Essays

A festival is a celebration of life. All nations have their religious and cultural festivals. However, Indian festivals have known to attract the world due to their harmony, variety, colorful appearances and excitement.

Our festivals are basically of two types—religious and seasonal. Most of the Indian festivals are based on religion or myths. They change the monotony of life, bring peace and joy to the masses and above all, promote social interaction and harmony. The insipid routine of the is broken for good and juvenile masses celebrate their faith or seasonal change with gaiety and enthusiasm. The festivals mark the healthy depiction of human life and depict religious associations of the masses.

Religious festivals include Eid-uI-Zuha, Eid-Ul-Fitr, Dussehra, Deepawali, Laxmi pooja, Mahavir Jayanti, Shri Krishna Jaiiamashtaini, Ram Navami, Navratras, Christmas, Guru Parav and the festivals of Parsis and Jews. Hindus Celebrate Dusschni and Deepawali in Northern India. The people of Bengal an.! Eastern Indian states celebrate Durga Pooja. However, Deepawali — the festival of light—is the most prominent of hindu festivals. Hindu masses celebrate this day to commemorate the return of Lord Rama to Ayodhya after winning (lie decisive war against the evil forces of Ravana. Businessmen star!: their new accounts books. The households are cleaned and whitewashed. Children wear new clothes and sweets air distributed. On the Deepawali day, the people from all walks of life light up their homes and children enjoy crackers and sweets.

Muslim brothers and sisters celebrate Eid-Ul-Zuha and Eid-Ul-Fitr. Eid-Ul-Fitr is celebrated to mark the end of

Ramzan. It was during the month of Ramzan that Holi/ Quran was revealed to Prophet Mohammed. Muslim brothers and sisters fast for the month of Ramzan. At the end of Ramzan, Eid is celebrated with feasts. They go to Eidgahs and offer prayers.

Christmas is the most important festival of Christians and is celebrated as the birthday of Holy Jesus Christ on December 25, every year. The Christmas tree is decorated and cakes and puddings are served. Santa Claus distributes sweets and cakes among children who are dressed in new clothes. Prayers are offered in the churches and cathedrals.

In a similar fashion, the Jews also celebrate their festiya-L-and go to the Synagogue to pray before the Almighty. Sikhs '- celebrate the birthdays of their Gurus. Among these, the day of martyrdom of Shri Guru Arjun Dev is the most important. Guru Arjun Dev was martyred at Lahore after a painful torture by the Moghuls. Sikhs celebrate this day as a day of pease and harmony and distribute cold water, milk and food to the masses free of cost.

Similarly, Ram Navmi and Krishna Janamashtami are celebrated throughout India as the birthdays of Lord Rama and Lord Krishna respectively. In Bengal and the North-East, Durga Pooja is celebrated with pomp and show. Goddess Durga is worshipped for nine days and is then, immersed in water to mark the end of the festivities. In Maharashtra, Lord Ganesha is worshipped with religious fervour and devotion. Parsees celebrate Naoroz during August-September every year. For them, it is the beginning of the New Year. Similarly, Jains and Buddhists celebrate their religious festivals in the form of Mahavir Jayanti and Buddha Poornima respectively.

The other aspect of the festivals is the change of seasons and the healthy'crops abound in the different regions of our country. Baisakhi is celebrated as a mark of harvesting ol wlieat crops in Punjab. Onam is celebrated in Kerala as a harvest festival. Pongal is celebrated in Tamil Nadu for similar seasons. Basant Panchami is celebrated throughout Northern India and marks, the end of winter season. Childreri fly kites and enjoy themselves in the open grounds. Holi is the most colourful festival of all. It celebrates the victory of Prahlad over the evil forces. Seasonal changes mark the beginning of a new confidence and happiness prevails over the masses.

However, all is not well in India during festivals in the wake of rising commercialism and modern culture. Deepawali is not celebrated for paying respects to Lord Rama but for gambling and enjoying the pollution-generating crackers. The temples are decorated at a cost of millions of Rupees and people show off their riches at such occasions. The Holi festival brings many scars to the society -in the form of indecency towards women and brawls of the drunkards on the streets. That is why, the police has to be alert all the time during such festivities. Riots, deaths, injuries and loss of property mar the spirit of the festivals. Therefore, festivals must be celebrated with humility, religious devotion and simplicity.

India is the only nation in which, the festivals are celebrated with pomp and show and with grea; devotion to the Almighty. Although it is a positive aspect of our culture yet we are also forced to think about the negative influences of festivals on our society. For example, every festival comes with a holiday. The schools are closed. The government institutions (which already work for five days a week)/ are closed. Banks are also closed and this causes great inconvenience to business firms and industries. Payments are withheld. Children do not study properly during the Holi and Basant festivals and those are the crucial examination days in India. Further, communal tensions could take their toll of lives and property in any part of the nation.

Normally, during the days of festivals, the people are mercilessly massacred due to communal riots and stampedes. The recent incident in Haridwar, in which, several people died on account of clash between two groups of Sadlius, is an example worth mentioning in this context.

Our view is that the festivals should be celebrated with simplicity. They should be considered as the days of cleansing the souls and not the occasions for a dip in the Ganges. New promises should be made and should be kept as well: Colour is an essential part of Holi. But colours must not be sprayed on those people who do not want to play with colours. Crackers should not be burned as they increase pollution. Religious processions should be allowed only for a limited distance. Prayers could be offered at homes also. While celebrating the religous festivals, other communities should also be invited for promoting national integration and communal harmony. Our festivals must be celebrated keeping the national interests in view.