FAIRS AND FESTIVALS

FAIRS AND FESTIVALS

Bihan Mela

• The Kondh tribe in Odisha's Nayagarh district has introduced the Bihan Mela, a seed festival, to their calendar 

of celebrations. The event, which began in 2019, mimics a traditional market where farmers exchange seeds.

• Farmers from 40 villages participate in the event, which begins after harvesting kharif crops, including hybrid 

and indigenous varieties of paddy, millets, maize, and sorghumWomen collect seeds and 

store them in clay pots, which 

are decorated with red and 

white designs and carried to 

the fair. 

• Since the Green Revolution, 

farmers have abandoned 

native crops and have shifted 

to monoculture cash crops, 

affecting their food security 

and soil quality. The seed 

festival aims to help farmers 

return to their traditional 

farming methods.

Kharchi Puja

• It is centred around the worship of ancestral deities of the Tripuri people. 

• It is also called the ‘Festival of 14 Gods’. The word ‘Kharchi’ is derived from two Tripuri words –‘khar’ or kharta 

meaning sin and ‘chi’ or ‘si’ meaning cleaning.

• It is believed that the Mother Goddess or Tripura Sundari, the presiding deity of the land who protects the 

people of Tripura, menstruates during the time of Ambubachi. Hence, Kharchi Puja is observed to 

ritualistically clean the Earth after her menstruation is over and wash away the sins of the people in the land.

• The festival involves the construction of the Chaturdasha Mandapa, which symbolizes the royal palace of the 

Tripuri kings and is constructed out of bamboo and thatched roofs.

Unmesha and Utkarsh Festivals

• The two events were jointly organized by Sangeet Natak Akademi and Sahitya Akademi, in association with 

the culture department, Madhya Pradesh.

• Utkarsh is a national festival of folk and tribal expressions. It means progress, and the festival is held in the 

spirit that the progress of the tribal group will lead to the progress of the country.

• Unmesha is India's most inclusive and Asia's largest literature festival in terms of the number of languages 

represented.

• Sangeet Natak Akademi is the apex body in the field of performing arts in the country. The Chairman of the 

Akademi is appointed by the President of India for a term of five years. It is presently an Autonomous Body 

of the Ministry of Culture.

• Sahitya Akademi - India’s National Academy of Letters, is the central institution for literary dialogue, 

publication, and promotion in the country. It is the only institution that undertakes literary activities in 24 

Indian languages, including English and Rajasthani (apart from 22 languages enumerated in the Constitution). 

It also gives special awards called Bhasha Samman to significant contribution to the languages.

Aadi Perukku Festival

• The festival is celebrated in Tamil Nadu to show the gratitude to the mother nature and monsoon god for 

providing uninterrupted supply of water.

• As per Tamil Calendar, this festival is celebrated on the 18th day of Aadi month which marks the beginning of 

the monsoon season in Tamil Nadu.

• On this auspicious day, Mother nature is worshipped in the form of Amman deities.

• This day is also celebrated as Pathinettam Perukku, Padinattam or Pathinettam means eighteen and Perukku 

means rising.Nadi Utsav

• The fourth Nadi Utsav was organized by the National Mission on Cultural Mapping (NMCM) of Indira Gandhi 

National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) on the banks of River Yamuna.

• The event is an attempt to document riverine culture, its tradition, rituals, and water wisdom.

• IGNCA has been organizing the Nadi Utsav since 2018. The inaugural event was held in Nashik on the banks of 

River Godavari, second on the banks of River Krishna, and third on the banks of River Ganga.

• IGNCA was established in 1987 as a government-funded arts organization in India. It is an autonomous 

institute under the Ministry of Culture.

Kati Bihu

• It is celebrated in Assam annually on the first day of Kati month in the Assamese calendar. The Bihu festivals 

have agricultural significance and mark different farming cycle stages. Kati Bihu, also known as Kongali Bihu, 

occurs when rice saplings are transplanted.

• The name Kongali Bihu is derived from the fact that during this period the granaries are typically empty, and 

there’s little left to consume.

• A special lamp called Akash Banti or Sky Candle is lit in paddy fields.

Bathukamma Festival

• Bathukamma is a flower-festival celebrated by the women of Telangana and some parts of Andhra Pradesh. 

Bathukamma is a beautiful flower stack, arranged with different unique seasonal flowers most of them with 

medicinal values, in seven concentric layers in the shape of a temple gopuram.

• In Telugu, ‘Bathukamma' means ‘Mother Goddess come Alive’.

• During the entire preceding week, women make ‘boddemma’ (a deity of Gowri ‘Mother Durga’) along with 

Bathukamm.

Raja Parba

• Also called Mithuna Sankranti, it is a multi-day festival which is celebrated in Odisha to bring prosperity in

agriculture fields and also to celebrate womanhood.

• The festival is dedicated to Basu- Mata, the Earth Goddess and during this festival, all the agriculture activities 

are stopped to allow the Goddess to rest. It is believed that during this period the Goddess undergoes her 

menstrual cycle.

• The festival is mostly celebrated by girls, women, and children. Girls are forbidden from all kinds of manual 

work during these days of festival. In many villages night yatra and Gotipua dance are performed by artists.

Ambubachi Mela

• Ambubachi is one of the major festivals of north-eastern India and it is held at Kamakhya temple of Guwahati 

in the State of Assam. It has also been dubbed as the ‘Mahakumbh of the East’.

• It is celebrated during the monsoon season that happens to fall during the Assamese month Ahaar, around 

June. This mela is also known as Ameti or Tantric fertility festival since it is closely associated with Tantric 

Shakti cult prevalent in eastern parts of India.

• The festival has been associated with fertility rituals and many devotees come to seek the blessing for a child 

from the Goddess. 

• During the festival, the patron Goddess Kamakhya is said to be undergoing her annual menstrual cycle. Hence, 

the temple remains closed for three days.

Ker Puja

• Ker means austerity. This puja is celebrated after 14 days of Kharchi puja. 

• During Ker a particular area is demarcated, this area is bounded by the Ker symbol. The road to the entry or 

exit is totally blocked by the symbol.