Diwali     

The festival of lamps, Diwali, is an ancient tradition that is celebrated through the length and breadth of India in one manner or another. The festival has been celebrated for ages and grows in fascination by the year. Everyone enjoys the goodies, the glitter and glamour and the endless zest for living, that suddenly grips people around this time. Nevertheless, there is much more to Diwali than feasting and merrymaking. Diwali is a hallowed tradition, not to be put in the shade by the lights.
Diwali symbolizes the victory of light over darkness. Celebrated joyously all over the country, it is also a festival of wealth and prosperity.

Diwali generally falls in the month of October or November. The date in the English calendar varies as it is celebrated according to the Indian calendar.

The legends behind the festival are as varied as the manner of its celebration, but common to all of them is the theme of the triumph of good over evil. One such legend, the most popular one, is about a demon named Narkasura who managed to acquire such awesome powers that he began to terrorize the three worlds; his defeat and death at the hands of Krishna is celebrated as Diwali, and the day preceding the new moon in the months of Ashwin Kartik in the Hindu calendar is known as Naraka Chaturdasi.

Another legend followed in Karnataka is that of an emperor named Bali who had become all-powerful and a threat to the peace of the universe. God is said to have come to earth in the form of a diminutive Brahmin, Vamana, and presenting himself before the mighty Bali asked for as much land as three of my footsteps would cover. No King could refuse a Brahmin's appeal for charity, and Bali readily granted what seemed to him a trifling request. Whereupon the diminutive Brahmin resumed his all-pervasive, omnipresent form and covering the heavens with one foot and the world below with another, asked where he should place his foot for the third step. Bali bowed before him and offered his own head for him to place his foot and was thereafter pressed under that one foot. This victory is observed on the day of the new moon (Amavasya) when the month of Ashwin (October-November) makes way for Kartik.

For the people in north India, the festival commemorates the joyous return of Rama to his kingdom of Ayodhya, after 14 years of exile in the forests. For the business community, particularly in the western regions of Gujarat and upper India, Diwali is a festival devoted to Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity. In fact, the new accounting year begins with Diwali and the tradition is still followed by opening new accounting ledgers on this festive day.

Traditionally on Diwali night, Ganesh shares the altar with Lakshmi. Ganesh is the god of good beginnings and the fabled remover of obstacles. In the Hindu pantheon, the two are unrelated, Ganesh being the son of Shiva and Parvati. However, between them, placed side by side, Lakshmi and Ganesh hold out promise of a year of fulfillment, free from obstacles. Since cow's milk is food for the gods, Lakshmi is said to be partial to laddoos made from thickened cow's milk, rock sugar and powdered cardamom. On the night of Diwali, these form an offering choice.

Rituals

Diwali is supposed to be a corruption of the word Deepavali, the literal meaning of which in Sanskrit is 'a row of lamps.' Filling little clay lamps with oil and wick and lighting them in rows all over the house is a tradition that is popular in most regions of the country. In the north, most communities observe the custom of lighting lamps. However, in the south, the custom of lighting baked earthen lamps is not so much part of this festival as it is of the Karthikai celebrations a fortnight later. The lights signify a welcome to prosperity in the form of Lakshmi, and the fireworks are supposed to scare away evil spirits.

For the grown-ups, there is also a custom of indulging in gambling during Diwali. It is all in fun, though, in a spirit of light-hearted revelry and merrymaking.

In north India, people celebrate Choti Diwali and Bari Diwali (literally, small Diwali and big Diwali) on successive days and exchange trays of sweets.

Diwali is a time for shopping, whether for gifts or for adding durable items to one's own household. The market soars everything from saffron to silver and spices to silks. Yet, symbolic purchases are to be made as part of tradition during Diwali.

Celebrations

Diwali is a truly national festival that literally puts a sparkle into each and every home, whether it is a palatial mansion or a poor man's hut. Only a family in mourning, lets Diwali go by without sweets and lights. Although Diwali is celebrated for two days, the celebrations actually stretch over nearly five days. For that matter, Diwali begins to herald itself 10 days earlier, with the deafening sounds of crackers burst as appetizers by impatient youngsters unable to wait till the actual day! More than any other festival, Diwali is an occasion for children from the youngest toddler looking on with fascination while older siblings hold sparklers in their hands, to the daredevil adolescents who get a thrill out of lighting the fuse of ear-splitting bombs with their bare hands, or letting off "rockets" on broomsticks, just as their fuses ignite to lift them into the sky like space rockets leaving a trail of flame behind.

Regional Celebration

In Punjab, the day following Diwali is known as tikka when sisters make a paste with saffron and rice and place an auspicious mark on their brother's foreheads as a symbolic gesture to ward off all harm. Likewise, on the second day of the month of Kartik, the people of Maharashtra exchange gifts. In Maharashtra, it is the thirteenth day of Ashwin, the trayodasi, that is observed as a festival commemorating a young prince whom Yama, the God of Death, had claimed four days after his marriage. Filled, however, with compassion for the luckless youth, the legend goes - Yama promised that those who observed the day would be spared untimely death and so the lamps that are lit to mark the festival are placed facing south, unlike on other festive days, because south is the direction mythologically assigned to Yama.

For the Bengali and Oriya communities in the east, Diwali means Kali puja (worship of Kali, the aggressive manifestation of Shakti or the all-powerful female force).

Durga Puja

Durga puja is the favorite festival of the people of eastern India, especially the people of West Bengal. This festival is celebrated all over India, though with differing rituals, for nine days. It is also called Navratri in some parts of the country.

Durga puja is celebrated in the autumn months of September/October. According to the Hindu solar calendar, it falls on the first nine days of the month of Ashvin. It is the time of the year when the weather is at its moderate best giving the air a festive touch.

Celebrations

It is the time of the Durga Puja, celebrating the ten-armed goddess of fertility and the third embodiment of the Devi, Durga. It was Durga who vanquished the buffalo-demon Mahishasura.

The festivities start with the first day called Mahalaya. It is also the day of the beginning of the countdown to the Durga Puja, which is celebrated in most households apart from the gaily-decorated puja mandaps that are erected in almost every locality. It is a common belief that Ma Lakshmi brings peace and prosperity to the households that celebrate the puja. People strongly believe that if Ma Lakshmi becomes chanchala or unhappy with a certain household, she tries to leave the place, leaving the owner of the house in a financial mess.

Rituals

Mahalaya precedes Durga Puja when all the members of the family remember their ancestors. This ritual is called Tarpan. Various shlokas are chanted early in the morning in almost every home as well as in the puja mandaps. The week that follows the Mahalaya is called Debi-pokhsha. The puja actually starts on the day of saptami or the seventh day and goes on till dashami or the tenth day. All mothers keep a fast on sashthi, the day preceding saptami, to pray for the well being of their children. The eighth day or ashtami is a day for vegetarian diet. Sandhi-pujo is also held on that day. Finally, the day of navami arrives which is the last night for the Mother Goddess to stay in her father's home. The next day, the day of dashami, she goes back to her husband's house. People bid a tearful farewell to her and present great barans with candles, fruits and garments.

According to a Bengali belief, Daksha, the king of the Himalayas, and his wife Menoka, had a daughter called Uma. Right from her childhood, Uma, started worshipping Lord Shiva as her would be husband. Lord Shiva, pleased with her worship, came to marry her. Daksha did not like this tiger-skin clad groom with ash & dirt spread all over his body. Uma got married to Lord Shiva but was prevented by her father from going to her husband's abode in Mount Kailash. Daksha later organized a yagna where all the Gods were invited except Lord Shiva. Uma, feeling ashamed of the behavior of her father went on fast and finally died. When Lord Shiva came to know of this, he went to Daksha's house, lifted Uma's body on his shoulders and start the dance of destruction called tandav. Due to this dance, the world was on the verge of destruction when Narayana or Lord Vishnu intervened. He used his chakra so that parts of Uma's body fell of the dancing Shiva's shoulder. Shiva was finally pacified when the last piece fell off from his shoulder. Narayana revived Uma and requested Shiva to forgive Daksha. Ever since peace was restored, it is believed that Uma, with her four children, Ganesh, Kartik, Saraswati and Lakshmi and her two sakhis, Jaya and Bijaya, comes to visit her parent's home each year during the season of sharat or autumn when Durga Puja is celebrated.

Another legend has it that Lord Rama went to rescue his abducted wife Sita from the grip of Ravana, the king of the demons in Lanka. Before starting for his battle with Ravana, Rama wanted the blessings of Devi Durga. He came to know that the Goddess would be pleased only if she was offered one hundred neelkamal or blue lotuses. Rama, after traveling the whole world, could gather only ninety-nine. He finally decided to offer one of his eyes, which resembled blue lotuses. Pleased with Rama's devotion, Durga appeared before him and blessed him. The battle started on the saptami and Ravana was finally killed on the sandhikshan i.e. the crossover period between ashtami and navami and was cremated on dashami. Since the period of this worship was different from the conventional festival time of spring or basant, this puja is also known as akal-bodhan or worship (bodhan) in an unconventional time (a-kaal).

Regional Celebration

Almost all the regions of India celebrate this festival with great enthusiasm. Durga Puja as such, is celebrated with special festivities in the eastern part of India, especially in the state of West Bengal. Though the rituals and festivities are different, almost all parts of India celebrate these nine days with devotion and zeal. In north India, it is characterized by fasts and solemnity, in western India, it is marked by gaiety and the traditional dandiya and garba dances, and in the south, pujas are offered separately for three days to each of the three goddesses, Durga, Saraswati and Lakshmi. In the east, the most attractive part of the celebrations is the puja mandaps, which are brightly colored, gaily decorated and bursting at seams with devotees assembled to worship the goddess.

Places to Visit

The best-recommended place to visit during this festival would be Calcutta, the capital of West Bengal. Moreover one can visit the other states of the east like Assam as everywhere Durga Puja is celebrated with great festivity.

               * Baisakhi               * Bakra Eid              * Buddha Purnima          * Chhat Pooja           * Diwali

               * Durga Puja           * Dev Deepawali      * Dussehra           * Mahashivaratri     * Makar Sankranti

NOTE : If you need more information about " Fastival & Fairs Tourism " or You want to Book any tour , Please send us a mail Or fill Reservation form.

    Package * Hotel Booking * Taxi / Coach Rental * Tickets                              Top