Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Karthika Purnima
Tomorrow is Kartik Purnima. It may not be as famous as Dussera, Deepavali but whole India celebrates Kartika Purnima. I find a special significance in the celebration of Kartik Purnima; most of the celebrations are in form of Mela (Fair) and two of them are biggest animal fair 1) Pushkar 2) Sonepur. May be because, traditionally by this period harvesting is over so the farmers have time and money for celebrations.
I am fascinated about the fairs of India; all round the year some place or other will be having some fair. The village fairs are really worth visiting. There are really riots of color.
But in this blog let me talk about some important festivities of Kartik Purnima.
For Sikhs it is one of the most important festivals. Guru Nanak’s Birthday is celebrated on this day. At Amritsar, the Golden Temple is lit up. All over the country Sikhs celebrate Guru Nanak Jayanthi, Guru Punima.
I am fascinated about the fairs of India; all round the year some place or other will be having some fair. The village fairs are really worth visiting. There are really riots of color.
But in this blog let me talk about some important festivities of Kartik Purnima.
For Sikhs it is one of the most important festivals. Guru Nanak’s Birthday is celebrated on this day. At Amritsar, the Golden Temple is lit up. All over the country Sikhs celebrate Guru Nanak Jayanthi, Guru Punima.
The most famous fair of Kartik Purnima must be the Pushkar camel fair. Pushkar is situated near Ajmer in Rajasthan. The only temple of Lord Brahma in this world is situated there. Due to promotion by tourism department and heavy inrush of foreigners the fair has lost it’s rustic charm. But when I visited the fair some 15 years ago it used to be a village affair. Villagers from all over Rajasthan used to bring their camels for trading. They used to camp there for a few days. Now a days the fair has become controversial with stories of cultural clash between the foreign tourists and locals.
Next is the Sonepur cattle fair of Bihar. It is said to be the world’s largest cattle fair. This fair has retained it rustic charm till date, may be like Laloo Prasad.
In Gujarat they celebrate at Shamlaji Melo, which is on the Ahmedabad-Delhi Road. The fair is very popular among all caste and communities including the tribals
For north Indians it is at Brajghat, Tigree and garh Muktheswar. The banks of river Ganges are thronged by lakhs of devotees for taking bath in ‘Gangamaiya’ Fairs spring up almost every place throughout the flow of the river.
In south India they celebrate as Karthigai Deepam, This is also called chhota Deepavali. They light small lamps and float them on water bodies. Actually whole of Karthika month is very important for Telugus, Tamils and Kannadigas. I am not sure about Malayalees. In this month Telugu people will conduct ‘Bana bhojanam’. Traditionally they will go outside and cook under a tamarind tree.
There is a similarity between Bengalese and Tamils. Bengalese celebrate with Kartik Puja – i.e. Worshipping Lord kartikeya, where as the Tamils worship Lord Muruga, as Lord Kartikeya is know in Tamilnadu. I am sure that other parts of India must be celebrating Karthik Purnima in some form or other, which I am yet to visit.
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