India — Events
Elephanta Festival
Each year, a motor launch carries visitors from Mumbai’s Gateway of India Monument to Elephanta Island, a small island about an hour and a half’s journey from the city, to enjoy the very special experience of the Elephanta Festival. A selection of renowned Indian dancers and musicians perform spectacular pieces against the dramatic backdrop of the island’s 1,300-year-old cave temples, while the smells of food stalls and wood smoke mix in the balmy evening air.
Durga Puja
The most important Bengali festival, the puja (’worship’) of Durga, goddess of power, takes place throughout the city over 10 days in September/October. The festival is marked with colorful, exuberant processions, where handmade Hindu idols (some over 20 feet tall) are carried aloft to the river, where they are ritualistically submerged. This rite combines ancient tradition with a modern touch, as sometimes the idols used depict movie stars or recent flood victims.
Dussehra (Dasara) Festival
The first big festival of the season, Dussehra is typically celebrated for 10 days in anticipation of the beginning of harvest season. In Bangalore Dussehra has added meaning, as it is taken to commemorate the victory of the goddess Cahmundeshwari over the demon Mahishasur. It is celebrated through an assortment of religious performances and rituals, which are intended to activate the fertility of the soil and invoke the mother goddess Ravana.
Kali Puja
This festival honors Kali, goddess of destruction, who acts as the cosmic counterbalance to Shiva’s creative energy. The festival coincides with Diwali, the Festival of Lights, and is characterized by plenty of candles, lights, firecrackers and loud music. The unforgettable signature-sight of Kali Puja are the red hibiscus flowers which are joyously strewn about the city.
Pushkar Camel Fair
In November each year, a Camel Fair is held in the beautiful Rajasthani town of Pushkar. The Pushkar Camel Fair is a festive event: farmers and herders from across India gather to sell camels, horses, and cattle. Amidst the camel races and auctions there are also textile, jewelry and ethnic handicraft markets. Tourists traveling to the fair will be hard-pressed to make decisions on what not to buy. Snake charmers and camel decorators line the streets, and there is even a popular contest measuring which festival-goer has the longest mustache!
Kala Ghoda Bazaar
For three months, between November and January each year, street musicians and performers add to the colorful atmosphere of Mumbai’s Sunday street bazaars, held near the Jehangir Art Gallery in the city’s pedestrian plaza. The area becomes a hive of activity and excitement, with cultural performances and stalls selling a variety of handcrafts, folk art and food.
Kadalekaye Parishe (Peanut Festival)
This festival centers around the Bull Temple, one of Bengaluru’s most famous sights. As the first crop of peanuts arrives, farmers offer prayers in the hopes of a better yield in the coming year. The Kadalekaye Parishe fair is also celebrated in the Basavanagudi area of the city, where many farmers gather to sell various groundnuts.
Diwali (Festival of Lights)
India’s most popular traditional festival, with its origins deeply rooted in Hindu mythology, turns the streets of Delhi (and all major cities in India) into a carnival each year. And while Diwali (the ‘Festival of Lights’) is extremely important for Hindus, it is also celebrated by Jains and Sikhs, meaning that the general air of festivity is enjoyed by everyone.
International Film Festival of India
The International Film Festival of India (IFFI) runs for 10 days at the end of each year, and is on a par with the Cannes, Berlin, Venice and Toronto film festivals. This festival was first held in 1952 and has been hosted in the seaside state of Goa since 2004. The festival is attended by high-profile Bollywood stars and famous international celebrities. Both international and Indian films are screened and the best are awarded prizes, including the Golden and Silver Peacock awards.
Sunburn Music Festival
The MTV-sponsored Sunburn Music Festival is one of the fastest-growing trance music festivals in the world. In 2008, the event drew 5,000 electroheads to beautiful Candolim Beach in Goa; in 2009, 18,000 people were there; and in 2010, the crowd was in excess of 30,000. Featuring heavyweight performers, such as Paul van Dyk, Funkagenda and Ferry Corsten, and blessed with an ideal location on the shores of the Arabian Sea, ‘South Asia’s first electronic music festival’ is bound to keep growing in international status.
