Celebrations of "Monsoon" in various regions of India


SIKKIM

Festival-Tharpu Monsoon

The festival is organized during monsoon season in Sikkim. August is the major month for the festivity at Tharpu in Western region of Sikkim. Tharpu festival attracts thousands of vacationers and even localites due to the special arrangements here. One can see various kinds of traditional stuff and arts in the festival.

ASSAM

Festival-Ambubachi Mela

It is the most important festival of Kamakhya temple of Guwahati and is held every year during monsoon (mid-June). It is a ritual of austerities celebrated with 'Tantric rites'. 

During Ambubachi the doors of the temple remain closed for three days. It is believed that the earth becomes impure for three days. During this time no farming work is undertaken. 

MEGHALAYA

Festival-Behdienkhlam

The Behdienkhlam Festival is celebrated by the Pnars as a form of homage which is paid to the Gods of the Seven Huts who arrived in the region from heaven and established a kingdom here. A prediction claimed that the region would suffer a violent plague that threatened to wipe out the entire tribe. Scared by this ill-fortuned prediction, the Jowai people traveled to the shrine of their protector deities Mulong, Mooralong U Mukhai and Musniang who advised them to worship the divine elements in the form of the festival of Behdienkhlam which was to be held annually. 

Thus, the festival is also known as the festival for chasing away the Demon of Cholera. Today, however the festival has another important significance. It is used as a prayer seeking divine blessings for a rich harvest in the year ahead. 

Food – During early monsoon, mushrooms sprout and are cooked either in combination with meat dishes or fried on their own.

Celebrations of "Monsoon" in various regions of India

BENGAL

Festivals-Navanna is a harvest festival, not much unlike the Tamil festival Pongal, celebrated in West bengal. Navanna is celebrated in the eastern region of the Indian Subcontinent. Nava means new and Anna means grain. It is celebrated when the 'aman' paddy is harvested. Harvest festivals are an integral part of India. India is primarily an agricultural nation, and much of the harvest output depends on timely rainfall. So, the festivals are organized with huge grandeur to appease the gods so that the yields remain high all year long.

Rathayatra the oldest chariot festival in Bengal is celebrated during the early months of monsoon; it’s a week-long festival, where people swarm to have a share in pulling the ropes of the chariots of Lord Jagannath, Balarama, and Subhadra. The journey starts from the temple (Puri) to Serampur Gundicha Bari and back.  

 Food – The well-known Bengali dish associated with monsoon is the Khichdi, Panchphoran, and Ghee. The best monsoon treats for the people in Bengal are Alu Chops, Egg rolls and Beguni.

Celebrations of "Monsoon" in various regions of India

UTTARANCHAL

Festivals-Uttaranchal provides plethora of festivals where you will get to see all vibrant colors of customs, traditions and rituals. Harela is the main Kumaoni festival that is celebrated on the first day of Shravan. Harela festival marks the beginning of monsoon thereby welcoming the new harvest and also it commemorates the mythological wedding of Lord Shiva with Parvati. Kumaoni women fill small baskets with soil and sow seeds of either five or seven types of grains and keep it inside the room. Leaves start coming out after 10 days of sowing the grains and these leaves are called Harela. The significance of Harela festival is that the farmers can have knowledge of the qualities of the seeds. This is also called the festival where brothers present gifts to their sisters and the gifts are called ‘Bhitauli’.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

Haryali Festival

This festival announces the onset of the monsoon rains.

The other attractions of this month are buffalo fights which mark the Sari fair at Arki.

Phulaich Fair
Phulaich fair is associated with the flower watching festival of Ukhyang in the Kinnaur Valley; it is celebrated every year during monsoon in the Hindu month of Bhadrapada. This festival is also known as Fulaich Festival which is celebrated to remember the ones who have passed away.

Celebrations of "Monsoon" in various regions of India

MAHARASHTRA

Festival - Narali Poornima
Narali Poornima marks the end of monsoon season in Maharashtra. It is celebrated on the full moon day of the month of Shravan by the fishermen of Maharashtra. They paint their boats, offer coconuts to the sea god Varuna and immerse oil lamps into the sea. The festival also marks the beginning of the new fishing season.

GUJARAT

Festival - Saputara Monsoon

Gujarat Tourism Corporation unveiled the month-long Saputara Monsoon festival last year. Starting from July end to August, the festival aims to promote the only hill station of Gujarat-Saputara. Cultural Programs, Film Shows, Lazer Shows, Food, Craft bazaars and plethora of activities are lined up for all kinds of visitors.




RAJASTHAN

Festivals-The arrival of monsoon in Rajasthan is like respite from the scorching summer heat and everyone, experiences the revitalizing elements of the state. The Pushkar Fair, Teej, Urs, are some of the festivals and fairs that mark the beginning of monsoon. Held near Ajmer, the Pushkar fair is cattle fair where we can see trading of cattles. Teej is the grand festival in Rajasthan where women are clad in bright coloured dresses, and hands and feet painted with mehendi designs. Urs is yet another festival held at Ajmer, where thousands Hindu and Muslim pilgrims and devotees are seen coming to seek blessings at the shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti, the sufi saint. Monsoon in Rajasthan is indeed a treat to the eyes for every traveler.

Celebrations of ''Monsoon'' in various regions of India

GOA

Festivals - The feast of St Anthony, Sao Joao and Saint Peter are celebrated in June-July by taking a plunge into overflowing traditional wells, and a canoe floats parade in the village of Siolim. The Siolim Boat Parade grabs the attention of visitors in every monsoon.

 The young revelers celebrate the Sao Joao festival by jumping into wells thereby making the celebration more vibrant and enjoyable. Folk dance like Mandos is performed by the villagers where they are seen wearing crowns made of fruits and leaves and carrying the local liquor ‘feni’. Another is the St. Peter feast celebrated on 29th of June with great pomp and splendour, erecting floating stages midstream Goa's numerous rivers and performing cultural programmes on board.

Special mention is the Bonderam flag festival which is held on August in Divar Island.

Food - When the monsoon season hits town the diets of the locals changes as the variety and number of fresh fish available dramatically declines, the Goan people tend to steer more towards pork, and chicken dishes and of course that Indian specialty vegetable curry!

Celebrations of ''Monsoon'' in various regions of India

KARNATAKA

Festival – Swarna Gowri Vratam
The festival falls in the month of Shravan and is dedicated to goddess Parvati. The vrat is known as Hartalika Vrat and is observed by girls and women.





COORG

Coorg, a monsoon paradise gives a long lasting happiness to its visitors during monsoon. The most peculiar thing about Coorg during Monsoon is its food.

Food - dried meat, fresh water fish, crab curry, home-reared chicken curry, tender bamboo shoots and madde puttu (a sweet made from a medicinal plant)

                                                 
 It’s the season of Kakkada for Coorgs.
“Kakkada koli” (chicken) is also a special delicacy in the district on this day. Monsoon is associated with several such rare occurrences in Kodagu. It is the time when mushrooms emerge from the ground. “Baimbale” (bamboo shoot) or “kanile” is the other delicacy that is enjoyed by the people of Kodagu. It is believed that “mushrooms” and “Baimbale” help balance the body temperatures during the monsoon season.

                                                         
                                                                         




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Celebrations of ''Monsoon'' in various regions of India

KERALA

Kerala is distinct in culture and its uniqueness has made it popular to tourists all around the world. The culture of Kerala is also a composite and cosmopolitan to which several people and races have made their significant contributions. Kerala's population comprises of a large number of the people from the Dravidian race, who also inhibit most of the southern part of India. Hinduism is the principal religion with considerable percentages of Muslims and Christians. The gradual evolution of composite and cosmopolitans' culture led to the emergence of a spirit of tolerance and catholicity of outlook, which still persist among the people of Kerala.

After three months of monsoon, the sky becomes clear and the forests become green. The brooks and streams come alive, spouting a gentle white foam, the lakes and rivers overflow and lotuses and lilies are in full bloom as if to welcome the season. It is time to reap the harvest, to celebrate and to rejoice.

Onam is a celebration of ten days. It comes in the month of "Chingyam" according to Malayalam calendar. It is believed that during Onam, the deceased king Mahabali returns to Kerala to perceive the prosperity of the people of his erstwhile kingdom. The main attractions of the festival are the flower decorations (pookalam), the sumptuous feast (sadya) served on a banana leaf (vaza ela) and the gifts of new clothes (onapudava) and the hand clapping folk dance called kaikottikali. It is a festival that is celebrated by one and all irrespective of their caste or religion.

Boat race (Vallamkali)
Special features:
The snake boats (chundan vallams) – rowed in pairs - are ornamented with golden laces at the prow of the boats, flags and the ornamental umbrellas (kudas) at the centre. The full-throttle rowing of the oarsmen is accompanied by full-throated songs (vanchipattu), led by singers and followed by the oarsmen (all dressed in white mundu and turban).

Nehru Trophy Boat race at Punnamada, Alappuzha is one of the most significant and colourful boat races in Kerala. It is a world renowned event, held annually on the second Saturday of the month of August in the Punnamada Lake in Alappuzha.

Aranmula Boat race, on the banks of the river Pampa, is the oldest in Kerala. Palliyodams, the unique Aranmula snake boats (chundan vallams) are regarded as the sacred vessel of Sree Parthasarathy.

The Monsoon Rejuvenation Therapy - Monsoon season is the most conducive to herbal oil therapies and a diet of medicinal porridges like marunnu kanji. 

The rice bran cake (ela ada) made with fresh coconut and jaggery toasted in a banana leaf is a special delicacy of the season.

The monsoon food festival at Ramada is held every Saturday’s and Sunday’s throughout July at Fennel- the multi cuisine restaurant at Ramada, Kochi.

The film “Megh Malhaar– Racing with the Monsoons” will take audiences through a magnificent and rejuvenating journey across two distinct rain bearing belts of India, depicting the story of one of the world’s greatest natural phenomenons– the Southwest Monsoons.

Seen through the narrator’s eyes, the journey begins from the lowermost tip of India at Cape Comorin, moving up to Trivandrum, Allepey and Cochin in Kerala, to Periyaar, Mysore and Mangalore in Karnataka, parts of Goa, to Mumbai via Ratnagiri, then on to Daman and, Surat in Gujarat, reaching Jaipur in Rajasthan and finally, Delhi covering the Arabian Sea section.

Next, the narrator travels to Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh to Calcutta in West Bengal, Guwahati in Assam and Khasi Hills, Shillong and Cherrapunji in Meghalaya covering the Bay of Bengal branch.

“The meeting of the earth and the clouds is a kind of love-making." 

- Alexander Frater, Chasing the Monsoon

Monsoon Season in India

The main monsoon season in India runs from June to September and, is typically referred to as the Southwest Monsoon.

When the Southwest monsoon reaches India, it splits into two parts-

·         One part moves northwards over the Arabian Sea and up the coastal side of the Western Ghats (Western Ghats of Kerala right upto Delhi)

·         The other flows over the Bay of Bengal, up through Assam, and hits the Eastern Himalaya range (North East India and Bengal)

The southwest monsoon reaches the coast of Kerala around June 1. It usually arrives in Mumbai approximately 10 days later, reaches Delhi by the end of June, and covers the rest of India by mid-July.

The amount of rain received peaks in most areas during July, starts tapering off a bit in

August and less rain is usually received overall in September.