Vallam Kali or the snake-boat race is an importantevent held during Onam, a monsoon festival in Kerala
India is a land of festivals where a diverse mix of groups and communities celebrate every occasion and event. Monsoon is a big event for India and its people. Not only are monsoons a great time to enjoy nature, eat delicious food, it’s also a time to celebrate and no one knows it better than the people of this land.
As soon as monsoon arrives in India, a host of festivals are celebrated by various communities, in unique ways and means. Each festival has a significance for that particular community or group of people. According to Hindu calendar, monsoons arrive in the holy month of Shravan and it’s during this time when many fairs and festivals are celebrated that welcome the rains and all good things associated with it.
Myriad fairs and festivals
It’s no secret that festivals in India are celebrated with lots of singing, dancing, events, feasting and fun. Also, the thousands of festivals celebrated across India celebrate not only gods and goddesses but also all the elements of nature including animals, birds, wind, rain, trees, fire, earth, water, etc.
The rains are an important part of life in the country as not only India is still primarily an agrarian economy but also agriculture is hugely dependent on the monsoon rains for irrigation and harvesting. So, it’s only obvious that many festivals will be observed during this period. Also, many mythological events are celebrated during the monsoons.
So, during the wet season, festivals such as Kanwarias, Janmashtami, Barsha Mongol Ramadan, Ganga Dussera, Onam, Rath Yatras, Ganeshutsav, etc., are some of the important festivals celebrated during this time of the year.
The rainy season in India begins in June and goes on till September even October as a result of the retreating monsoon winds. The monsoon rains bring with them hope, happiness, cooler temperatures and most importantly plenty of water that not only nurtures biodiversity but also replenishes underground water bodies, rivers, springs, etc. for the dryer days to come. In many arid zones, monsoons bring relief from the sweltering summer temperatures which in turn presents a great opportunity to celebrate festivals and fairs.
Festivals celebrating harvest
Some of the happiest people during monsoons are the farmers who wait for months for a good spell of rain for their crops. If monsoon fails or becomes weak, it poses a big problem for the farmers who then stare at a future described by failed crops and little or no harvest and consequentially financial losses. One of the most important festivals celebrated in India during monsoon is the Onam Festival. A very big days for the people of Kerala, Onam is a harvest festival that is celebrated every year in Kerala in the months of August-September. The festival marks the event of a good harvest or crop as a result of monsoon rains. The ancient festival of Kerala celebrates rice harvest.
For Onam, Kerala-origin people from all parts of the world converge to their state or celebrate the occasion at their homes, across the world. It’s a very important family event and people mark their calendars well in advance to be available or get together with families for the celebrations. Onam is also the official festival of the state of Kerala. It is marked by traditional dance and cultural performances, rituals at homes and in temples, carnivals and games. A diverse range of celebrations include boat races, sports competitions, martial arts, dance events, floral rangoli, prayers, feasts, shopping, etc.
Grand celebrations and events
Men and women don traditional attire to mark the festival and the Kerala saree also known as the Kasavu is particularly worn by the women during Onam. The second day of Onam, known as Thiruvonam, involves a sumptuous feast of 21 mouth-watering dishes and desserts and a buttermilk drink. All this, served on a banana leaf!
Another interesting activity during Onam is the world-famous boat race, also known as Vallam Kali. It’s a canoe race and a traditional event in Kerala celebrated as part of the Onam festivities. The Nehru Trophy Boat race held in Punnamada Lake near Alappuzha in Kerala is very famous and now integral to Kerala’s
culture.
Hareli is a harvest festival celebrated during monsoons in Chhattisgarh. It falls on the new moon day of the month or the Shravan amavasya. Similar to Onam, Hareli is a festival of crops where farmers pray for a good harvest and worship their cows and farming equipment.
Monsoon and mythology
Although most Hindu festivals derive their origin from mythology, some important festivals celebrated during monsoons have similar origins. Even Onam, for that matter, commemorates King Mahabali and Vamana from mythology. Another legend tied to the origin of Onam relates to Parshuram – an incarnation of Lord Vishnu who created the Western Ghats from the southern tip of Kerala, Karnataka, Goa and up to Maharashtra.
Monsoons in India are incomplete without the popular festival of Janmashtami. Celebrating the birth of Lord Krishna, Janmashtami falls in the month of August, and is one of the most vibrant festivals of India. In Mathura and Vrindavan the celebrations reach unimaginable fervour owing to the significance of the places in Lord Krishna’s life.
In some parts of the country including Maharashtra, Janmashtami is marked by the Dahi-Handi event that draws from Krishna’s favourite activity of stealing butter. During dahi-handi, devotees make human pyramids to reach a pot of butter tied at top. The festival is marked by music, dance, games and great food.
Another festival that is mainly celebrated by the fishermen folk of Maharashtra and Daman & Diu is Nariyal Poornima, observed on a full moon day in the Shravan month of Hindu calendar. The fishermen community celebrate this festival with great zeal and fervour.
Any mention of festivals in India is incomplete without Ganeshutsav. Also known as Vinayak Chaturthi, Ganeshutsav is clearly one of the most popular festivals in India. Celebrated for nine days, the festival concludes with the immersion of the idols of Lord Ganesha in the sea or a water body. Grand processions with music and dance make the festival special and memorable. In Mumbai specially, Ganeshutsav is celebrated by individual families and as a social event also.
Monsoon festivals across India
The Rath Yatra that is taken out in Odisha is a festival celebrated in Puri in the 12th century shrine of Lord Jagannath or Lord Vishnu. It is celebrated on the second day of the Ashadha month of the Hindu calendar that mostly falls in the months of June-July. The Jagannath temple is one of the four main temples of India and during the procession, Lord Jagannath’s idol, accompanied by that of his sister Balbhadra and brother Balram, is carried in a chariot drawn by thousands of devotees.
The Hemis festival in Ladakh is celebrated annually in a Tibetan Buddhist monastery on the 10th day of the lunar month of the Tibetan Calendar. The festival marks the birth anniversary of Lord Padmasambhava (Guru Rimpoche) and symbolises victory of good over evil.
The Adiperukku festival in Tamil Nadu celebrates water. Water is life and as rains replenish rivers and other water sources, this festival is very important. A holy monsoon festival and also mainly a female oriented festival, in Adiperukku women pray to the life-sustaining properties of water and rivers, ponds, etc.