Festivals of Assam

Festivals of Assam

Assam is a land of fairs and festivals. Most of the festivals celebrated in Assam characterize the spirit of accommodation and togetherness in the diverse faith and belief of her inhabitants. This perfect fusion of heritage of her numerous races has made Assam the home of the most colorful festivals reflecting the true spirit, tradition and lifestlye of the people of Assam.

The major festivals celebrated in Assam are Bihu, Baishagu, Ali-Ai-Ligang, Baikho, Rongker, Rajini Gabra Harni Gabra, Bohaggiyo Bishu, Ambubashi Mela and Jonbill Mela and so on. The people of Assam also celebrate Holi, Durga Puja, Diwali, Swaraswati Puja, Lakshmi Puja, Kali Puja, Idd, Muharram, Me-Dam-Me-Phi, the birth and death anniversaries of Vaishnava Saints Srimanta Sankardev and Madhabdev. The tribals of Assam have their own colourful festivals like the Kherai Puja of the Bodos, the Baikhu and Pharkantis of the Rabhas, Ali-ai-ligang and Parag of the Mishing tribe, the Sagra-misawa wansawa and laghun of the Tiwas.

Bihu

Bihu is a set of three important Assamese festivals in the Indian state of Assam, Rongali or Bohag Bihu observed in April, Kongali or Kati Bihu observed in October, and Bhogali or Magh Bihu observed in January. The Rongali Bihu is the most important of the three, celebrating spring festival. The Bhogali Bihu or the Magh Bihu is a harvest festival, with community feasts. The Kongali Bihu or the Kati Bihu is the sombre, thrifty one reflecting a season of short supplies and is an animistic festival.

Bwisagu

Bwisagu or Baisagu is one of the most popular seasonal festival of the Bodos of Assam. In Assamese language it is called as Bihu. The Bodos call this popular festival as Baisagu, which means the start of the new year. Baisagu is a Boro word which originated from the word "Baisa" which is another word for Bishu/Bihu(similar to Di-Dai meaning water), ang "Agu" that means starting or start. Hence, Baisagu, the starting time of the year or age. This Baisagu festival is observed at the starting part of the first month of the Assamese year.

Ali-Aye-Ligang

Ali-Aye-Ligang is a spring festival associated with agriculture, specially with the beginning of the Ahu paddy cultivation. It is celebrated by the Mising or Mishing an indigenous tribe of Assam, India. The festival marks onset of sowing seeds. The name of the festival is made up of three terms, 'Ali', legumes, 'Aye', seed and 'Ligang', to sow.

Rongker 

Rongker is an annual winter time festival of merriment observed by the Karbis of Assam. It is observed in order to appease the local deities, associated with the welfare of the village and their harvest, and also to get rid of all evil happenings.

Panhala Fort: Kolhapur

Panhala or Panhalgarh, about 19kms north-west of Kolhapur, is possibly the largest and most important fort of the Deccan. Roughly triangular in shape, the hill fort stands at a height of about 850 metres and has a circumference of approximately 7.25kms. Half of its length is protected by a natural scarp reinforced by a parapet wall and the remaining half is surrounded by a strong stone wall strengthened with bastions. The fort had three magnificent double walled gates, out of which two have survived. The Teen Darwaza to the west is an imposing and powerful structure. There are a number of ruined monuments in the fort. The most impressive among them are the three huge granaries. The largest among them, the Ganga Kothi, cover nearly 950 sq m space and 10.7 metres high. In the north-east corner there is a double story building, called Sajja Kothi, where Shivaji had imprisoned his errant son, Sambhaji.

Panhala was the capital of the Shilahara king Bhoja II during 1178-1209 Ad. It was successively held by the Yadava and Bahamani Kings. In 1489 AD, the fort and the territory was taken over by the Adil Shahi dynasty of Bijapur. Shivaji seized the fort in 1659 AD. It was from here that Shivaji, when encircled by the forces of Siddi Johar, escaped one rainy night to Vishalgarh. Later, the fort remained with the Marathas, except for a short period in between, when it went to the Mughals. The fort remained with the Kolhapur State till India achieved independence.

The famous Marathi poet Moropanta (1729-94Ad) was bron and brought up at Panhala. There is also the Samadhi of Ramachandra Amatya, the author of Ajnapatra, an important work on statecraft, including for construction. Today, Panhala is a sort of hill station and provides all the necessary facilities for tourists.

Srirangapatnam Fort : Srirangapatnam

One of the prime attractions in Mysore, Karnataka is the famous Srirangapatnam fort. Built in the year 1537 by a feudal lord, this magnificent fort is considered to be the second toughest fort of India. The Srirangapatna Fort has four main entrances known by the names of Delhi, Bangalore, Mysore and Water and Elephant gates. The fort has a double wall defense system, which is what makes it impenetrable. The legendary Tipu Sultan's residence was inside this fort. Hence, it is also known as Tipu Sultan Fort.

Tipu Sultan was known as the Mysore Tiger since he fought the British forces here with true courage and valor. It is here that he breathed his last while fighting the British forces in Mysore during the 18th century. The credit of keeping the British away from southern India truly goes to Tipu Sultan and his father who was another courageous leader, Hyder Ali. The fort is located on an island in midst of River Cauvery. The landscape surrounding the fort is very serene and beautiful and is a must visit if you are traveling to Karnataka.

The architectural style of the fort is supposed to be Indo-Islamic and there is a Persian inscription on the gateway that announces its date of construction. There are two dungeons in the lower chambers of the fort that were used to imprison captured British officers. It is also said that Buddha visited and stayed on one of the islands near Srirangapatnam. A temple dedicated to Lord Sriranganatha is also situated over here that is yet another important landmark and tourist attraction.

Chittaurgarh Fort : Chittaurgarh

Chittorgarh, also called Chittaur, from the 7th century to the 16th, was the capital of Mewar under the Rajputs. Chittaur evokes memories of great heroism and sacrifice by Rajput men and women in the intermittent battles that they had to fight against invaders from Northwest or Delhi. Chittaur witnessed both the ravages of war and the triumphs of the spirit. Allaudin Khilji who coveted Queen Padmini of Chittaur, invaded the city in 1303 A.D. Queen Padmini and the women of the court sacrificed themselves in a pyre of fire rather than submit to anybody. This supreme sacrifice has been called 'Jauhar' and epitomises the fiery spirit of the Rajputs of the day. The city stands strewn with monuments and battlements as evidence of the blood and gore that it went through in medieval times.

The Chittaur Fort is the best known fort in Rajasthan. Its origins are traced to the Pandavas of Mahabharata. It is said that Bhima, one of the Pandava brothers, built the fort. Standing on 180 meters high hill, the fort covers an area of 700 Acres. Inside it is the Meera and Khumba Shyam Temple. It is associated with Meera, a mystic poetess devoted to Lord Krishna whose life and bhajans have become part of the folklore and literary traditions of the region and several parts of India.

Chittorgarh (Chittaurgarh) is the epitome of Rajput pride, romance and spirit. It reverberates with history of heroism and sacrifice, which is evident as it echoes with the tales sung by the Bards of Rajasthan. The main reason for visiting Chittorgarh is its massive hilltop fort, which is a depiction of Rajput culture and values.

The fort of Chittor is regarded as one of the most outstanding forts of the country and is indeed the "Pride of Rajasthan State". The formidable fort is perched atop a 180 meter high hillock covering a massive area of 700 acres and is a standing sentinel to the courage and valour of Chittorgarh. It is belived that the fort was build by the Mauryans in 7th century and further strucres were added to it by the successive Mewar rulers.

The one mile long serpentine road to the fort is quite steep and exhastive. The fort is approached through seven huge gateways or ´pols´, which are guarded by watch tower and massive iron spiked doors.

Kangra Fort : Kangra

The Fort, occupying a long strip of land is enclosed with high rampart and the walls cover a circuit of about four kilometres. The main entrance gate is called the Ranjit Singh Gate which is followed by a narrow path leading to Jahangir gate, through the Ahani and Amiri Darwaza, both attributed to Nawab Alif Khan, the first Mughal Governor of Kangra. Thereafter is the Andheri Darwaza from where the path is forked into two directions. The path to the left, through Darsani Darwaza, leads to the portion containing the Laxminarayan temple, datable to Circa ninth-tenth century AD and shrines of Sitala and Ambika Devi. To the north between the two last mentioned buildings is a staircase led up to the palace, known as Shish Mahal and further beyond to the south-west is the polygonal watch tower overlooking the valley. The other path leads to the portion containing the mihrab of a mosque built in Jahangir's time, the Kapoor Sagar tank and other structures.

The most valuable monuments in the Kangra Fort are the so-called temples of Laxminarayan and Sitala, two square chambers profusely decorated with carvings. The ceilings of the Laxminarayan temple is remarkable for its elaborate decoration: The destruction of these two temples is due to earthquake and is perhaps great loss of an irreparable nature. The temple of Ambika Devi, still used for worship is much plainer structure evidently of no great age. The only ancient portion seams to be the pillars and architraves of the mandapa covered by a flat dome. To the south of the Ambika Devi temple are two small Jaina shrines facing west, one of them contains a plain pedestal and in the other is placed a seated image of Adinath, with partly obliterated inscription dated Samvat 1523 i.e.AD 1466 in the reign of Katoch Raja, Sansar Chand I.

The clearance and conservation work brought to light number of loose sculptures and architectural members of the monument which have been kept in a sculpture shed. The important ones, six in numbers have been exhibited in the Himachal State Museum, Shimla. There is a proposal to exhibit the remaining loose sculptures and architectural members by renovating and reconditioning the' existing portions of the monument.

Red Fort : Agra

The majestic Agra fort was built by the great Mughal emperor, Akbar in 1565-75. The Agra fort contains numerous impressive structures like the Jahangir Mahal, Khas Mahal, Diwan-i-Khass, Diwan-i-Am, Machchhi Bhawan and Moti Masjid. The Agra fort is enclosed by a double battlemented massive wall of red sandstone. This wall is about 2 km in perimeter and is interrupted by graceful curves and lofty bastions. Many of the buildings inside the Taj Mahal were pulled down by Shah Jahan, who erected some new ones. The Agra fort has four gates, of which the Delhi Gate is the most impressive.

The fort of Agra stands about 2 km from the Taj Mahal on the same bank of River Yamuna. The Agra fort stretches for almost 2.5 km. At present the visitors are allowed to enter the Agra fort from the Amar Singh Gate. The Amar Singh Gate leads to the courtyard. The magnificent Diwan-I-Am (Hall of Public Audience) is on the right side. A little further lay the royal pavilions (containing Nagina Masjid and Mina Masjid), palaces (Macchi Bhavan, Khas Mahal, Shish Mahal, Shah Jahani Mahal) and the Zenana Mina Bazaar. It is interesting to note that to rooms cool, the walls were made hollow and filled with running water. A very nice view of the Taj Mahal can be had from the balconies in the pavilions.

Shah Jahan was imprisoned in the Agra fort by his son Aurangzeb. Shah Jahan spent his last days in the Musamman Burj of the Agra fort. The Musamman Burj is located on the left of the Khaas Mahal. It is a beautiful octagonal tower with an open pavilion. With its openness, elevation and the benefit of cool evening breezes flowing in off the Yamuna River. From the Musamman Burj one has the best view of the Taj Mahal.