Fair and Festivals of Jammu & Kashmir – PDF

                    Fairs and Festivals

The most commonly  in Jammu and Kashmir are Lohri, Baisakhi, Bahu mela, the Jhiri mela, the Manasar food and craft mela, Chaitre Chaudas mela and Purmandal mela. The Navratas and celebrated with festivities all over the state, but a special melaa is held at the Kheer Bhawani temple in the Tull Mulla village. The Jhiri mela is held annually in the memory of a poor farmer, who according to popular belief, committed suicide to protest against the unfair demands of his landlord. 

The Purmandal mela is held at Purmandal that is located at a distance of 39 km from Jammu. This fair has a special significance as ait is celebrated on the  occasion of Maha Shivratri. The Hemis festival is a religious fair that is held at the Hemis Gompa located in Ladakh. The Sindhu Darshan festival is celebrated in Honour of the river Indus,  locally known as the Sindhu river. Ladakh festival, Galdan Nomachot, Losar, Phyang Tse-dup, Sachukul Gustor and Yuru Kabgyaat are some other important festivals celebrated in Ladakh. The Chaitra Chaudas mela is  held during the months of March-April at Uttar Behni, a village located at a distance of 25 km from Jammu. Apart from these Urs,  Shab-e-Barat and Muharram are also celebrated with festivities in the state.

             Important Fairs and Festivals

Hemis

The courtyard of Hemis Gompa-the biggest Buddhist Monastery in Ladakh, is the place for the famous Hemis festival that celebrates the birth anniversary of Guru Padmasambhava. The colourful two-day pageant falls on the 10the day (Tse-Chu) of the Tibetan lunar month. The local people are seen dressed up in their finest traditionaal garb for the occasion. Lamas, called Chhams, perform splendid masked dances and sacred plays to the accompaniment of cymbals, drums and long horns. The head lama presides over the function. 

Hemis Monastery is the wealthiest, best-known and biggest gompa of Ladakh. Its popularity stemsfrom the major annual festival held here in summer. It also has the largest Thangkha In Ladakh, which is unfurled, once in twelve years. Hemis was built in 1630, during the region of Sengee Namgya, an illustrious ruler of Ladakh. It flpurished under the Namgyal dynasty for the royalty favoured the Drugpa sect, which manaaged the monastery. It is divided into two, the assembly  hall on the right and the main temple on the left. The hall Dukhang is also used as ‘green room’ by the dancers during the festival. The temple is known as Tshogkhang. The verandahs have a surfeit of frescoes, among them the Buddhist wheel of life (Kalachakra) and the lords of the four quarters, besides the prayer wheel. 

Jhiri Mela 

It is actually an annual fair held in Jammu during October-November. It symbolises courage, honesty and compassion and rejuvenates the mood of the people and offers them some amount of rest and relaxation  from the humdru of daily lives. There is a legend behind the Jhiri mela in Jammu. According to which, there was a local farmer, Baba Jitu, who was truthful and uncomplicated. He used to stay with his family at Jhiri, which was located 14 km from Jammu. Once the local landlord demanded that he should part with his crop. This was an injustice because Baba Jitu spent days on the fields to produce that rich yield. He could not accept the unfairness of the zamindar and committed suicide because there was no other option before him. Neither was there a police station nor was the king ready to listen to a mere peasant. So, the native peasant had to end his life. 

People of Jhir began to worship Baba Jitu because of his honesty and self respect. They started believing that his soul was eternal and needed to be worshipped . So every year the people of Jhiri celebrated the Jhiri mela during the end of October to commemorate the great sacrifice of the peasant.

Tihar

It is an interesting festival observed in Bhadarwah and Kishtwar in the months of Chaitra (March-April). Springs and baulis receive a spring-cleaning and this is followed on the next day by worship of nagas serpents), to whom rice and floral offerings are made. Samkrant or the beginning of a month (in Bikrami era) is regarded as a sacred day by Hindus. Women bathe in rivers and observe a day’s fast. 

Amarnath Yatra

It is virutally a paradise for the Hindus. There is no Hindu in the  world, who would not like to go on a tour to this consecrated place. There is a myth connected with the Amarnath Yatra. This saga begins with the intention of Lord Shiva to narrate  the secret of immortality to Goddess Parvati. To do so, he started on his journey to Amarnath and on his way left all he had to ensure that no one listened to the secret. He left his bull known as Nandi at Pahalgam. He also released the moon from his hair at chandanwari. Lord Shiva unconfined his snaked on the banks of the Lake Sheshnag and ultimately left his son ganesh at Mahagunas Parvat. He finally left  the five elements, namely Earth, air, water, fire and sky at Panjtarni. After his arrival at Amarnath, Lord Shiva seated himself on a deerskin and took his Samadhi so that no one could hear his secret. He created Rudra and Kalagni in order to eliminate all traces of life from the vicinity of the cave. But an eggs and it is said that those two pigeons became immortal because they heard the tale of immortality. Since,  the Himalayan pilgrimages are the oldest organised travel systems, numerous tourists visit Amarnath during Shivratri and also at other times of the year. It is a place spirituality and adventure. Those two pigeons are often seen by the visitors during their tour to Amarnath. Tour to visitors during their tour to Amarnath. Tour to Amarnath is a rigourous journey that requires courage and enthusiasm. The route to Amarnath consists of a journey over large mountainous regions and often for help there is a donkey or a horse at hand. But when the tourists go too high up the mountain then there is no aid and they are required to walk along with sticks in their hands. There is also a number of hot springs on the way.Hot springs inn the midst of such snowy terrain is an amazing natural occurrence.

Puramandal Mela

It is held at Purmandal that is located at a distance of 39 km from Jammu. This fair has a special significance as it is celebrated on the occassion of Maha Shivratri. This festival marks the wedding celebrations of Lord Shiv with the Goddess Parvati.

Kheer Bhawani

It is a major Hindu festival celebrated at the Kheer Bhawani temple. The temple is dedicated to Goddess Ragnya Devi and is located in the village of Tulla Mulla, at a distance of 27 km from Srinagar. The temple was originally built by Kashmir’s erstwhile King Maharaj Pratap Singh in AD 1912  and later renovated by Maharaja Hari Singh. The festival is celebrated on Jyestha Ashtami, the birthday of the Goddess Kheer Bhawani. This falls in June.

Mansar Food and Craft Mela.

The Mansar Food and Craft mela at Jammu, is an annual fair that is usually held during the month of Baisakh (April). The Mansar Food and Craft Mela has gained so much reputation that people from all over the world come to this fair in order to enjoy the splendid display of Indian arts and crafts. The Mansar Food and Craft mela is the effort of the Jammu and Kashmir Travel and Tourism section.

Baisakhi

The name Baisakhi was derived from Vaisakh, the first month of the Hindu calender. Normally, celebrated on 13th April, it is the harvest festival of Northern India an d is considered auspicious especially for marriages. Every year, devotees throng to the rivers, canals and ponds of their region to take a ritual dip. During this festival, numerous fairs are organised. It also marks the beginning of the  New year and holds special significance for the Sikhs of Jammu., On this day, their tenth Guru, Gobind Singhji formed the Khalsa sect in 1699. The sikhs, therefore, celebrate this festival as a collective birthday. Bhangra dance is generally performed as part of the celebrations.

Lohri

It is celebrated to welcome the spring with a special fervour in Jammu region, it is celebrated on 13th January, one day before Makar sankranti.Thousands of devotees take a holy dip in the holy river. Havans and Yaganas, the rites and rituals, are performed in nearly every house and temple in Jammu. In the rural areas, it is customary for the boys to go around asking for gifts from newly-weds and new parents. Chajja dance is performed on this occasion and the boys along with their elaborately decorated Chajjas with coloured paper flowers, dance in a procession on the street accompained by pulsating drumbeats.

Some other Fairs/Festivals

Eid-ul-Zuha: it is celebrated in the month of July. It commemorates Prophet Abraham, who agreed to sacrifice his son to God.

Eid-ul-Fitr : It is celebrated in the month of October/November. It marks the end of the fasting month of Ramazan. On this occasion, sweets are prepared and Muslims buy new clothes and pamper themselves with delicious feasts.

Bahu Mela : It is celebrated twice a year in March or April and September of October, it is a major festival held at the Kali temple in Bahu Fort of Jammu.

Chaitra Chaudas : It is celebrated usually in March or April, at Uttar Behni, which is about 25 km from Jammu.It is so called because in the Hindi language, it means that the Devak river flows here towards the North.