Spring is here! And rural India is getting ready to celebrate the blooming season with festivities that reflect each region’s cultural richness. These are some of the most vibrant festivals you can enjoy this March.
With the winter chill gone and the blooming season setting in, rural India is gearing up for a host of festivities to celebrate the onset of spring. For city folks, March is a good time to break away from the humdrum of daily life and venture into the countryside to experience India’s most culturally rich festivals celebrated in authentic rural style.
To get you started, here’s a list of some of rural India’s most lively festivals that you can be a part of in March.
A grand celebration held typically three days after Holi, the Kawant Mela of Gujarat is a spectacular display of Rathwa tribal culture. Clad in vibrant tribal attire, men and women of the Rathwa community join the gathering in large numbers to celebrate spring and the harvest season. They dance to the beats of traditional folk music, and also set up stalls to sell jewellery, handicrafts and a variety of other products which enlivens the fair.
Beginning on the day of Phalguna Dasami (the 10th day of the bright fortnight of the Phalguna month), Dola Jatra is a prominent six-day celebration in the rural areas of Odisha. It especially brings the holy town of Puri alive with festivities. The atmosphere is charged with spiritual vibes as a jubilant procession ensues where idols of deities, especially Lord Krishna, are taken door to door on a palanquin. At each halt, the deity is offered bhog (offering of food) by devotees. The procession is led by local musicians and singers whose melodious tunes on drums and pipes, and reverent bhajans (devotional songs) add to the gaiety.
The celebration culminates in a special swing festival for the deities. All the idols are assembled at a designated place called dola mandapa where swings are fixed on a platform. With devotional songs, the deities are made to swing. As per local belief, whoever gets a glimpse of Krishna is expiated of all sins.
Also Read: Sohrai: A tribal festival celebrating cattles and nature
This is an annual grand celebration for elephants held in Kollam district of Kerala. Adorned with jewellery and flowers, over 50 caparisoned elephants parade in a majestic procession as a tribute to the deity Sree Bhadrakali at the Kodimoottil Sree Bhagavathy Temple. It is also known as gajamela, the term being an amalgamation of the two words, gajam (elephant) and mela (fair).
One of the most widely celebrated festivals in Manipur, Yaoshang is a traditional festivity of the Meitei community of Manipur. Often called Manipur’s Holi, this five-day festival is a celebration of community spirit. Packed with music, dance and traditional rituals, Yaoshang brings together people of all ages as young children dressed in bright attire go door to door, seeking blessings of elders with presents of money. The practice is known as nakatheng. Another highlight of the festival is the Thabal Chongba – a spectacular traditional dance performed under moonlight. The energy of the youth is also visible during sports meets organised by local clubs, further adding to the celebratory atmosphere.
Established by Guru Gobind Singh, Hola Mohalla is often cited as a masculine form of Holi. It departs from traditional Holi celebrations, where the use of powdered colours is a staple, and serves as an occasion for the Sikh community to participate in simulated battles and demonstrate their martial skills. The first event of this kind took place in the early 1700s, supervised by Guru Gobind Singh himself at Anandpur Sahib. Thereupon originated this three-day-long Sikh festivity, usually celebrated a day after Holi. Today the Hola Mohalla festivities are marked by war drums, standard bearers and a devout procession that moves between gurudwaras.
Of course, a list of rural Indian festivities in March is not complete without Uttar Pradesh’s renowned Barsana Holi. Also known as Lathmar Holi, this celebration is a favourite among tourists and devotees alike. What makes it so special is the use of lathis (bamboo sticks), in addition to colours, to play Holi. Legend goes that Lord Krishna visited his beloved Radha’s village Barsana on the occasion of Holi and applied gulaal (powered colours) to her face. Offended by this gesture, elderly women drove him out of Barsana using lathis. The tradition of Barsana Holi serves as a recreation of this episode of Lord Krishna’s life. On this occasion every year, men from Krishna’s village, Nandgaon, visit Barsana where they are greeted with not just colours but also lathis. Amid the chants of ‘Shri Krishna’ and ‘Shri Radhey’, one experiences the pious spirit of the region in a rather euphoric fashion surrounded by dance, music and fistfulls of gulaal.
The lead image at the top shows rathva tribal man with painted face and in traditional dress participating in the annual tribal Holi festival at Kawant village near Vadodara (Photo from Shutterstock)
Aditi Sahoo is a second-year BA student at Lady Shri Ram College, New Delhi. Aditi is passionate about communication, writing and research.
