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 An
innumerable list of traditional, religious and state festivals are organized
and celebrated in Mumbai. Many of these festivals such as Makar Sankranti, Holi,
Mahavir Jayanthi, Muharram, Nag Panchami, Nariyal Poornima, Gokulashtami, Mahashivaratri
etc. are celebrated nation wide. Most of these festivals are associated
with religion but a few of the celebrations are plainly secular. The fairsand
festivals particularly associated with Mumbaities are Kala Khoda Fair and Festival,
Banganga Festival, Elephanta Festival, Ganesh
Chathurthi, Bandra Fair, Nariyal Poornima, Parsi New Year etc.
Some of the popular festivals are briefed below.
Makar Sankranti (January)
This harvest festival is celebrated when the sun transits the zodiac sign Makar
(Capricorn). The sky is ablaze with colourful kites. Sweets flavoured with sesame
seed is an important item during Makar Sankranti. It is celebrated in mainly
Gujarati areas such as Kalbadevi, Bhuleshwar, Girgaum and Walkeshwar. Ruthless
kite duels often take place at Chowpatty Beach. Read
more..
Muharram
Muharram, the death anniversary of Prophet Mohammed is celebrated by the Muslims.
Read more...
Bakrid
They celebrate Bakrid in the same month. Read
more...
Holi (February/March)
An exuberant Hindu festival celebrating the end of winter and the advent
of spring. People throw coloured water over each other and have great fun on
this occasion. Also known as ‘Shimga’ and ‘Rangapanchami’ in Mumbai, the festival
is welcomed with singing and dancing. Read
more. Top
Gudhi Padwa (March/April)
It is the new year for Mumbaitis. On this day people do rituals and prayers,
offering prasad of neem leaves, gram pulse and jagerry. Families erect a gudhi
or bamboo staff, with a coloured silk cloth and a bright garlanded goblet is
hung on top of it. Read
more.
Mahavir
Jayanti (April)
Mahavir Jayanti
is celebrated in April and thousands of Jains make pilgrimages to Bahubali, where
two Jain temples have been constructed one for the Swetambara sect and another
for the Digambaras. Christians in Mumbai celebrate Good Friday and
Easter Sunday around the same time.
Nag Panchami (July/August)
Nag Panchami is the festival of snakes. Offerings are made to snake images and
snake charmers flock into the city with real snakes to celebrate the festival
in respect of Serpent Ananta, upon whose coils Lord Vishnu rests The devotees
collect hundreds of cobras, place them in earthen pots and worship them to the
accompaniment of folk dances and song. Later they are carried in processions
of bullock carts and chariots. In Mumbai, cobras are venerated and fed sweetened
milk, usually by women. On the following day they are released back into the
fields from where they were captured.
Narlial Purnima (August)
In the coastal areas of Mumbai, fisher
folk offer coconuts and flowers to the sea god Varuna to calm the turbulent
monsoon waters on the last day of the rainy season. They worship the sea and
decorate their boats, sing and dance, and make offerings of coconut. This festival
is best seen at fishing communities in Colaba and Versova.
The full moon of Shravana is celebrated around August
as Shravani Purnima, Rakhi Purnima and Raksha
Bandhan. Raksha Bandhan is celebrated on the same day in different parts
of the state.
Parsi New Year (August/September)
Mumbai's Zoroastrian community commemorates its forefather's escape from Persia
by conducting rituals at fire temples, visiting friends and indulging in legendary
feasting.
Top
Gokul Ashtami (August/September)
The birth of Lord Krishna celebrated in the month of August, is a day of
boisterous fun in Mumbai. Young men form human pyramids to break pots of curds
strung high up from buildings. In the villages, the Pola or the harvest festival
is celebrated in which bullocks are bathed, decorated and taken out in a procession
to the accompaniment of beating drums.
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