India: Festivals and Rajahs

Diwali Festival of Lights, a nationwide event

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Around 80% of the 1.1 billion people living in India are Hindus. With hundreds of different gods, as well as other world religions, it is hardly surprising that there are frequent celebrations in this deeply religious country.

Here are a few of India's many, madly colourful Indian festivals [!]:
Dates are usually based on non-Gregorian calendars, so change year-by-year.
Mid Jan SE [eg.TN, Kar, AP] Pongal [Harvest] festival, 3 days.
Mid Jan Ahmedabad [G] Kite Festival, 1 day.
Mid Jan Trivandrum & Thrissur [Ker] Elephant march, 1 day
Jan, Delhi, Republic day. Parade and festival, 2 days.
Jan/Feb Allahabad, [UP] Kumbh Mela. 'Greatest Religious Show on Earth.' Millions of pilgrims and crazed sadhus swim and perform miracles. Every 3 years, for one month.
Jan/Feb Madurai [TN] Float Festival. 1 day.
Late February/early March. Jaisalmer [Raj] Desert Festival. 3days
Feb/March North India, Holi [Festival of Colour]. 1 day
Feb/March Khajuraho [MP] Dance Festival.
Feb/March Goa Carnival.
Feb/March/April Ajmer [Raj] Urs Ajamer Sharif Islamic Festival. 6 days
April/May, nationwide, Hindu New Year [Baisakhi], 1 day
April/May Thrissur [Ker] Pooram. Elephant, fireworks etc. 1 day.
April/May Madurai [TN] Chitra Festival. Divine marriage at OTT Meenakshi temple. 10 days.
June/July Puri [Or] Chariot Festival. The original juggernauts. 1day
July/Aug, nationwide, best in Jodhpur, Naag Panchami. Snake Festival.
Aug/Sept Allepey/all Kerala, Onam Harvest Festival and Snake Boat Racing. 10 days.
Aug/Sept all Maharashtra, Ganesh Chaturthi, 1 week.
Sept/Oct, nationwide, Dussehra[Ram Lila], 10 days
Oct/Nov, nationwide, Diwali [Festival of Lights], 1 day.
Oct/Nov Pushkar [Raj] Camel Fair. 1 week?

For some precise dates, more suggestions and information see: Exotic Festivals

A Guru travelling through the Kumbh Festival in style, Haridwar, India
© Daniel Boiteau, Dreamstime.com

Raja(h) – means king and maha means great, hence maharaja(h) – great king. Rana means the same as raja but historically had a slightly higher status. e.g. the Udaipur maharana used to be consulted by maharajahs about their marriage plans. Rani is the name of the queen. Nowadays these titles are ceremonial and carry no political power.
There was a simple system for establishing royal rankings – if less than 100 villages were under a king’s control he was a simple rajah, if between 100 and 1000 villages then he became a maharajah, and if there were more than 1000 villages the title was elevated to emperor.

Palace – the official residence for the maharaja/rana and his wife/wives : the harem was the residence for his concubines. In the case of the wives, the first one always had a higher status as her son was heir to the throne and she could have ceremonial duties such as welcoming the maharaja.

ps. -sthan means ‘place’, thus Rajasthan = the place of the rajas, Afghanistan – the place of the Afghans.
-pur or variations means town, walled city, thus Jaipur or Udaipur, or even Singapore [different spelling obviously] = Lion City.

pps. Ironically Rajasthan is the only Indian state where you can not only stay in a Maharajah's palace - at a price - but also find one as your visible host, though they don't wear their finery in public these days.