Indian Festivals & Food

     Rama Navami  is a Hindu spring festival that celebrates the birthday of Rama, the seventh Avatar of the god Vishnu. Rama is particularly important in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. The festival celebrates the descent of Vishnu as the Rama avatar, through his birth to King Dasharatha and Queen Kaushalya in Ayodhya. The festival is a part of the spring (Vasanta) Navratri, and falls on the ninth day of the bright half of Chaitra, the first month in the Hindu Calendar. This typically occurs in the Gregorian months of March or April every year. Rama Navami is an optional government holiday in India. Story of Panakam        Panakam is offered to Lord Rama on his birthday which is celebrated as Ram Navami throughout India. As his birthday falls during Summer, his offerings were panakam, neer mor (buttermilk), kosumalli (refreshing mung dal salad) which are all suitable for the summer season.      According to the Hindu calenda...

     Holi, The festival celebrates the eternal and divine love of Radha Krishna. It also signifies the triumph of good over the evil, as it celebrates the victory of Vishnu as Narsimha Narayan over Hiranyakashipu. It originated and is predominantly celebrated in India and Nepal but has also spread to other regions of Asia and parts of the Western World through the diaspora from the Indian Subcontinent.  Story of Thandai        Thandai is quiet prominent around Holi, which falls in the month of Phalgun, marks the end of the winter season and the arrival of spring that is symbolic of new life. Thandai is often mixed with bhang, also known for its medical properties. Bhang-infused Thandai was first offered around 1000 BC making it one of the oldest drinks in the country, if not the world. It is quiet popular on festivals related to Lord Shiva and is also popular during Mahashivratri.      In the northern states of India, the temperatur...

     RATHA YATRA, the Festival of Chariots: Chariots of Shri Jagannath is celebrated every year at Puri, the temple town in Odisha. The presiding deities of the Jagannath Temple, Puri's main temple, Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra, with the celestial wheel - Sudarshan Chakra, are removed from the temple in a ceremonial procession to their chariots. The huge, colourfully decorated chariots are drawn by multitude of devotees on the  bada danda , the grand avenue to the Gundicha Temple (Gundicha– King Indradyumna's Queen), two miles away to the North. On the way the chariot of Lord Jagannatha, Nandighosa waits near the crematorium of Bhakta Salabega, a Muslim devout to pay him tribute.      Poda pitha is the state’s most popular sweet made of rice, jaggery, coconut and lentils. It is a tradition for Lord Jagannath to stop at the Mausi Maa temple during bahuda yatra on its way back from Gundicha temple to the Shree Mandir and have a bi...

     Makar Sankranti is one of the few ancient Indian festivals that has been observed according to solar cycles, while most festivals are set by the lunar cycle of the lunisolar Hindu Calendar. Being a festival that celebrates the solar cycle, it almost always falls on the same Gregorian date every year (January 14), except in some years when the date shifts by a day for that year (January 15). As a result, it can fall on different date of the Hindu calendar each year.      Makara Sankranti is regarded as important for spiritual practices and accordingly, people take a holy dip in rivers, especially Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri. The bathing is believed to result in merit or absolution of past sins. They also pray to the sun and thank for their successes and prosperity. A shared cultural practices found amongst Hindus of various parts of India is making sticky, bound sweets particularly from sesame ( til ) and a sugar base such as jagger...

     Onam  is an annual harvest festival celebrated in the Indian state of Kerala. A major annual event for Keralites, it is the official festival of the state and includes a spectrum of cultural events. Drawing from Hindu mythology, Onam commemorates King Mahabali.      Indian festivals are incomplete without food and one such festival is Onam. The harvest festival is celebrated with a colourful feast served on a banana leaf called ‘Sadhya’. Sadhya is basically the term coined for the feast that is a part of the 10th day of the annual harvest festival Onam, which is also called ‘Onam Sadhya’. The feast is known for its flavours and varieties of dishes.       Onam Sadhya is the traditional multi-course vegetarian meal served on the festive occasion, on a banana leaf featuring over 25 dishes. The enormous meal calls for preparations beginning much in advance, which brings the community together in forging a memorable experience. Acco...

     Krishna Janmashtami, also known simply as Janmashtami or Gokulashtami , is an annual Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu. It is an important festival, particularly in the Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism. Dance-drama enactments of the life of Krishna according to the Bhagavata Purana (such as Rasa Lila or Krishna Lila), devotional singing through the midnight when Krishna was born, fasting ( upavasa ), a night vigil (Ratri  Jagaran ), and a festival (Mahotsav) on the following day are a part of the Janmashtami celebrations. It is celebrated particularly in Mathura and Vrindavan, along with major Vaishnav and non-sectarian communities found in Manipur, Assam, Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Andra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and all the other states of India. What Is Panjiri?      Panjiri is a ‘falahari’ dish that is made on Krishna J...