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January
A cliché if you will - but often laced with
snow - the year opens with a heady cocktail.
Thousands of revelers head to celebrate the
New Year at Shimla, Chail, Manali and Dalhousie. Around the common calendar’s
new year comes Halda in Lahaul, which is a
more private celebration of the event. Along
the valleys of Chandra and Bhaga rivers, a
few members of every household step out with
lit cedar twigs to a well oriented place
selected by the ‘lamas’. These
slender branches form the first flames of a
bonfire, which is then dispersed. Shiskar
Apa, the goddess of wealth is
worshipped, and the dancing continues for a
couple of days.
There is greater sobriety, but no less joy,
when Lohri or Maghi comes
along in mid-January. This is the
traditionary mid-winter day and also
commemorates the last sowing of the Rabi
crops. Community bonfires, folk songs and
dancing mark the festival. In tribal Spiti, Dechhang
is celebrated at the height of winter, while
the Lahaul area reserves it for early April.
Paonta Sahib is a major focus on Guru
Gobind Singh’s birthday. The town and
other gurudwaras close to it are closely
linked with the Guru’s life.
On a mid-night towards the end of Paush (December
- January), Phagli begins in Lahaul’s
Pattan valley with snow being packed in a
conical basket - kilta. This is upturned on
a roof and resembles a Shivalinga. Shiva,
Naga and the goddess Hadimba are worshipped,
and the younger generation also mark it by
venerating the village elders. Chhang and lugari, locally brewed liquors flow freely,
and ritual dishes are eaten. Kinnaur’s
Sazi (or Sazo) also comes at around this
time.
More contemporary events come in the form of
the National Snow Statue Competition at Kufri, the Folk Dance Competition on
Republic Day at Shimla, and the Water
Sports Regatta at Kargra’s Pong Dam.
To make this wonderful time of year all the
more attractive, Himachal Tourism offers
special discounts and packages in its wide
network of hotels.
February
Snow continues to play a major part in
February’s festivals and Himachal’s
Winter Carnival is also held this month.
Gochi in the Bhaga Valley is an
unusual festival when the villages celebrate
the birth of male children. Token marriages
of children below the age of six are also
performed - and a lighter side comes with
the snow balling every child participates
in.
The Baba Barbhag Singh Mela is held
in Una and honors this sage who was renowned
for his magical powers. Basant Panchmi marks
the arrival of spring in the lower areas,
and every town seems to keep a reserve of
color for the occasion and the skies are
filled with a medley of kites.
Ritual dances and an unbelievably rich
imagery mark Lossar. This is
celebrated in Buddhist areas throughout the
state - while Lahaul’s monasteries have
some of the most spectacular performances.
On its eve, the stylized chhaam dance and
elaborate costumes and masks, commemorate
the assassination of the cruel Tibetan king,
Langdarma in the 9th
century. Often though wrongly - called ‘the
devil dance’, it symbolizes the
triumph of good over evil.
March
Centered around he temple of Trilokinath, Char
is celebrated in Lahaul. The town of Mandi
with its ancient temples revels in the Shivratri
fair for a whole week. On elaborately
decorated palanquins, hundred of local
deities are carried to the town. Accompanied
by folk bands, they make their first stop at
the Madhi Rai Temple and then go to pay
obeisance to Lord Shiva at the Bhootnath
Temple. This is followed by festivals -
music and song, dance and drama. Yet, all
the while the atmosphere is surcharged with
deep religious devotion.
In the third week of March, the fascinating
Nalwari fair is held at Bilaspur. Cattle is
traded, there are wrestling bouts and aero
and water sports shows are recent additions.
Holi’s riot of colors and
celebration of spring comes with laughter
and vitality. There are exuberant
celebrations at Palampur and Sujanpur. By
the banks of the river Yamuna, the shrine of
Paonta Sahib in Sirmour is thronged by Hindu
and Sikh devotees on this day. Also in Sirmour, the Balasundari fair is held at
Trilokpur near Nahan; this coincides with
the sacred days of the Navratras. The temple
of Baglamata, near Bankhandi in Kangra is
also a major focus during these days.
Chait, the first month of lunar
calendar is celebrated by the dancing of
women in Kullu and by folk singing in Chamba.
At the shrine of Deothsidh (Seo) on the
district border of Hamirpur and Bilaspur, a
month long fair spans March and April.
April
Held on the first Baisakh - the 13th
April - Baisakhi is one of Himachal’s
most important festivals. Rooted in the
rural agrarian tradition, it bids a final
farewell to winter. At Tattapani near Shimla, at the Rewalsar and Prashar lakes
near Mandi, people take purifying dips in
the water. Numerous village fairs complete
with wrestling, dancing and archery are also
held on this day.
In April, Rali with its clay models is
marked in Kangra. Legend has it that the
beautiful Rali was married against her
wishes and on the way to her husband’s
home, she leapt into a stream. The husband
jumped in after her and trying to save both,
Rali’s brother also dived into the fast
flowing waters. All three died. Today, clay
models are made in every house to mark that
day, while unmarried girls pray for grooms
of their choice and the newly-wedded ask for
happiness and prosperity.
At Chamba, the Sui Mela is thronged
by women and children and at the village of
Taraur in district Mandi, the Mahu Nag
fair is held. The holy Markandaya fair is
held near Bilaspur and the Rohru Jatar is
held in honour of the deity, Shikhru. This
is also the time when fishing and low
altitude trekking raise their winter
barriers, while the Spring Festival
is celebrated in Kullu from April 28 to 30.
May
May gushes in with a whole series of river
rafting festivals and water sports
Regattas, throughout the state. Focused
around the goddess Hadimba Devi, Kullu
celebrates the Dhoongri fair. In the
same district, the Banjar fair and the Sarhi
Jatar are held in May.
Near Shimla at the exquisite glade of Sipur
below Mashobra, the charming Sipi fair is
held. It is traditionally a time for
match-making.
Throughout Himachal a variety of programs
are organized by the Department of
Languages, Art and Culture. Dharamsala’s
summer festival and the programs organized
by the Tibetan Institute for Performing
Arts, lift their curtains. The skies are
blue and clear for the Hang Gliding Rally at
Billing near Kangra , while Summer Skiing
glides smoothly in a the Rohtang Pass
June
A wide spectrum of national talent, a
variety of programs and a splendid setting
make Shimla’s Summer Festival a
memorable event. Shimla also hosts the Red
Cross Fair, sport tournaments; flower
shows, a photographs and posters
exhibition and a fashion show based
on folk costumes. The Kangra Festival
is also held in June at Kangra.
At Solan, on the third Sunday of the month,
the Solan Fair honours the goddess Shilooni,
the presiding deity of the region.
On June’s full moon night, the Ghantal
festival is held at Lahaul’s Guru Ghantal
Monastery.
And of course, given the time of the year
and the possibilities it offers, there are
various camping and trekking expeditions.
July
In the arid trans-Himalaya, at Kaza’s
Ladarcha fair, the old trade
routes come alive as traders barter and sell
a variety of goods and produce. At Keylong,
the Lahaul Festival is also held this
month.Elsewhere in the state, Haryali (Rhyali Dakhrain) announce the advent of the monsoon
rains. Shravana Sankranti is
celebrated at Nahan; at Arki, buffalo fights
mark the Sair fair, and conducted in honor
of Banar devta of Shari, the Rampur Jatar is
held near Jubbal in district Shimla. July
also heralds the traveling and trekking
season to Kinnaur and Lahaul & Spiti
August
Chamba’s famous Minjar fair, which
celebrates the bounty of nature and prays
for a good harvest, is normally held in
August. ‘Minjars’, maize shoots or
silken strands, are cast on the waters of
the river Ravi and the town immerses itself
in a week of celebration.
Also in Chamba, the Manimahesh Yatra to the
sacred tarn of Manimahesh is held
immediately after the festival of Janamashtmi. At Bharmour, 28 kilometers
short of the lake, the nomadic Gaddis hold a
fair for six days.
Celebrated in Chamba, Kullu and elsewhere, Chrewal, Badronjo or Patroru is a festival
of fire and flowers - and a time for
purification of the fields.
In August, several places in Chamba,
Bilaspur and Sirmour have the Gugga fair
which is connected with the worship of Gugga,
the Nag Devta.
The same month witnesses the Dal fair in
Upper Dharmsala. At Udaipur, in the Lahaul
valley, the Trilokinath temple becomes a
focus; this is sacred to Hindus and
Buddhists alike. The Shravan fair is held at
the shrine Naina Devi, while the Ashapuri
fair is held in Kangra.
September
 As
the rains end, autumn sends flery colours
racing through the hills. In Kinnaur, the
festival of flowers, ‘Fullaich’ (Phulech)
opens a window to its remarkable people and
their beautiful countryside. Villagers scout
the hillsides for flowers, which are
collected in the village square. These are
then offered to the local deity. Then comes
a spate of revelry - singing, dancing and
feasting. Kalpa has some of the most vibrant
celebrations and every twelve years, there
is the special festival. Also in September,
at the village of Chhatrari, near Chamba -
and centered around the exquisite temple of
Shakti Devi - a fair is held and masked
dances performed.
The Kangra valley celebrates the festival of
Sair. This is also celebrated with
stalls, singing and buffalo fights at Arki
and Mashobra, both near Shimla. At Nurpur in Kangra, under the watchful walls of its old
fort, the Nagini fair bids the summer
farewell. In the same district, on September
27, World Tourism Day is celebrated.
In Sirmour, there is a Regatta at the Renuka
Lake, and Nahan hosts the Bawan Dawadashi
fair.
October
There is a Regatta on the waters of the Gobindsagar, anglers vie for the largest
catch in the Sangla valley and Para gliders
sail the skies at Billing.
More traditionally, over two hundred deities
converge on Kullu for its unusual Dussehra
celebrations. They pay homage to Lord
Raghunath while music and colour fill the
‘Silver Valley’. Numerous stalls offer a
variety of local wares. This is also the
time when the International Folk Festival is
celebrated.
The Jwalamukhi Temple in Kangra becomes the
venue for a major fair. At Killar and Panai
(in Chamba’s Pangi valley), the Phool
Yatra witness a remarkable display of
neighborly affection and the Dehant Nag is
worshipped.
November
With winter just a hop and skip away, the
age - old Lavi fair fills Rampur with
a burst of activity. The town was once a
major entrepot on the old trade routes to
Kinnaur, Tibet, Ladakh and Afghanistan. Even
today, the tradition is as vibrant as ever.
By the banks of the river Sutlej, a variety
of goods including wool, dry fruits and
horses are bartered or sold.
The Kharif crops have been harvested when at
the legendary Renuka lake, a fair graces its
banks. There is trade, recreation and
amusement. Idols of Lord Parshurama and
Renuka are ceremoniously dipped in the
sacred waters of the lake - and it is a time
when a lot of matchmaking is done.
Water Sports Competitions are held on the
Pong Dam and Gobindsagar.
With winter just a hop and skip away, the
age - old Lavi fair fills Rampur with
a burst of activity. The town was once a
major entrepot on the old trade routes to
Kinnaur, Tibet, Ladakh and Afghanistan. Even
today, the tradition is as vibrant as ever.
By the banks of the river Sutlej, a variety
of goods including wool, dry fruits and
horses are bartered or sold.
The Kharif crops have been harvested when at
the legendary Renuka lake, a fair graces its
banks. There is trade, recreation and
amusement. Idols of Lord Parshurama and
Renuka are ceremoniously dipped in the
sacred waters of the lake - and it is a time
when a lot of matchmaking is done.
Water Sports Competitions are held on the
Pong Dam and Gobindsagar.
With winter just a hop and skip away, the
age - old Lavi fair fills Rampur with
a burst of activity. The town was once a
major entrepot on the old trade routes to Kinnaur, Tibet, Ladakh and Afghanistan. Even
today, the tradition is as vibrant as ever.
By the banks of the river Sutlej, a variety
of goods including wool, dry fruits and
horses are bartered or sold.
The Kharif crops have been harvested when at
the legendary Renuka lake, a fair graces its
banks. There is trade, recreation and
amusement. Idols of Lord Parshurama and
Renuka are ceremoniously dipped in the
sacred waters of the lake - and it is a time
when a lot of matchmaking is done.
Water Sports Competitions are held on the
Pong Dam and Gobindsagar.
December
As winter arrives, anglers shift to the Pong
Dam. With the blessings of Nobel Laureate,
His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the International
Himalayan Festival is held in Kangra
district. Troupes from the Himalayan nations
marks their presence in the festival.
In their icy wake, the winter winds carry
all the delights of ice-skating at Shimla.
The extravaganza of the Ice - Skating
Carnival is normally reserved for
December. Christmas celebrations overtake
Shimla and Dalhousie and as the church bells
chime, they carry away another event -
packed year.
To visit the traditional fairs or to
participate in the festivals, do confirm the
dates as they may vary from year to year.
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