Punjab - Art, Culture & Heritage @ whatisindia.com

Fairs And Festivals
The Gay and vivacious Punjabi's are very fond of fairs and festivals and almost every fortnight there is a fair or a festival in one part of the state or the other. People come to participate in such functions from far-off places, trudging dusty distances. Many a fair is held in memory of a saint or a pir, and people from all communities living in a village participate in it. Men, women and children of all ages, classes and creeds flock in hundreds and enjoy the numerous fascinating features of the fair : races, singing, wrestling bouts, acrobatics etc. They play on folk instruments, such as Vanjli and Algoza. To a lover of culture, a Punjabi fair is an aesthetic treat. In the life of a Punjabi, fair and festivals are always an occasion to wear new clothes. Both old and young come out in their multi-colored and smartest best. Some enthusiasts color and brush up even their cattle and take them along.

FAIRS
An average fair is enchantingly picturesque. A bustling market springs up, in which articles of food and products of local handicrafts-toys, glass bangles and an assortment of all kinds of articles for domestic use-are on display. A greater accent is, however, always on the toy shops where photographs and clay models of Rama and Sita, of Hanuman flying with the life giving herb, of Lord Krishna and his Gopis, and of Lord Siva with his trident and snakes are well displayed. The whole mythology seems to be depicted in toys. Women can be seen excitedly haggling for trinkets. There is fun and frolic all round. The old as well as the young run to the swings and swing to their heart's content. The gay ones in small groups sing Bolian and perform folk dances to the strain of the Vanijli and Algoza. The sturdy ones test their strength in wrestling fields. It is a feast of color and gaiety and fully reflects the joy of the community.

The fairs of the Punjab are linked with its culture and reflect by and large, the various phases of its life. Some of the distinct Punjabi traits are depicted in them. They may be divided into the following types: i) Seasonal fairs ii) Mythical fairs iii) Fairs held in honor of saints iv) Fairs connected with festivals.

Basant Panchami
Basant Panchami is the most famous of the seasonal fairs. It heralds the advent of spring. Fields of mustard present a unique and colorful sight all over rural Punjab which looks like a newly wedded damsel resplendent in her gorgeous golden yellow. There is a spirit of gay abandon in the air and the Punjabi is rightly infected with the spirit. His heart and soul become one with nature and he expresses his elevated spirit in song and dance. The Basant fair is held in many villages of the Punjab. People put on yellow costumes appropriate to the season. One huge mass of mustard blossom seems walking down to the fair. Kite-flying was a popular entertainment of the people on this occasion. Often on the Basant Panchami day, if there was a good breeze, one could see nothing but innumerable multi-colored kites in the sky, swishing over in all directions.

Baisakhi
Baisakhi is a seasonal festival with a special accent. It is celebrated all over the state on the first of Baisakh. This is the time when harvest is gathered in and the farmer exults in the fulfillment of his year's hard work. He joins the merry-making with full gusto and does not mind walking for miles to be able to do so. Since this fair is also an expression of prosperity, singing and dancing constitute its most enchanting features. The Punjab's famous dances, Bhangra and Giddha are inextricably linked with this festival.

Many fairs in the Punjab are held near the tombs and shrines of Pirs. These fairs must have originated in a spirit of devotion to those saints and sages. People of all classes and creeds join in without any inhibition. The most famous such fairs are: the Chhapar fair, the Jarag fair and the Roshni fair of Jagranvan.

Chhapar Fair
This fair is held on Anand Chaudas, the 14th day of the bright half of Bhadon in honor of Gugga Pir. A big shrine known as 'Gugge di Marhi' has been built in his memory. The Pir was very popular in his time, and his disciples can be found all over the Punjab. He was a Chauhan Rajput and according to legend, he gently descended into the bosom of Mother Earth along with his steed, and never returned. He was believed to possess special power over all kinds of snakes. On the day this fair is held, villages scoop the earth seven times because they believe that in this way they invoke Gugga Pir to protect them against snakes. This shrine has a reputation for curing people of snake-bite. It is strongly believed that if a person is bitten by a snake, all that has to be done is to take him to the shrine and lay him beside it, he is then sure to be cured. This shrine was built in 1890. This fair provides occasion for folk songs and folk dances. Young people form themselves into groups and go about dancing and singing for hours. Some dancers don women's dress and perform Giddha for the sake of fun. The fair lasts for three days.

Jarag Fair
This fair is held in Jarag, a village in tehsil pail. It is held in Chet (March-April) in honor of the goddess Seetla. It is also known as the Baheria fair. Sweet gurgulas (jaggery cakes fried in oil) are prepared one day earlier and then given in offering to the goddess and thereafter to the donkey who is her favorite. After propitiating the goddess, the family members eat the remaining Savory gurgulas with great relish. This festival is observed in Malwa and Powad, but the fair is held only in Jarag. There is a pond where the devotees of Seetla gather. They scoop the earth and raise a small hillock which is accorded the status of the goddess's shrine. Potters specially bring their donkeys decked in colored blankets. Some even put bells or conch shells and beads round their necks. In many folksongs of the Punjab, there is a reference to the fair of Jarag.

Roshni Fair
The Roshni (lights) Fair is held in Jagranvan from the 14th to the 16th of Phalgun in honor of the Muslim Pir, Abdul Kader Jalani. It is held in the vicinity of his tomb. Although it is a Muslim fair in origin, the Hindus of the area also flock to the site of this shrine. It is called the 'fair of lights' because innumerable devotees who come to visit the place light earthen lamps at the shrine of the Pir. The lights are visible from long distances. It is believed that whatever wish one sincerely makes, at the shrine of this Pir is granted. Young people sing Bolian and perform dances, thus adding to the gaiety and glamour of the fair. It is sheer delight to villagers performing dances and singing songs to the sweet strains of the flute and the one-stringed instrument called Toomba.

Some fairs are held at places associated with the lives of some Sikh Gurus, such as the Masya fair in Taran Taran, and the Muktsar fair in Ferozepur. Small fairs are periodically held here and there all over the Punjab. In Phalgun a fair in memory of Guru Nanak is held on the full-moon night at Dera Baba Nanak. At Jindwal (Navanshehar), a fair is held near a pond on Baisakhi day, at a spot where once Shri Guru Hargobind is believed to have sat. At Nanaksar in Hakeempur (Navanshehar), a fair is held at the place where the seventh Guru, Guru Harirai, stayed for some time.

Muktsar fair
The Muktsar fair is one of the largest Sikh fairs held in Punjab. The fair is held in the middle of January on the Makar Sankranti day. The festival is in commemoration of a battle fought in 1705-1706 by Guru Gobind Singh against the pursuing imperial forces which overtook him here and cut his followers to pieces. The Guru himself escaped and had the bodies of his followers disposed of with the usual rites. He declared that they had all obtained mukti and promised the same blessing to all his followers, who should thereafter, on the anniversary of that day, bathe in the Holy pool which had been filled by rain from heaven in answer to his prayer for water. On this spot a fine tank was afterwards dug by Maharaja Ranjit Singh and called Muktsar (the pool of Salvation).

It is one of the great Sikh festivals, and lasts three days. On the first day the worshippers bathe is the sacred tank. On the second day the people go in a procession (mohalla) to the three holy mounds which lie to the north-west of the town, namely, Rikab Sahib, Tibbi Sahib and Mukhwanjana Sahib. The Rikab Sahib, a mound formed out of the handfuls of earth taken from the tank by the faithful and thrown there, commemorates the spot where the Guru's stirrup broke. The procession goes up the slope to the Tibbi Sahib which, crowned with a Gurudwara, is the mound where Guru Gobind Singh stood and aimed his arrows at the imperial forces. The devotes then proceed to the Mukhwanjana Sahib where the Guru is said to have cleaned his teeth with a tooth-stick. Prayers are offered here and the devotes then return. This mound has been built in the same way as the Rikab Sahib. On their return trip people visit the Tambu Sahib where the Guru's tent was pitched before the fight started, the Shahid Ganj, which is the Samadhi of the forty martyrs and the Darbar Sahib, where the Guru held his Darbar after the cremation of the slain.

Other Fairs
Another big fair is held for four days every year in Malerkotla at the shrine of Haider Sheikh. It is largely attended. It is believed that if childless women visit the shrine and offers rots (large sweet cakes) specially cooked, they will be blessed with child.

There are various other small fairs which are similarly held in memory of Saints and Sages. On the 14th of Chet, a fair is held in Dhesian Sang (Philaur) at the shrine and in honor of Baba Sang. Another fair is held at the tomb of Khwaja Roshan in Har on every first Thursday after the new moon. In Nakodar, a Hindu-Muslim fair is held at village Kara at the shrine of Mir Shah Husain, who, according to legend, lived about five hundred years ago. At Khatkar Kalan (Navanshehar), a fair is held on Baisakhi day in memory of Baba Jawahar Singh. Another fair, Shiv Chaudas, is held at Paddi Matwali (Navanshehar ) on the 14th of Chet on the bank of the river Bein. In March, at Nathana (Ferozepur) a fair is held in honor of a Hindu Saint, Kalu. He is said to have dug a large pond in one scoop and deposited the dug-up earth in a closely heap which now forms the object of popular veneration.

FESTIVAL
Festivals constitute a special feature in the cultural life of the Punjabi's. There is seldom a month without a festival. Small festivals are numerous. The festivals connected with the lunar days such as Ekadashi (eleventh lunar day), Poornamashi (full moon), and Masya (new moon) occur every month. Similarly, Sankranti, when the sun enters the new Zodiac sign, is celebrated on the first of every month of the Vikrami era with great gusto. It is also an occasion to prepare and eat the nicest of foods. On festival days people get up early in the morning and have a bath, because religious traditions attach great ceremonial importance to bathing. Water is regarded as a purifying agent, and a clean body, it is believed, harbors and nourishes a pure soul. Women don their best dresses and wear jewellery. It is also an occasion when a lot of fuss is made about sending gifts to the daughters of the family.

In the Punjab, where the Vikrami era is followed, the year begins with Chet (March-April). On the first of this month the arrival of the new year is celebrated by the performance of a ritual of taking the new corn, known as Ann Nawan Karna. Sheaf's of new Corn are roasted and then the parched grain is eaten. Everyone must have a bath on the new year day, and put on new clothes. Delicacies like kheer and halwa are prepared and eaten.

The Sankranti of Baisakh, the second month of the year, is an important day, and is celebrated in much the same way, only with an added accent on eating, drinking and merry-making, which are counter-balanced by charity and fasting. Baiskakhi is one of the most popular festivals of the Punjab with fairs held at various places.

Nirjala Ekadashi
On the eleventh day of the bright half of Jeth (May-June) falls Nirjala Ekadashi, which is better known in the Punjab as Nimani Kasti. Hindus, especially women observe fast on this day and smear the body with powdered sandal wood. This fast is very hard to keep because for the whole day one has to abstain even from water. Charitably inclined people put up stalls for free distribution of sweetened and chilled water. The stalls known as chhabils, are a common sight on this day.

Teeyan
Teeyan, a festival of the rainy season, is celebrated on the 3rd of the bright fortnight of Sawan (July-August). The four months from Harh (June-July) to the first half of Assu (September) are called Chaumasa. During this period the sky generally remains overcast and the weather shifts between sultriness and rainfall. Rains bring the longed-for relief to the heat-stricken Punjabis, and the rhythm of the little and big drops of rain instills in them the enthusiasm which must seek expression in fun and frolic. A newly-married girl looks forward to the rainy days when a brother or some other male relative from the parental home may come to escort her to her father's place. This reversal from bride hood to being just a daughter again is such a liberating and thrilling experience that it cannot be put into words. One day before the Teeyan, girls apply henna to their hands and feet, and on the day of the festival they put on their best clothes and go out to the fair. The fair resounds with the songs of love and the rhythm of dance. The songs are known as Teeyan songs. The Giddha dance has become a regular and most enchanting feature of this festival. At home women make kheer, a dish specially associated with Sawan.

Rakhi festival
In Bhadon, on the day of the full moon, the Rakhi festival is celebrated. On this day sisters tie the multi-colored thread on the right wrist of their brothers. So long as a sister has not tied the Rakhi to her brother, she is not supposed to eat anything. After she has done so she offers some sweets to her brother and he in return gives her some gift or money. Rakhi is meant to remained the brother of his promise to protect his sister whenever she needs this protection.

Gugga Naumi
Gugga Naumi, which is a festival in honor of Gugga Pir, also falls in Bhadon. The Pir's devotees paint his image on the wall in turmeric, as also paint a snake in black, right in front of it and then perform the ritual of worship. People also pour butter milk into the holes of snakes. Sweet Sevian is the special dish of the festival. The Halbagis, who are devout followers of Gugga Pir, also known as Zahir Pir, erect a long pole covered with flags, colored cloth, coconuts etc and render worship to it as to a god. The devotees carry the Pir's stand from house and beg. The disciple who carries the standard is known as the Pir's house. To propitiate Gugga Pir women sing songs in his admiration.

The fifteen lunar days of the dark half of the moon in Assu are the Shradh days when the dead are propitiated. People observe this rite out of moral obligation and gratitude to the manes. Brahmins are fed on the particular ancestor died. During these days nothing auspicious is celebrated. The Shradhs are followed by the Nauratas (Navaratras), which regarded auspicious for celebration on the first of the mix days barley is sown in the house. This is called Khetri, or goddess Gorjas farm. This little farm is watered and nurtured regularly till the eighth or ninth day. On that day goddess Gorja, in the form of seedlings, is covered with a piece of red cloth and worshipped and propitiated. Hindu women observe a fast during the Nauratas, though esculent roots like potates, and cakes made from the water-chestnut (sandhara) flour are allowed despite the fast. On the Dussehra day women cut the young shoots of Khetri and tick them in the headwears of their male relatives, and invariably get gifts in return. The festival of goddess Sanjhi is also celebrated during the Nauratas. On the first day an image of the goddess is made from mixing mud and cow dung and is then placed along a wall on a door. Every evening during the Nauratas the image is worshipped, incantations are muttered and an offering of a mixture of rice and sugar (tilcholi) is distributed. On the day of Dussehra this image is immersed in water.

Dussehra festival
The Dussehra festival is celebrated in a big way. Big tall effigies of Ravana, Kumbkharna and Meghnad are burnt at a large number of places. During the Nauratas Ram-Lila is is organised at innumerable places in the state. On Kartik on the fourth day falls Karva Chauth. On this day married women observe a fast and pray for the long life of their husbands. Sometimes unmarried girls observe this fast and pray for their husbands-to-be. This is the mother-in-laws day because it is customary on this day for the daughter-in-law to present her offerings (Baya) in the form of money and eatables. On the eleventh lunar day in this month the festival of Devuthan (waking up the deities) is celebrated. Metal plates are taken in order to awaken the deities who are supposed to go to sleep between the summer harvest and the first ploughing after the start of the autumnal rains.

Diwali
The most important festival in the month of Kartik is Diwali. Eearthen lamps or candles are lighted over buildings all over the state. People celebrate the festival with great gusto. Houses are white-washed, new clothes are purchased and sweets of all kinds are prepared. People worship Goddess Lakshmi with an offering of sweets and silver coins. Thereafter they distribute sweets among friends and relatives. It is believed that on this night Goddess Lakshmi in the company of Vidmata (goddess of fate) takes a round of every and wherever she takes a fancy, she bestows immense prosperity. In the Golden Temple of Amristar, Diwali is celebrated with great eclat. Earthen lamps are lighted all round the hold tank and their undulating reflections in the water look extremely fascinating.

Lohri
14th January Lohri which comes on is another popular festival of Punjab. A few days before it arrives, youngsters get together in groups and go round their localities singing folk-songs connected with Lohri and collecting fuel and money for the bonfire. This is a special day for making offerings to fire. When fire is lit up in the evening, orthodox men and women go round it, pour offerings into it and bow before it in reverence. The first Lohri for a new bride or a new-born baby is celebrated enthusiastically and sweets are distributed.

Maghi
Next day after Lohri comes Maghi. It is a popular festival of the Punjabis. On this day fairs are held at many places, people go out for a holy dip and give away a lot in charity. The special dish of the day is kheer cooked in sugarcane juice. The most colorful and hilarious of all the festivals which are celebrated in the Punjab is Holi which is celebrated on the full-moon day of Phagun. A big fair known as Hola Mahala is held at Anandpur on the next day after Holi. Villagers come from far-off places to join it. Some festivals are held in the Punjab in honor of the Sikh Gurus. These are called Gurupureabs. They are well spread over the year. There are three important Gurupurabs. On the full moon of Karthik the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak is celebrated by the devotees with great ardor. Two days earlier a non-stop reading of the Adi Granth is started. At different places religious congregations are held and hymns from the Granth Sahib are chanted . large processions are taken out through the towns. At night buildings are illuminated. The birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh is also celebrated in a similar manner. The third important Gurupurab is the one associated with the martyrdom of Guru Arjun Dev.

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