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The Indian calendar is a long procession of festivals, if you can find yourself in the right place at the right time, it is possible to go through your visit with a festival each day. Th harvest festivals of ht south, the immersion of Ganesh in Mumbai, the car festival of Puri, snake-boat races in Kerala, Republic Day in Delhi…….ever region, every religion has something to celebrate. Below is a selection of the major festivals, but there are countless others.

JANUARY/ FEBRUARY

The Great Elephant March at Kerala
International Kite Festival at Ahmedabad in Gujarat
Bikaner Festival at Rajasthan
Pongal: Mainly in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnatka (Tamil Harvest Festival)
Republic Day: 26th January (Grand Military Parade and Procession of dancers etc.-Delhi).
Vasant Panchmi : National (Mainly in the Eastern region): Hindu- dedicated to Saraswati the beautiful Goddess of Learning. (Women wear yellow saris).
Floating festival: Madurai: Birthday of local 17th ruler; elaborately illuminated barge carrying decorated temple deities at the Mariamman Teppakulam Pool amid chanting hymns.

FEBRUARY / MARCH

Surajkund Crafts Mela (Surajkund, near Delhi)
International Yoga Week (Rishikesh)
Desert Festival (Jaisalmer, Rajasthan)
Taj Mahotsav (Agra, UP)
Nagaur Fair (Nagaur, Rajasthan)
Deccan Festival (Andhra Pradesh)
Shivratri: National: Solemn worship of Hindu deity, Lord Shiva. Fasting and chanting. Special celebrations at Chidambaram, Kalahasti, Khajuraho, Varanasi and Bombay.
Holi: Mainly northern, popularly called the festival of colours. Advent of Spring. Lively and much throwing of coloured water and powders. (Public Holiday).
Mardi Gras: Goa: Mainly three days during lent. Unique celebrations at this carnival.
Ramnavmi: National: (birth of Rama, incarnation of Vishnu). No processions,. Plays and folk theatres.

MARCH / APRIL

Khajuraho Dance Festival (Khajuraho, Orissa)
Kumbh Mela: The oldest and most important of the Hindu festivals. It takes place very three years, at one of the four great holy cities; Nasik in Maharashtra, Ujjain (MP), Prayag (Allahabad) and Hardwar (both in UP). It is attended by millions of pilgrims who takes a holy dip in the sacred Ganges River.
Mahavir Jayanti: National: Jain festival; birth of Mahavira, the 24th and last Tirthankara.
Easter: Good Friday /Easter Sunday National.

APRIL / MAY

Baisakhi: Northern India, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu; Hindu Solar New Year. Bhangra dancing. Women wear yellow saris.
Pooram: Trichur: New Moon. Spectacular sight of large number of elephants carrying ceremonial umbrellas going round the temple; midnight firework display.
Id-Ul-Zuha: (Bakri id): Muslim, National: the most celebrated Islamic festival in India, commemorating the sacrifice of Abraham.
Id-Ul-firt (Ramzan Id): Muslim, National: Celebration to mark the end of the holy month of Ramadam.
Meenakshi Kalyanam: Madurai. Marriage of Meenakshi with Lord Shiva. Colourful temple festival. Deities borne by colossal chariot. Ten day festival.
Fair: Rajastahn: Urs Ajmer Sherif. Ajmer, 6 days religious, cultural and commercial extravaganza dedicated to the Sufi.

JUNE / JULY

Hemis Festival (Leh-Ladakh)
Rath Yatra: Mainly Orissa. Greatest temple festival in honour of Lord Jagannath (Lord of the Universe). Three colossal chariots drawn from Prui temple by thousands of pilgrims. Similar festival, on a smaller scales, take place at Ramnagar (near Varanasi), Serampore (near Calcutta) and Jagannathpur (near Ranchi).

JULY / AUGUST

Teej: Rajasthan - Particularly Jaipur: Procession of the Goddess Parvati to welcome monseeon; elephants, camels, dancers etc. Women wear frenn saris. Colourful.
Raksha Bandhan:Northern and Western India. Legendary reenactment, girls tie rachis or talisman to men's wrists. Colourful build up.
Nag Panchami: Mainly Jodhpur, Rajasthan and Mahrashtra, dedicated to the green thousand-headed mythical serpent called Sesha. The day is also observed in many other parts of Western and Eastern India.
Amarnath Yatra: Hindu: Lidder Valley, Kashmir at full moon. Pilgrims visit the place where Lord Shiva explained the secret of salvation to his consort Parvati.

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER

Nehru Trophy Boat Race (Kerala)
Independence (15th August), National : Independence Day. Prime Minister delivers address from Delhi's Red Fort.
Janmashtmi: National, particularly Agra, Mumbai and Mathura; Lord Krishna's birthday.
Onam: Kerala's Harvest festival; spectacular snake boat races in many parts of Kerala.
Ganesh Chaturthi: Mainly Pune, Orissa, Mumbai, Chennai, dedicated to elephant-headed God Ganesh. Giant models of the deity immersed in water. Colourful and particularly worth visiting on the day of immersion at Mumbai.

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER

Dussehra: National: The most popular festival in the country, celebrated in different ways in different parts of the country. In the north and particularly in Delhi (where it is known as ram Lila), plays and music recall the life of Rama; in Kullu, the festival is also a colouful celebration. In Bengal and many parts of Eastern India it is known as Durga Puja, and in the South as Navratri. Fair, Himachal Pradesh: Kullu Valley to coincide with Dussehra (10 days)
Gandhi Jayanti: National: Mahatma Gandhi's birthday. No processions.
Diwali: National: One of the most lively and colourful festivals in India. In some parts, it marks the start of the Hindu New year. In Eastern India, the goddess Kali is particularly worshipped; elsewhere, it is Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity, who is venerated. Everywhere there are magnificent illuminations and fireworks.

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER

Sonepur Mela (Sonepur-Bihar)
Hampi Festival (Hampi-Karnataka)
Muharram: Muslim. Commemoration of Imam Hussan's Martyrdom. Tiger dancers lead processions of colourful replicas of martyr's tomb. Colourful, particulary at Lucknow.
Bihar: Largest cattle fair in the world; one month sonepur, Patna: on banks of the Ganges.
Pushkar Mela: Pushkar, near Ajmer, Rajastahn. Important and colourful. Camel and cattel fair, attendd by Rajputs from miles around. Camel races and acrobatics etc.
Shilpgram Crafts Mela (Udaipur-Rajasthan)
Kurukshetra Festival (Kurukshetra, Haryana)
Konark Dance Festival (Konark-Orissa).
Gurpurab: Mainly in Norther India - the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, the first Guru of the Sikhs, spiritual teacher or preceptor of Sikhism.
Chirstmas Day: National: Most celebrated all over India.