Thursday, November 6, 2008

Festival In Agra

The city of Agra is dominated by Muslim and Hindu population. The region as such celebrates the popular festivals as occurs in these faiths. The popular Muslim and Hindu festivals are celebrated in the region with the same enthusiasm as that of the rest India. Important Muslim festivals include Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid-ul-Adha and Moharram. Hindu population celebrate Holi, Ramnavmi, Janmashtami, Ramlila, Dussehra, Diwali, . The festivals as elsewhere are accompanied with prayers, offerings, decorations and traditional food, singing and dancing.

Apart from popular festivals the residents also celebrate local fairs and festivals. The local festivals like Taj Mahotsav, Bateshwar Fair, Kailash Fair and Rambarat are celebrated with great fanfare and pomposity. Taj Mahotsav is celebrated in the month of February at Shilpgram which is about one kilometer from the Taj Mahal. The celebration is a good occasion to see and hear the traditional performers of the region. There is display of traditional crafts and arts during the occasion. Bateshwar Fair is celebrated in the month of October and November. Associated with the fair is livestock trade and various temple offerings. The Kailash Fair is held at Kailash, which is about 12 kms from Agra. The fair is celebrated in the honor of Lord Shiva. Rambarat is celebrated to pay homage to the wedding ceremony of Lord Rama. During this festival which lasts for 10 days plays based on the sacred book of Ramayana are enacted .

Taj Mahotsav
Taj Mahotsav Come February and it's springtime! The time of the year when nature dawns all it's colorful splendour and Agra bursts into colorful celebrations. For 10 days there is a sheer celebration of Uttar Pradesh's rich heritage of arts, crafts, culture, cuisine, dance and music. There are festivities all around and Agra truly puts on the colors of joy and gets transformed into one non stop carnival. Organised by Uttar Pradesh Tourism, and held as an annual event at Shilpgram, literally next door to the Taj Mahal, the Taj Mahotsav is indeed a fitting tribute to the legendary skills of matercraftsmen and exponents of art, music and cuisine. Not only this, it is also a gentle peep into the rich heritage and extraordinary legacies of this wonderful land.

Rambarat Festival
Rambarat or Wedding ceremony of Lord Rama is celebrated every year during Ramleela celebrations. Ramleela celebrations continue for 10 days where on each day in the evening, plays are enacted by local artists based on the holy book of Ramayana. Every year, a new locale of the town is chosen as Janakpuri- the place to which Sita belonged or the kingdom of Raja Janak ( King Janak)-father of Sita. The place is elaborately decorated to perform the royal wedding. The Rambarat (marriage procession) starts from Lala Channomalji Ki Baradari for Janakpuri, passing through different parts of the town. The barat is a large procession of tableaux or the 'jhankis', followed by the portraits of Ram-Lakshman mounted on elephants, which moves throughout the city during whole night.

Bateshwar Fair
Situated at a distance of 70 km. from Agra on the banks of river Yamuna, Bateshwar is an important spiritual and cultural centre.This is where one of the major streams of Braj lore begins. Today, the once glittering metropolis, has been reduced to a small village. The place is named after the presiding deity of the region, Bateshwar Mahadeo and has 108 temples dedicated to the gods and goddesses of the Hindu pantheon. During the months of Oct. & Nov. a large fair is organised from Shashthi of Kartik month to Panchami of Agrahayan month. Devotees congregate here in large numbers to worship Lord Shiva and take holy dips in river Yamuna. A livestock fair is also organised and owners and buyers conduct serious business combined with the gaiety of a market place.

Kailash Fair
Held at Kailash, 12 km. It is major fair celebrated in honour of Lord Shiva who is believed to have appeared here in the form of a stone lingam. Shiva (Sanskrit: Auspicious One), or Siva, is one of the main Deities of Hinduism, worshipped as the paramount lord by the Saivite sects of India. Shiva is one of the most complex gods of India, embodying seemingly contradictory qualities. He is the destroyer and the restorer, the great ascetic and the symbol of sensuality, the benevolent herdsman of souls and the wrathful avenger.

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