diwali celebration is synonymous with simplicity for the tribal communities of Jharkhand. They celebrate the festival of lights, known as “Sohrai”, in a more realistic way associated with the means of sustenance in daily life. This festive occasion marks the harvest of rice, and the worship of cattle is part of the celebration in the tribal villages of the state. Harvest and cattle are the main sources of livelihood for them. The women in countryside decorate the mud walls of their houses (mainly huts) with art murals, which is unique to their culture. Also, domestic animals are adorned for the celebration.

The way of Diwali celebration in the state of Odisha is different from the ways the other states of India celebrate the festival in. The tribal folks of Odisha, on the occasion of Diwali, seek the blessings of their ancestors who are believed to be living somewhere in the heaven after the demise of their mortal bodies on earth. The ritualistic manner of worshiping ancestors is unique to their cultural heritage. “Kaunria Kathi” is one of the rituals that they perform during the festivity. As per the ritual, they burn jute stems to create fire as a signal to summon the ancestors and request for their blessings.

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The people of the Sindhi community in the states of India have developed their own way of Diwali celebration, which is unique to their cultural identity in the social fabric of the country. This regional community of India refers to the celebration of Diwali as “Diyari”. Like most of the other communities, they worship Goddess Lakshmi. They clean silver and gold coins using raw milk during the worship. Once the puja is over, they take gold or silver coins and tap the coins lightly against their teeth while chanting “Lakshmi aayi, danat vaai” (When Lakshmi arrives, poverty departs).

The way the tribal communities in Narmada and Baruch districts of Gujarat celebrate defines their traditions in contrast to the common socio-cultural milieu of the country. The tribal people of these two provinces in Gujarat celebrate the festival of lights as a harbinger of good health. It is a 15-day long festivity for them. Unlike firing of crackers in cities and towns, the burning of herbal wood of different types accompanies the celebration for the tribal folks. The smoke from the burning of herbal wood is believed to keep them healthy. This traditional custom also stands for the philosophy, that is, “hard work brings wealth, and good health is required for hard work.” They light a holy fire and march a procession to take the fire across the villages in a bid to prevent evils from intruding their habitats. They enjoy themselves over various folk dance forms on each of the 15 days of the celebration.

Also Check: Inspiring Stories of Toilet in Rural India

The tribal habitants in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh are distinctly identified for their different way of Diwali celebration, known as Diyari. The festivity begins ceremoniously with the marriage of crop in fields with an idol of Lord Narayana. It is followed by the ritual of filling households with food grain. The cattle owners in the tribal community of Bastar are honored with liquor on the first day of the celebration. They offer garlands, paddy and khichdi, a kind of porridge with local flavor, to the shepherds. They perform Gotton puja, another integral part of the festivity, to seek divine blessings for the good health and protection of their cattle. The cattle are adorned with garlands, the drums are beaten, and the crop is worshiped as image of Goddess Lakshmi during the 3-day long Diwali celebration.

Thakar is one of the scheduled tribes inhabiting the forest areas of Maharashtra. Their cultural heritage includes various folk dance forms and songs. The way they celebrate Diwali festival stands for their identity in distinction from that of the other tribes in India. They make lamps from the dried parts of a fruit called chibra, and use the stands made from cow-dung to place lamps on. They worship the grain, stored in a cane basket, as the image of Goddess Lakshmi, on the festive day. On this occasion, they perform a folk dance in rhythm with the beats of dhols.

About Travel Beats

This story is brought to you as part of the initiative, “Explore India with Indian Eagle”, aiming to promote what is good and lesser known about India through our overseas Indian community portal, Travel Beats. Travel Beats is a subsidiary of Indian Eagle Travel, a leading air ticketing partner of Indians abroad.

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Take a break from the urban lifestyle and cosmopolitan ambience of Kolkata this month. Ride an express train or drive a car to Shantiniketan, a national seat of learning, an international center of fine arts, and a land of folk culture in Bengal. Shantiniketan is famous for Rabindranath Tagore, Visva-Bharati University, and Poush Mela. The inception of Poush Mela dates back to the 1894 in connection with the anniversary of the Brahma Mandir founded by Maharishi Devendranath Tagore in 1891 in Shantiniketan.

Shantiniketan’s Poush Mela is one of the popular cultural fairs in Bengal. This fair provides a window to the rural heritage and folk culture of Bengal. What had started as a small rural fair is a great hit with tourists in winter, today. Held for three days in the last week of December, Poush Mela of Shantiniketan holds a mirror to the life and culture of rural Bengal. Travel Beats, a portal for Indian communities abroad shares gripping glimpses of Poush Mela to introduce you to the Bengali cultural heritage in Shantiniketan.

Catch up with Baul Singers

Poush Mela is a celebration of Bengal’s rural life and folk culture which remain an incomplete picture without mention of Baul Sangeet or Baul Gaan, a Bengali folk music. Bengal is home to the community of traditional Baul singers who are identified with their unique musical instrument Ektara. Poush Mela is a famous stage for their performance. They sing about the common aspects of day-to-day life. The atmosphere they create by playing the Ektara feels spiritual.

Marvel at Live Graffiti

No need to explore the lanes and alleys of Shantiniketan in search of graffiti. You will find graffiti as a live art on the faces of small children around you on the fairground. Their painted face and motley guise add to the colorfulness of the fair. The local children disguise themselves as priests, princes and gods to entertain the visitors in Shantiniketan’s Poush Mela.

Legends of Madhubani Painting

Learn about Local Culture

Poush Mela is a great time for the people of Shantiniketan and the neighboring villages. The locals including men and women actively participate in different rural games, which make the air of the fairground feel vibrant. Their exuberance and joy that the fair fills their day-to-day life with are sure to make you feel happy. You can learn a lot about their simple lifestyle and rural culture.

Music & Dance Festivals of India

Shop for Handicraft Items

Bengal has its own heritage of rural handicraft. The handicraft of Bengal comprises different forms of handcrafted art including terracotta. Bengal is a leading exporter of home décor items of cane, jute and terracotta, which you can shop for in Poush Mela. The fairground of Poush Mela is a great temporary marketplace for the folk artisans and rural craftsmen to sell their merchandise.

The Lesser-known Artists of Raghurajpur

Taste Local Sweetmeats

The fairground of Poush Mela in Shantiniketan is a makeshift culinary market with innumerable food stalls facing each other in several rows. The local sweetmeat sellers gather on the fairground to treat the visitors to the delicacies of rural Bengal. If you are a foodie, you must taste some because those local delicacies are not available out of Bengal.

Air travel to Bengal was never so cheap as it is now, because of Indian Eagle’s cheap flight deals for Kolkata throughout the year. Even cheap last minute travel to Kolkata is guaranteed at Indian Eagle. 

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Folk art, culture and tradition are the attractions of rural tourism in India. Many foreign scholars and travelers take to off-the-beaten paths of villages in quest of the folk art forms of India every year. Indian Eagle connects them with Indian culture and heritage to promote rural tourism as its social responsibility. Like the previous article,”The Art and Craft of Raghurajpur in the State of Orissa”, our take on the Madhubani Painting of Bihar is an effort towards achieving the goal.

Connection with legends ?

Madhubani Painting is a famous rural art of Madhubani, a village in the Mithila region of Bihar State, India. The origin of this art form is traced to the time of the Ramayana when Lord Ram was the King of Ayodhya in North India. If the legends are to be believed, a group of artists was commissioned to decorate the wedding venue with beautiful paintings on the occasion of the marriage of Ram and Sita by Janak, the King of Mithila.

From tradition to profession

Madhubani Painting has been an age-old tradition that women in the countryside perpetuated as a practice to decorate their huts from outside as well as inside on social and religious occasions. It has evolved from a folk culture tradition into a popular form of Indian art with the wheeling of time. In the bygone times, signs and symbols of sexual pleasure used to be painted on the walls of the rooms where newlywed couples spent the first night of marriage. With menfolk in the villages of Bihar having taken up Madhubani Painting as a profession, women have lost the monopoly over it.

Themes with religious bearings ?

The theme of Madhubani Painting is mostly influenced by the religious motifs and beliefs of Indians. Both practitioners and professionals of this traditional Indian art form are driven by love for nature and devotion for the Hindu deities. They depict the popular legends of Rama, Krishna, Durga, Kali, Shiva, Lakshmi, Saraswati and Indra, the abstract scenes from the courts of kings, and the familiar objects of day-to-day life through a palette of colors on cloth as well as canvas.

Close to the world of nature?

Lively illustration of natural objects such as the sun, the moon, flowers, birds and herbal plants like tulsi is popular with the artists of Madhubani Painting. The artists of the past years used organic colors derived or made from natural things like cow dung, charcoal soot, turmeric, flowers, plants, leaves, rice powder, sandalwood and indigo. The paintings on the walls and floors were close to simplicity and far from sophistication. Though the beauty of themes, the delicacy of sketching, and the flamboyance of colors are the mainstay of Madhubani painting even today.

Poetic and trantric connection

According to some art curators, Madhubani Painting was associated with the tantric culture of ancient India though it is still debated. The Mithila region of Bihar has been a seat of tantric practices for the Saiva and Sakti communities. References to the tantric connection of Madhubani Painting are found in the literary work of the poet Vidyapati who belonged to the 12th century.

Role of rural womenfolk ?

When the female members of Brahmin and Kayastha families were instructed to abide by the rules of the Panji System in 1326, differences appeared in the theme and style of Madhubani Painting based on their socio-economic status, lifestyles, creative levels and exposure to the outer world. The women from the upper reaches of society hardly experimented with themes, styles and motifs due to lack of exposure into the world beyond their confined existence. So their thought and imagination was limited to religious motifs and household rituals. Their Madhubani paintings became stylistic and intricate though variety was missing.

Socio-economic differences?

The paintings made by the women of lower castes like the Harijan exuded raw originality. Their paintings were less intricate and sophisticated than the works of the women of higher castes. They put emphasis on depth and beauty rather than ornamentation. Evidently, the socio-economic differences were apparent in the Madhubani Painting of? the previous eras. Gobar, Godana, Bharmi, Geru, Kachni and Tantric are some of the popular styles of this traditional art form.

International contributions?

With art-loving tourists from around the world having taken interest in the rural tourism and heritage of India, Madhubani Painting has gone beyond the confines of Mithila to touch international heights. India owes the worldwide popularity of Madhubani Painting to Japan, Germany, France and America in particular. The Mithila Museum in Tokamachi, Japan, exhibits some 900 paintings of different styles from Madhubani. ?The Women Painters of Mithila?, a book on Madhubani Painting by a French journalist was adapted into a film. The Master Craftsmen Association of Mithila, founded by an American in 1977, helps the artists of Madhubani with the sale of their creations through exhibitions.

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The Jodhpur Flamenco and Gypsy Festival is held at the Mehrangarh Fort in Rajasthan every year. The festival celebrates the music culture of the gypsy of Rajasthan by bringing alive their folk songs and dance on stage. This 3-day musical extravaganza in collaboration with the gypsy men and women of Rajasthan will commence on April 3 in 2019. It has lent a new lease of life to the gypsy culture of the desert. On Travel Beats, Indian Eagle explores the most interesting facts about the gypsy culture of Rajasthan in this article.

The gypsy tribe of Rajasthan is one of the nomad or vagabond communities in India. The origin of the tribe dates several centuries back. The people of this Rajasthani tribe belong to the lowest step of the socio-cultural and socio-economic ladder. They live a nomadic life and travel like a caravan from place to place. There is no permanent residence for them. They sleep under the open sky some times and in the shade of trees at times.

The Bopa and the Kalbeliya are two surviving groups of the gypsy tribe. The Bopa is a group of musicians and singers, whereas the Kalbeliya is a group of dancers and snake charmers. In the royal era of India, the kings of Rajasthan used to admire and patronize the people of the Bopa and the Kalbeliya for their performing arts. The musicians, singers and dancers of these two gypsy groups were often hired for entertainment on festive occasions in the royal families.

With the disappearance of royalty from Rajasthan, these tribal people have stooped to utter poverty. They have lost patronage and consequently, their traditional and decent livelihood that is live performance for entertainment at majestic palaces as well as forts. Today, they are street performers on the move. They perform to entertain a common lot, not a royal audience, in the fairs and festivals of Rajasthan. That is why the gypsy men and women of the Bopa and the Kalbeliya have become a common face of Pushkar Camel Fair in the sands of Rajasthan.

INFOGRAPHIC  The Story of Chittorgarh Fort

The Kalbeliya has many female dancers who perform and entertain on any occasion of joy in their community. Dancing is unique to their socio-cultural identity. Once a matter of cultural pride and recognition of the communal identity, dancing helps the Kalbeliya women make their ends meet. The Kalbeliya men became snake charmers for the sake of survival in the changing socio-economic scenario.

The swirling moves that gypsy women make while dancing resemble to the movements of snakes. The serpentine style of their dance is sensuous at times. They gracefully spin around themselves putting the entire body weight on their ankles. The way the gypsy women of Rajasthan are dressed is a kaleidoscopic magic of embroidery in different hues. Their red, black, yellow and orange outfits camouflage with the colorful milieu of Rajasthan. They are often referred to as queens of the desert.

READ  The Haunting Stories of the Haunted Fort

The gypsy men are accomplished masters of folk music. They have genetically inherited the art of playing different musical instruments including dholak, been, khanjari, pungi, morchang, and khuralio. The been is played to enchant and tame snacks. The khanjari is a percussion instrument, and the pungi is a woodwind instrument. The women perform in rhythm of the music produced by the men. The harmony of their performances is amazing!

The gypsy men are no less wonderful than their counterparts in look and appearance. They cover their heads with colorful turbans, which steal the show even from a distance. The piece of the garment that they wear on the upper part of the body is richly embroidered and embellished with delicate mirror work. Both men and women of the gypsy tribe wear plain silver jewellery.

The theme of the Kalbelia songs is inspired by the stories from the folklore of Rajasthan. Some in the gypsy tribe are blessed with the rare talent of composing lyrics for songs. The gypsy music passes through generations like an art of inheritance. In 2010, the UNESCO incorporated the folk songs and dance forms of Rajasthan from the Bopa and the Kalbeliya into its Intangible Heritage List.

A majority of the gypsy population in Ajmer, Chittorgarh and Udaipur belongs to the untouchable caste, which keeps them off from the mainstream society. The Satiyaa group of the gypsy men and women from Rajasthan celebrates death and mourns birth, contrary to the normal system of society. The death of any family member calls for celebration among these gypsies of Rajasthan. A procession of dancers, singers and drummers is organized to take the dead to the funeral ground for crematorium.

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Paheli, one of the offbeat films in Indian Cinema, celebrated its 10^th anniversary this June 24. Directed by Amol Palekar, and starring Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukherjee in the lead, Paheli is a cinematic epic adapted from a short story by author Vijayadhan Detha. The movie is a visually appealing portrait of Rajasthan and its desert, folk culture, ethnic fashion as well as traditions. Each frame of the movie brought the colors of Rajasthan alive on the silver screen through the emotive story of a newly married bride under the veil and her defiance to the restrictive norms in the patriarchal society. Indian Eagle takes a look into what makes Paheli an inspiration for travel to Rajasthan and what makes it a favorite of Indian Americans even after 10 years.

In the history of Indian Cinema, Paheli is one of the few Hindi movies shot across the vast expanse of sands in Rajasthan. It provides a mirror to the beauty of rural India in general and holds a prism to reflect the hues of Rajasthan in particular. Paheli is a visual illustration of “Beauty is only skin deep,” one of the Shakespearean maxims, which is much true about Rajasthan. Both the throat-chocking aridity and the colorful beauty of this Indian state are so intricately blended in the cinematic frames that the gleaming beauty of golden sands in bright sunshine is apparently invisible to pairs of ordinary eyes.

Paheli is an ode to the folk culture – music and dance – of Rajasthan. The song “Laaga Re Jal Laaga” featuring traditionally clad Rani Mukherjee and other rural belles perform Ghoomar, a most popular folk dance, on the stairs of a baori (stepwell) is one of the iconic sequences in Indian Cinema. Ghoomar is equally popular with the women of aristocratic families and the Kalbeliya women of the Gypsy tribe in Rajasthan. The premier of Paheli at some of the renowned international film festivals brought this Indian folk dance to limelight the world over.

Watching the Ghoomar dance by a bevy of beautiful women, draped in ghagra of different colors, at the 18^th century heritage mansion Bagore Ki Haveli is one of the things to do in Udaipur. – Indian Eagle

Among the most popular mediums of entertainment in the country life of Rajasthan, camel race and puppet dance find their place in the script of Paheli. Unique to the folk culture of Rajasthan, camel race and puppet dance are interwoven into the social life of the natives. These two are among the most popular tourist attractions of Udaipur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Mewar and Jodhpur.

Camel race is part of the cultural extravaganza during the Pushkar Fair in Rajasthan. Held in Thar Desert during winter (November), the Pushkar Fair is India’s biggest cattle fair. It is famous for spectacular camel race and other entertaining activities including folk dance, folk music, snake dance, hot air ballooning, mustache contest and breaking of pitchers. – Indian Eagle

Paheli was the first Indian film to showcase the ethnic fashion of Rajasthan in true colors on the big screen. It was followed by the period drama Jodhaa Akbar showing the traditional Rajput fashion, in 2008. As the story of Paheli revolves around a rich merchant’s family in the upper strata of society, the characters of the leading cast are seen in the best of traditional attires, more refined and distinguished, which is a far cry from what the rural people of Rajasthan wear in day-to-day life.

Rani Mukherjee’s character Lachchi is a newly married damsel with an embroidered veil over the head and wearing heavily embellished ghagra. Adding to the ethnic style quotient of the movie is the colorful turban that Shah Rukh Khan’s mustached character keeps wearing as the native male folks do. Even superstar Amitabh Bachchan flaunts a crimson red turban during his cameo in Paheli.

Rajasthan is a beautiful land of brave Rajputs, heritage palaces, historic forts, haunting stories, and offbeat fairs & festivals like Gogamedi Fair, Gangaur Festival, Camel Fair, Elephant Festival, etc. The list of things to do and things to see in Rajasthan is simply endless! October to April is the best time to visit this colorfully beautiful Indian state of desert. Travel to India and explore the kaleidoscopic culture of Rajasthan! – Indian Eagle

Indian Eagle, a most trusted travel partner of Indian Americans and Americans, books cheap flights to Rajasthan with major international airlines.

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The worth of Indian art and culture is immeasurable. Apart from the thriving cultural heritage of India in the capital cities, the country’s artistic potential is nipped in villages like Raghurajpur. As focus of the tourism industry is mostly concentrated in adventure, food, beach and luxury sectors; rural areas are neglected in the public eye despite their rich handcraft culture. Most of the folk art forms and tribal cultures remain hidden in the wilderness due to their lack of exposure to the light of civilization. For example, the art and craft of Raghurajpur in eastern India. Indian Eagle, out of its social responsibility, highlights what makes Raghurajpur a must-visit art & culture destination.

Raghurajpur is a handicraft village at a 14-km drive from Puri, the best pilgrimage destination where the most famous Rath Yatra festival is held in the state of Orissa. 50 km away from Bhubaneswar, Raghurajpur is a village of artists, painters and craftsmen who live in art, dream of art and drink to art. A micro presence on the macro cultural map of India, this Oriya village is worth the value of a tourist destination not just for its opulence of art but also for its idyllic setting amidst coconut, palm, jackfruit and mango groves on the southern bank of the Bhargavi River. Most of the houses are made of mud in the village, and the outer surface of the walls of the houses is decorated with beautiful mural paintings which visually depict mythological glimpses from two great Indian epics – the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

Raghurajpur, the cradle of artists, is one of the thousand places in rural India where handicraft has been a chief source of livelihood for generations. This village in Puri district takes pride in not a single artwork but an assemblage of artworks including stone engraving, wood carving, mask making, Tussar painting, palm leaf engraving, and pata chitra. Craft, carving, painting and dance form the cultural excellence and artistic treasure of Raghurajpur.

Pata chitra painters create enchanting poetry on pieces of cloth, dried palm leaves and paper with the magic of creativity and colors. Pata chitra is an age-old folk art which today’s artists have traditionally inherited from their forefathers. In this art form, a variety of miniature painting, mythological stories and religious themes are depicted as delicately as possible. Natural dyes are used to beautify the painting done on the polished surface of a piece of cloth and a palm leaf.

The most popular theme that most of the pata chitra painters work on is the Dashavatara, the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu including Matsya, Kurma, Vaman, Varaha, Narasimha, Buddha, Rama, Krishna and Kalki. The stories of each of these incarnations are depicted meticulously using a complete palette of colors made from natural ingredients. Paintings of Ramlila, Raslila, Ayodhya Vijay and other scriptural themes on Tussar saris are influenced by pata chitra.

Orissa tourism basks in the glory of Raghurajpur art and craft. Besides handicraft, Gotipua Dance is another highlight of this art-loving village. This traditional folk dance form is integral to Orissa’s tribal culture and is performed by boys in the guise of girls. The dance is performed as a worshipping ritual to please the Deity of the Puri Jagannath temple. The performers are called Gotipuas. Some of the Gotipuas like Kelucharan Mohapatra have made their way to international stages abroad. Kelucharan Mohapatra, a legendary Gotipaus, was born in the village.

Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage brought Raghurajpur to the light of civilization and put it on the list of cultural tourist destinations by declaring it as a heritage handicraft village. It is one of the villages to be developed under the purview of rural tourism in India.

Indian Eagle connects NRIs with Indian culture, art and craft by booking the cheapest flights for them to India throughout the year. Do check the available lowest airfare on IndianEagle.com.

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After two years of the pandemic, the Surajkund Art and Craft Fair is back with a greater merchandise of rural artisans from across the country. A meeting point for the preservers of India’s dying handicraft culture and their admirers, the fair started on March 19 and will continue till April 4 this year. Faridabad in Delhi NCR, where this handicraft cultural extravaganza is held every year, is a short drive from Indira Gandhi International Airport. Since its inception in 1987, the festival has been organized to celebrate Indian art and artistry by the Union Ministries of Tourism, Textiles, Culture, External Affairs, and the Government of Haryana.

Handicraft has been the apex of rural economy in India for ages. Archaeological evidences from excavations at the sites of Indus Valley Civilization bear out to the opulence as well as diversity of Indian art and craft traditions which seem to be eclipsed by the glare of westernization sweeping across the metropolises. The Surajkund Craft fair is one of the noble initiatives to keep the county’s age-old handicraft culture alive and provide the rural artisans with means of sustenance.

Celebration of diversity and ethnicity

What you can take fancy to in the fair is everything from home décor items to performing arts to ethnically diverse cuisines. The colors of handlooms, earthen pots, effigies, and other merchandise; the warm flavors of regional cuisines, the beats of rural music and the rhythms of dancing feet make a kaleidoscopic feast of joy for the mind, the eyes and the tongues. The festivity brims with a rustic feel of folk dance and music.

Different flavors for different taste buds

Surajkund Art & Craft fair caters to the different taste of visitors from every walk of life. If you are a fashion designer, you will be overwhelmed by an amazing collection of flamboyantly colored handmade fabrics. If you are an interior designer, you can’t help taking fancy to brilliant art pieces of stone, wood, bronze, brass, terracotta and ivory. The ethnic beauty of the handicraft merchandise steals the show with foreigners too.

Meeting point of artisans & art connoisseurs

At the fairground, there is an open-air theater, Natyashala where dancers, musicians and magicians perform their respective talents to entertain visitors. Folk dancers and musicians from the culturally diverse demography of the country make the fair a gala. The Surajkund Craft fair is a meeting point for artisans including painters, sculptors, weavers, potters, and art connoisseurs who drink to the joy of life through culture.

Some highlights of Surajkund Mela 2014

Goa is the theme of Surajkund Art & Craft Fair 2014. Being a popular beach destination, Goa has been selected as the theme of the festival in order to fetch the youth and cultivate their interest in Indian culture. With nations from other continents participating in the fair for last few years, it has become an international event. As many as 20 foreign countries globalized the Surajkund Mela 2013. The participation of all the SAARC nations is the most glittering highlight of the Surajkund Mela 2014. Sri Lanka has partnered with India for the fair this year.

Surajkund at Faridabad in Haryana is accessible via roadways and railways from New Delhi International Airport. Keep in touch with Indian Eagle for such interesting updates and the lowest airfare to India.

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Most winter festivals of India are held in the month of December. The last month of the year is full of festivity in each state of the country. Pleasant weather, engaging festivity and joyous ambience make December an ideal time to fly to India. Indian Eagle has listed the most celebrated winter festivals of India below.

Hornbill Festival, Nagaland

Nagaland celebrates Hornbill Festival, one of the winter festivals of India, in the month of December. Agriculture being the chief means of sustenance for over 60% of the tribal population in Nagaland, the festivals are devoted to agriculture in this Indian state. Held in the first week of December, Hornbill Festival celebration is a cultural statement made by the tribes of Nagaland. Observed through folk dance and music performances, the fest gives a fair understanding of the land’s traditional custom and culture, art and craft. The capital city Kohima is the venue of Hornbill Festival.

Chumpha Festival, Manipur

The state of Manipur celebrates Chumpha Festival to herald the season of harvest in winter. Scheduled to continue from December 10 to 16, the festival is a grand cultural celebration by the Tanghul Nagas of Manipur. They spring into dance and music on the last three days of the festivity which culminates in a spectacular procession. The tribal culture of Manipur manifests itself through the celebration highlighted through the active participation of the women of the state.

Winter Festival, Rajasthan

Rajasthan celebrates Winter Festival at Mount Abu, the only hill station on the highest peak in the range of Aravali Mountains. With lakhs of foreign tourist arrivals apart from the domestic travelers, the Mount Abu Winter Festival has touched the heights of an international event. The three-day long celebration thrives on super hospitality, diverse culture, green beauty, hilly landscape and scenic location of Mouth Abu, one of the best tourist attractions in Rajasthan. The biggest draw of the festivity is the spectacular procession with folk dance and music performances.

Tansen Samaroh, Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh celebrates Tansen Sangeet Samaroh, a famous music festival, in winter. The Tansen Tomb in Gwalior is the venue of the festival which stages both vocal and instrumental performances by artists from all over the country. The festival is a tribute to the glory of Tansen, a great musician in the court of Akbar, a Mughal emperor. A legendary figure of the Hindustani Classical Music, Tansen had a musical voice which could ignite lamps, fascinate animals and make clouds shower spells of rain. Held on December 7 in the memory of this music maestro, the sangeet samaroh is an audio and visual extravaganza.

Lumbini Festival, Andhra Pradesh

Lumbini Festival is held to celebrate the age-old heritage of Buddhism in the state of Andhra Pradesh during winter. The venue of the festival is the Nagarjunasagar Dam, a tourist destination at a short drive from Hyderabad. It continues for three days in the third week of December and witnesses a huge gathering of Buddhist monks as well as pilgrims. The importance of Lumbini Festival is traced back to the times when Buddhism was the most popular festival 2,000 years ago. The fest highlights the cultural significance of Buddhism through the noble teachings of Lord Buddha.

Tarpa Festival, Dadra and Nagar Haveli

Tarpa Festival in Dadra & Nagar Haveli is named after Tarpa dance, a folk culture of the Varli, Kokna and Koli tribes. The tribes of this region are easily identifiable by means of their distinct appearance, apparels, dance forms and musical instruments. Tarpa Festival is celebrated through swimming competition, boat racing, rangoli drawing and tattoo painting, with lots of enthusiasm. The main attraction of the festivity is Tarpa Dance, performed by both men and women folks in a circle which represents their unity and harmony. It is held on December 26, every year.

Vaikathashtami Festival, Kerala

Vaikathashtami Festival is a religious occasion when Lord Shiva is worshipped in the form of Shivlinga, in Kerala. The venue of the celebration is the Vaikom Mahadeva Temple, one of the most popular temples in the state of Kerala. Lord Shiva is ceremoniously worshipped in three different forms – Dakshinamoorti in the morning, Kiratamurti at noon, and Sambhashivan in the evening. Several legends from the Indian mythology are associated with the temple and the festival. Though the festivity continues for as many as 12 days, the celebration on the Ashtami or eighth day is important in terms of religiosity. This year, the Ashtami celebration falls on December 26.

The festivals of India are the best times to explore the regional cultures, customs and traditions of the country. IndianEagle.com offers the lowest airfare to let you get the best of your trip to India during winter.

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