Festivals Of Mumbai
T
he island city of Mumbai was formerly called Bombay lies in the state of Maharashtra. The language spoken by locals here is Marathi and the locals here are called Maharashtrians. This city is home to millions belonging to different states and different faiths. Although there are so many different people staying together, the spirit of celebration remains the same for all the festivals.In January,’Makar Sankrant’ is celebrated by distributing sweets made of sesame. The day is also very suitable for flying kites.
‘Holi’, the festival of colors celebrated in the month of March marks the beginning of spring. It’s followed by ‘Gudi Padva’ the Maharashtrians New Year. It’s considered auspicious to make new beginnings. Small overturned Brass pots and a new cloth are put on a stick and kept near the window, this is considered auspicious as it is supposed to ward of evil.
In July the festival of ‘Nag (snake) Panchami’ is celebrated by Hindus. On this day the snakes (cobra) are worshipped and blessings are sort.
Maximum festivals are held in the month of August. The festivity period begins with ‘Narial Poornima’. (Narial means coconut). This festive holds special significance for the ‘Kolis’ (local fisher folk) of Mumbai. An offering of coconuts is made to the sea gods with the hope that it will not calm down after the rough monsoon tides and they can now venture back into the sea .On this same day ‘Raksha Bandhan’ is also celebrated. On this day the sisters tie colorful thread on their brother’s wrist and in turn the brother gives her gifts and vows to protect her for life.
‘Pateti’ also celebrated in the month of August is supposed to the New Year Day for the Parsee community. It is the first day of the ‘Zoroastrian’ calendar. Janamashtami, the birth day of Lord Krishna is celebrated in Mumbai by breaking small earthen pots in every nook and corner of Mumbai. Buttermilk filled earthen pots are hung high, young boys form human pyramid and break these pots as crowds cheer on!
Mumbai is in a total frenzy during the “Ganesh Chaturthi festival”. This 10 day Hindu festival falls in the month of August or September. During this time idols of Lord Ganesh are brought home and worshipped. ‘Ganesh’ is the God of Knowledge and remover of all obstacles. There are huge idols kept in special pandals (tents) for the public to visit and worship. On the 10th day these idols are immersed into the sea. The crowds that come out on the road to catch the glimpse of their favorite god is simply unimaginable.
‘Dassera’, Diwali, Ramazan, Eid-ul-fitr, Christmas and New Year are also celebrated here with a lot of gusto. The city gets well-illuminated during these festivals and appears very lively during these times.