1. Kota tribe of the Nilgiris celebrated Aiyanoor Ammanoor festival
Tags: Festivals
'Ayyanur Ammanur' is a festival celebrated by the Kota tribe of the Nilgiris. It is celebrated for a week.
An overview of the news
During this festival, this tribe collects clay to make pottery. The pot-making ceremony is held once every two years.
After making an earthen pot, they open their temple and then prepare food in this earthen pot and serve it to the whole village.
After the worship in the temple is over, men and women in their traditional costumes perform different dances during the day and night.
Other major tribal festivals
Medaram Jatra festival - It is the second largest fair in India celebrated for four days by the Koya tribe, the second largest tribal community of Telangana.
Bhagoria festival - This is a major tribal festival celebrated in Madhya Pradesh.
Mim Kut Festival - This festival is celebrated by the Kuki tribe of Mizoram.
Sarhul festival - This is the biggest nature festival celebrated by the tribal society. Which is celebrated in Jharkhand.
2. Chhattisgarh CM Celebrated Traditional ‘Cherchera’ Festival in Raipur
Tags: Festivals State News
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel organised the traditional festival 'Chherchera' at Dudhadhari Math in capital Raipur.
An overview of the news
Chherchera festival is celebrated on the full moon night of the Hindu calendar month of 'Paush'. It is meant to celebrate the joy of taking the harvest home after farming.
It is a festival of receiving and giving charity. Giving charity brings generosity in the mind and taking charity ends the ego inside the person.
On this day Lord Shankar begged for alms from Mother Annapurna, so people donate green vegetables along with paddy on this day.
On this occasion people from every class, including Annadata (Farmers), donate food grains.
The amount donated in Chherchera is spent on public welfare. People of every class including farmers donate food grains.
This year, there has been a good production of paddy in the state and 85 lakh metric tonnes of paddy has been procured, which has been paid to the farmers immediately.
There are 2500 paddy procurement centres and 2000 committees where the work of weighing and lifting is going on continuously.
About Chhattisgarh
Capital: Raipur
Governor: Anusuiya Uikey
Chief Minister: Bhupesh Baghel
3. International Kite Festival kicked off in Ahmedabad
Tags: Festivals
The International Kite Festival 2023 began on 8 January in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
An overview of the news
The festival, which is being organised after a gap of two years, was inaugurated by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.
The previous edition was held in 2020 with 153 participants from 43 countries.
The festival is being organised by Gujarat Tourism on the G20 theme of 'One Earth, One Family, One Future'.
Apart from Ahmedabad, the International Kite Festival will also be organised in Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Dwarka, Somnath, Dhordo and Kevadia.
After a gap of 2 years, the sky above the Sabarmati river in Ahmedabad will be decorated with colourful unique kites.
More than 800 kite flyers from across India and the world will participate in the festival and display their unique creations.
This year kite lovers from different countries will attempt to create a Guinness World Record for the maximum number of kite flyers at the same time.
The 68 countries participating in the event include Australia, Canada, France, Russia, Germany, Greece, Israel, Egypt, Colombia, Denmark, New Zealand, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, South Africa, Belgium, Bahrain, Iraq and Malaysia.
The International Kite festival
The International Kite festival has many names, it is also known as Uttarayan or Makar Sankranti in Gujarat.
This festival has been celebrated every year on January 14 since 1989.
The kite flying is led from Ahmedabad.
It is regarded as one of the biggest festivals of Gujarat.
It is believed that this is the day when the Gods wake up from their long sleep and the gates of heaven open.
4. Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurates three-day ‘North East Krishi Kumbha-2023’ in Meghalaya
Tags: Festivals State News
Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurated the three-day 'Northeast Krishi Kumbh-2023' at Umiam in Meghalaya.
An overview of the news
The three-day 'Northeast Krishi Kumbh-2023' was organised on January 5-7, 2023.
He also participated in the 49th Foundation Day celebrations of NEH Region, ICAR Research Complex.
The Minister also inaugurated the Administrative cum Academic Block Office and Girls Hostel of Agriculture College at Kyrdemkulai in Ri Bhoi district.
The North East Krishi Kumbh-2023 included live exhibition of recent technologies through 102 stalls by all ICAR institutes along with the host institute and its regional centres.
The Union Minister said that the North East is the paradise of the country and Meghalaya's topography is such that it can be developed if efforts are made.
About Meghalaya
Chief Minister - Conrad Sangma
Governor - B.D. Mishra
Capital - Shillong
5. Military Tattoo & Tribal Dance Festival to be held in New Delhi on 23rd & 24th January
As part of the Republic Day celebrations 2023 and to mark the 126th birth anniversary (Parakram Diwas) of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, a military tattoo and tribal dance festival 'Adi Shaurya - Parv Parakram Ka' will organise at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi.
An overview of the news
The two-day festival will showcase the might of the Armed Forces and the ethnic beauty of India's tribal culture.
The program included a military tattoo (paramotor gliding, hot air balloon, horse show, motorcycle display, air warrior drill, navy band) and an hour long traditional dance performance (khukri dance, gatka, mallakhamb, kalaripayattu, thangata) by tribal artistes.
The grand finale includes a performance by renowned singer Kailash Kher.
The festival aims to remember the sacrifices of the country's bravehearts and celebrate the rich cultural heritage that makes India unique and diverse.
It aims to celebrate the bravery of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, embrace the true spirit of India and renew the commitment to build a strong and prosperous 'New India'.
The Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs are jointly organising the event, with the Indian Coast Guard as the coordinating agency.
6. 10th edition of Dhaka Literary Festival
Tags: Festivals International News
After being cancelled for three consecutive years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 10th edition of Dhaka Lit Fest (DLF), Bangladesh's biggest international literary festival, is all set to take place on January 5-8, 2023.
Important facts
The event will be held on the historic grounds of the Bangla Academy in Dhaka.
More than 500 literary personalities across the globe including Nobel Prize Winner Abdulrazak Gurnah will be taking part in the festival.
The four-day event will feature internationally acclaimed authors including Amitav Ghosh, Hanif Qureshi, Alexandra Pringle, Gitanjali Shree, Daisy Rockwell, Esther Freud, Joy Goswami, Kaiser Haque, among others.
It will feature over 175 sessions with discussions on science and technology, activities for children and young adults, film screenings, theatre, music and cultural performances.
The organisers of DLF have termed it as a 'festival of ideas'.
Films, OTT, science and other topics of public interest will also be discussed in this programme.
There will be performances for children as well as for women. The Dhaka Lit Fest will also host discussions on health, food and cooking, among other topics.
About Dhaka Lit Fest
Sadaf Saaz, Ahsan Akbar and Kazi Anis Ahmed are the directors of the Dhaka Lit Fest (DLF).
It began in 2011 with the commitment to promote Dhaka, and Bangladeshi literature and culture to the world.
Dhaka Lit Fest has been a popular annual event in the winter calendar of Bangladesh.
About 30,000 people participated in the ninth Dhaka Lit Fest last held in 2019.
7. Gurung community in Sikkim celebrates its New Year festival Tamu Lhosar
Tags: Festivals State News
The Nepalese Gurung community of Sikkim celebrated their new year Tamu Lhosar on 30 December 2022 with joy and gaiety. The Tamu Lhosar marks the beginning of the Gurung New Year which falls on the 15th day of Pusa, according to Vikram Samvat and 30th December in the English Calendar. The festival is celebrated with the family and community as a whole.
In Nepal, Tamu Lhosar is celebrated grandly with cultural tableaux in Gurung dominated districts.
The Gurungs are a hill people living on the southern slopes of the Himalayan Mountains in central Nepal. Their origins are uncertain, although they are of Mongoloid stock and their ancestors may have migrated to their current location from Tibet around 2,000 years ago. They have a sizeable population in Sikkim.
Important festivals of Sikkim
Losar
Losar is the Tibetan New Year which falls in the month of February and is likewise celebrated by inviting friends and relatives for family gatherings.
Sonam Lochar
Sonam Lochar is an important festival of the Tamang community. The festival falls in the month January - February Spring season.
Ramnawami (Chaite Dasain)
‘Chaite Dashain’ makes for one of the most important religious festivals for the Nepali community inhabiting the Himalayan state of Sikkim in India. The festival, also known as ‘Small Dashain’ is commonly celebrated as ‘Ram Navami’ in other parts of the country, commemorating the birth of Lord Rama
Saga Dawa
Saga Dawa or the Triple Blessed Festival is an auspicious month for the Sikkimese Buddhists with prayers held throughout the month in various monasteries. On the full moon of this 4th month of the Tibetan calendar [celebrated as Buddha Purnima in the rest of India] is the main celebration.
Tendong Lho Rum Faat
Tendong Lho Rum Faat is one of the oldest festivals of the Lepchas and is usually held in August. The 3 day celebrations begin with the offering of prayers to Mount Tendong in South Sikkim. Guru Rimpoche’s Thunkar Tshechu
The birth anniversary of Guru Padmasambhava, the patron saint of Sikkim is celebrated with great pomp in the state. It falls on the tenth day of the fifth Tibetan month.
Pang-Lhabsol
This festival is unique to Sikkim and commemorates the consecration of Mount Khangchendzonga as the guardian deity of Sikkim. To this day the mountain god is invoked and prayed upon at Pang Lhabsol to continue protecting Sikkim. The festival is celebrated on the 15th day of the 7th month of the Tibetan calendar corresponding to late August/early September.
Kagyed Dance
One of the most popular Buddhist festivals, Kagyed Chaam, is a celebration that is marked by masked monks and lamas performing some rigorous dance moves, symbolizing destruction of all the evil and negative forces.
Losoong/Namsoong
Losoong, also called Namsoong by the Lepchas and Bhutias, is usually the time when the farmers rejoice and celebrate their harvest. The festival of Losoong is mostly celebrated in the month of December every year.
Ethnic Composition of Sikkim
There are three ethnic groups in Sikkim- Lepchas, Bhutias and Nepalese. Due to a century-long population migration from Nepal, the majority of Sikkim's residents are of Nepali ethnic origin.
Lepchas are considered as the primitive inhabitants of Sikkim much before the settlement of Bhutias and Nepalese. The Lepchas are basically Buddhist and Christian. Bhutias are the people originally from Kham area in Eastern Tibet who follow Lamanism.
Amongst the Nepalese population, except Sherpas and Tamangs who are Buddhists, other people are basically Hindu.
8. ‘Dhanu Yatra’ begins in Odisha’s Bargarh
Tags: Festivals State News
The ‘Dhanu Yatra’ festival, considered to be the world’s largest open-air theatre, began on 27th December in the Western Odisha town of Bargarh.
Important facts
President Draupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted the people of the eastern state as the 11-day festival began. The festival began after a gap of two years.
In this festival, events related to Lord Shri Krishna will be presented through folk arts that touch the hearts of millions of people.
About ‘Dhanu Yatra’
The 'Dhanu Yatra', which symbolises the victory of good over evil, came into being in Bargarh as part of the country's independence celebrations in 1947–48 and is held annually.
'Dhanu Yatra' is associated with the culture of Odisha.
It is an open-air theatre festival which is spread over more than 5 square kilometres and includes a village and a town.
As per tradition, for the whole eleven days, the people of Bargarh obey the orders of Raja Kansa and not the district administration.
Background of the festival
Dhanu Yatra was started after the harvest season of the year 1947-48, just after the independence of India as a reflection of the atmosphere of joy in the society for the end of British misrule.
Since then it is performed every year at the end of the harvesting of paddy, the main crop of the area.
It starts from the 5th day of ‘Pousasukla’ to end on ‘Pousapurnima’.
During 11 days the entire area of Bargarh city and sub-urban areas around Bargarh block turns into 'Mathura Nagari', the kingdom of Kansa.
The festival begins with a drama depicting the downfall of Ugrasena, the emperor of Mathura, by Kansa, enraged at the marriage of his sister Devaki with Vasudeva.
The festival ends with the death of the demon king Kansa and the restoration of the throne to Ugrasena.
9. 'Bijli Utsav' organised by REC in Assam as a part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav
Tags: Festivals State News
As a part of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, REC Limited, a Maharatna Company under the Ministry of Power, Govt of India organised ‘Bijli Utsav’ in Anandapur Gaon of Baksa district and adjoining villages in Assam on 28th December.
Important facts
The event highlighted the consumer rights of electricity, benefits of electricity and challenges faced during electrification in remote areas and improving the quality of life with access to electricity by utility officials.
Quiz competition and Nukkad Natak were organised to provide information on topics like consumer rights of electricity, energy conservation and benefits of electricity.
Event concluded with distribution of LED bulbs as prizes to the winners of the competitions.
About REC Limited
It is an NBFC focusing on Power Sector Financing and Development across India.
Established in 1969, REC Limited has completed fifty years in its field of operations.
It provides financial assistance to State Electricity Boards, State Governments, Central/State Power Utilities, Independent Power Producers, Rural Electric Cooperative Societies and Private Sector Utilities.
10. First International Beach Festival in Kerala
Tags: Festivals
The 'Spice Coast' in the far north of Kerala, popularly known as North Malabar, is celebrating myriad colours and the 'Bekal International Beach Festival' from 24 December.
Important facts
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated the 10-day first International Beach Festival.
The festival reflects the entirety and essence of the cultural and artistic uniqueness of the state.
It showcases the country's rich cultural diversity and magnificence in the majestic Bekal Beach Park.
Around five lakh people from all over the world enjoy this festival at three places of Chandragiri, Tejaswini and Payaswini.
The festival reflects a cross-section of culture and the unique identity of the land.
More than 1,000 international, national and local artists performed at the Beach Festival.
Bekal International Beach festival
It is organised by Bekal Resorts Development Corporation (BRDC) in association with the District Tourism Promotion Council, Kudumbashree, Asmi Holidays, and the local self-government bodies in the district.
