Indian Festivals

India is a land of diversities. The people of every faith and religion live in unity and as well as celebrate various festivals in the country. In no other country of the world are people so frequently motivated by a religious urge to travel as in India. Fortunately for the Hindus, most of their places of pilgrimage are at scenic places in the Himalayas or near the sea or rivers.There is perhaps not a single day in the Indian calendar when a festival or fair is not celebrated in such a vast country with varied religions. There are some national festivals which are celebrated all over India like Makar Sankranti, Republic Day, Independence Day, Desert Festival, Holi, Raksha Bandhan, Independence Day, Janmashtami, Marwar Festival, Dussehra, Pushkar Fair, Diwali and Christmas. On January 26, Republic Day is celebrated with a massive parade of the Army, Navy and the Air Force displaying latest military hardware. It reflects the pride, glory and joy of the independent India. Then, there are festivals for all occasions which include colour festivals, festivals to celebrate change of seasons, festivals connected with the harvesting or sowing of crops, etc. Every happy occasion calls for a celebration accompanied with dance and music. But the various festivals are not celebrated by everyone in the country. Besides these, there are festivals associated with pilgrimages. Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Sikh pilgrim centers are located almost in every corner of India attracting millions of devotees travelling from one part of the country to another. For instance, the KUMBH MELA (celebrated every 12 years) at HARIDWAR or PRAYAG (Allahabad) attracts a few million people each time. While the dates of the national festivals are known, other festivals follow the lunar calendar and the dates change almost every year. However, the dates do not differ too much.