Maharashtra - Art, Culture, Heritage @ whatisindia.com

The Maharashtrians are a vibrant, earthy people for whom life itself is a celebration. Small wonder then that all festivals in Maharashtra are celebrated with abundant fervor and enthusiasm. These times provide a unique opportunity to absorb Maharashtrian culture, with all its colorful customs, rituals and traditions. The song, music and dance that accompany almost every festive occasion add joy and excitement to the lives of the people from every walk of life. These festivals attract world-renowned artistes - musicians, dancers, painters, sculptors, weavers - who come together to pay tribute to Maharashtra's rich culture and legacy.

The Maharashtrians are a hearty, festive people. The love for celebration is deeply ingrained in their culture and it finds expression through the various occasions on the Maharashtrian calendar. There is festivity all round the year and people cherish the good times with music, dance and delectable food.

Ganesh Chaturthi
Lord Ganesh, the patron deity of Maharashtra, is the God of wisdom. Come August, preparations to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi - the auspicious day when Lord Ganesh was born - begin with great enthusiasm all over the state. The 11-day festival begins with the installation of beautifully sculpted Ganesh idols in homes and mandaps (large tents), colorfully decorated, depicting religious themes or current events. The Ganesh idols are worshipped with families and friends. Many cultural events are organized and people participate in them with keen interest. After ten exciting days comes the time to bid farewell to the beloved God. People take Ganesh idols in procession to the accompaniment of music and dance for immersion in the sea or nearby river or lake. Emotions run high as people chant 'Ganpati bappa moraya, pudhachya varshi lavkar ya' (Oh Lord Ganesh, please come back soon next year).

Pune Festival
The Pune Festival is a celebration of art and culture, song and dance, custom and tradition. Originally conceived as a localized cultural event, it has evolved into one of the few festivals that has been actively promoted abroad by the government of India, as a major tourist attraction. While Pune Festival has provided a unique platform for exponents of classical music and dance, keeping pace with changing times, it has also helped to promote modern trends in the performing arts, notably the dramatic arts and the traditional art of rangoli. The week-long Pune Festival provides a feast of entertainment for visitors who can participate in traditional and modern sports events, shop for exquisite textiles and handicrafts and rejoice in the colorful customs of Maharashtra.

The Banganga Festival
Legend has it that Lord Ram, on his way to Lanka in search of his wife Sita, stopped on the hillock of Malabar Hill. His followers were worshippers of Shiva and they fashioned a shivalinga from sand and called it Walluka Ishwar - 'walluka' meaning 'sand' and 'Ishwar', 'the God'. Though surrounded by water, the people could not find fresh water to quench their thirst or perform daily puja. Seeing this, Ram shot a ban (arrow) into the ground and the fresh waters of the holy Ganga sprang from that spot. Centuries later, the Shilahara kings built a large and beautiful tank in stone, to store the water of the Banganga. Settlers through the ages built numerous, beautifully sculpted temples to various deities around the tank. Every year, in January, a cultural extravaganza is organized at Banganga, where top artistes from around the country perform live classical music concerts. Cultural enthusiasts attend the festival and feast the soul as well as the mind as the sun sets.

The Ellora Festival
There was a time when the Gods grew bored in their celestial abode. They asked the Lord if they could visit the earth. That evening, He said they could, but on condition that they returned by dawn. The Gods set up a city at the place they fancied and, lost in their pleasures, they let time pass by. Since they failed to return by dawn, they were turned to stone - in the magnificent monolith called Ellora, the heavenly abode of the Gods on earth. MTDC organizes the Ellora Festival here in December, inviting in renowned artistes who display their virtuosity in music and dance. Surrounded by 1,400-year old caves and rock carvings, artistes perform in this magnificent ambiance to enchant the gods, goddesses and human lovers of art. The Kailas temple, sculptured out of one huge rock, is one of the most beautiful backdrops for an event such as this.

Nariyal Poornima (Aug)
Nariel Purnima or coconut day in August is a festival to honor the sea god Varuna and it marks the end of the monsoons and is celebrated by Maharashtra's fisher folk. Boats are painted, little oil lamps lit and set afloat amidst the waves and carried in the boats, and coconut are broken against their bows as an offering to the Sea God and the seas are set afloat with garlands of flowers as the new fishing season begins.

The Kalidas Festival at Nagpur
Kalidas was a great Sanskrit poet and dramatist, famous for his historical drama, Shakuntalam, and for the epic poem, Meghdoot. The Kalidas Festival brings back memories of the golden period of the Vidarbha region. Ramgiri, or Ramtek as it is popularly known today, is the place that inspired Kalidas and its beauty features predominantly in his literary work. Every year, in November, some of the greatest exponents of music, dance and drama perform in the picturesque setting of Ramtek, celebrating its glorious heritage over two exciting days and nights.

The Elephanta Festival
In February Elephanta, a small island near Mumbai, is a favored destination for culture lovers. It is the site of the Elephanta Festival, the tranquil abode of Lord Shiva, just one-and-a-half-hour's journey by motor launch from Mumbai. Once known as Puri or Gharapuri, the island was the proud capital of a powerful coastal kingdom. It was named Elephanta by the Portuguese, who took possession of it several centuries later, and found a monolithic stone elephant at the place they first landed. The Elephanta caves are a showcase of legends created around Lord Shiva, beautifully presented here in all his splendor in the rock cave temples. Every year, renowned dancers and musicians perform outside the caves, beneath a star-studded sky, to a select and appreciative audience. Special launch services and catering arrangements are provided for visitors.

Diwali
Diwali or Deepawali means a row of lights. The most beautiful of all Indian festivals, Diwali is a celebration of lights. Streets are illuminated with rows of clay lamps and homes are decorated with rangoli (colored powder designs) and aakash kandils (decorative lanterns of different shapes and sizes). People rise at dawn, massage their bodies and hair with scented oil and take a holy bath. Diwali is celebrated with new clothes, spectacular firecrackers and a variety of sweets in the company of family and friends. Dhanatrayodashi; Narakchaturdashi, Amavasya (Laxmi poojan), Balipratipada and Yamadvitiya (Bhaubeej) are the five days which comprise Diwali, and each day has a peculiar religious significance. This joyous celebration is, on the whole, symbolic of dispelling the darkness of misery and bringing the light of prosperity and happiness into human life.

Holi (March)
Holi is celebrated on the day after the full moon in early March every year. Originally a festival to celebrate good harvests and fertility of the land, Holi has several traditional links with legends. It is also a celebration of the triumph of good over evil. Holi announces the arrival of spring and the passing of winter. Young and old alike are drenched with colors. People in small groups are seen singing, dancing and throwing colors on each other. Men, women and children all participate in this merry making.

Dussehra
According to the great Hindu epic Ramayan, Dussehra is the day on which Lord Ram killed Ravan, the evil king of Lanka. It is considered as a shubh-muharat - a very auspicious day - to start a new venture. It is a symbol of the victory of good over evil. People decorate the entrances of their homes with torans, flower studded strings, and worship the tools of trade, vehicles, machinery, weapons and even books. As the evening falls, the villagers cross the border, a ritual known as Simollanghan, and worship the Shami tree. The leaves of the Apta tree are collected and exchanged among friends and relatives as gold.

Reference:
http://www.indtravel.com/

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