10 Awesome Carnivals of India You Just Cannot Miss

Popular with the name “country of diverse culture”, India is an amazing country. With every state merged into her own language, culture, costume, food and thousands of festivals to be celebrated within the twelve months, cannot be found anywhere in the world but India. A fun loving country, India is also home of fascinating and amazing funfairs or popularly known carnivals celebrated in different states with a variety of purposes and themes. Here, I bring you in this article, 10 awesome carnivals you just cannot miss. Read along-

1. Goa Carnival, GoaOften referred to as the fun capital of India, Goa has all the right reasons to merry making. Astounding beaches along with Goa Carnival, makes this city worth loving and revisiting. Held between February and March, this carnival is celebrated in Panjim, Vasco da Gama, Mapusa and Margoa. One of the best reasons to visit Goa is this carnival which will make you fall in the culture and Goan lifestyle.

2. Rath Yatra at Puri, Odisha Rath Yatra or the Chariot Festival is one of the biggest festivals or carnivals of India and more of religious and pious purposes. This festival is all about pulling the sacred and massive rath or chariot of Lord Jaggannath. It is the oldest rath yatra in the world. Helping in pulling the massive chariot of the Lord is a popular concept among the devotees and people from around the globe gather in this pious event to get a glimpse of the Lord and pull the rath. The pious celebration falls in the month of June or July.

3. Kumbh MelaA massive Hindu gathering or pilgrimage of faith, this festival witnesses the largest crowd in the world. With devotees gathering to bathe in the holy water of Ganga, it is believed that bathing here will cleanse a person of all sins. The most important fair or mela in India, Kumbh is celebrated in Haridwar, Allahabad, Nasik and Ujjain. Kumbh Mela is celebrated once every 12 years with the difference of 3 years held in these places.

4. Desert Festival in Jaisalmer, RajasthanAn annual event celebrated in the month of February, this festival is all about the folk life, music, dress, food and everything that Rajasthan is all about. Camels are the best attractions of this festival. The local nomads performs colorful dance programs, folksongs and beautiful Rajasthani music.

5. Hornbill Festival, NagalandReflecting the Naga tradition and culture, the Hornbill Festival is celebrated in North eastern state of Nagaland India. Celebrated for ten days starting from the 1^st of December every year, this merry festival is plat formed at Kisama, the Naga heritage village where the function takes place. You can go for a trip to mini Nagaland at a glance at the festival with the food parade, sports, flower decorations, music, fashion events, and several competitions for viewers to participate.

6. Hemis Festival, LadakhCelebrated as the auspicious birthday of Padmasambhava, the founder of Tibetan Buddhism, the Hemis Festival is celebrated in Hemis Gompa Monastery in Ladakh every year in the 10^th day of the Tibetan Lunar month. You can enjoy the colorful masked dances, music and religious hyms. An idea of the festival can be traced from the Bollywood movie “Jab We Met” song taking place in Buddhist monastery.

7. Vintage Car Rally, LucknowHaving its roots in pre independence era in 1904, this festival or car rally is celebrated in Lucknow in the month of December every year where people from all over India having a collection of vintage cars participate. If you are obsessed with nothing but vintage cars, this festival is just for you. The festival itself gives an idea of the fame our forefathers enjoyed.

8. The Pushkar Fair,Rajasthan Commonly known as the Pushkar ka mela, this festival is possibly the largest tribe gatherings which is celebrated for five days in the town of Pushkar. It is the world’s largest camel fairs where one can buy and sell camels and other live stocks. This unique festival isn’t limited to this but there are other attractions such as longest moustache, bridal competitions and matka phod. This is again one of the biggest tourist attractions in Rajasthan. This festival is celebrated in between the months October and November.

9. Konark Dance Festival, OdishaThe very name suggests its purpose and importance. Believed to be India’s biggest dance and music festivals, Konark Dance Festival is celebrated in the month of February in the world famous Sun Temple which is also one of the prominent UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites. Reputed and prominent artists of national and international repute participate in this festival. You can get a taste of popular dance forms of India like Odissi, Bharatnatyam, Kuchipudi, Manipuri, Mohiniattam and other classical dance forms.

10. Champakulam Moolam Boat Race, Kerala One of the oldest snake boat race in the Southern state of Kerala. Held on the Malayalam month, this festival has many religious stories tied to its origin. One of the well known festival of India, the Boat Race Festival brings out the very best of tradition and culture of Kerala to the global front.