Festival Calendar of Chhattisgarh

January

Cherchera Festival:

Cher Chera is a harvest festival observed in Chhattisgarh in Paush month (December – January). It isobserved on the full moon day in Paush month.. The highlight of the festival is cher chera melodious folkssongs.The harvest festival is dedicated to the reaping of paddy. Rice forms an important part of the rural food in Chhattisgarh.During the same period numerous such festivals are heldthroughout India – the most important being Sankranti and Pongal.

Sirpur Dance and Music Festival

Popular for its internationally acclaimed archaeological excavations, Sirpur has always been the grounds for celebrations. It has also retained its importance as pilgrimage site forthe followers of Jainism, Buddhism and Hinduism as well as for art lovers. Intricate carvings, elegant

statues and highly innovative discoveries have madethis land the perfect abode for art. All this makesit the most preferred venue for the wonderful Sirpur National Dance and Music Festival. It bringstogether artists from various platforms in a cultural extravaganza. Along with the dance and music festival, three important workshops based on folk dances, handicrafts and musical instruments of Chhattisgarh are organised. Painting competitions for school children are also conductedduring the festival. This festival is supposedly country’s biggest national platform of this kind. It has also established its own unique identity andcreated a sense of international and national cultural amity. The Sirpur Mahotsav is becoming popular and it will soon become as renowned as Khajuraho and Konark dance festivals, drawing more people to Chhattisgarh

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Madai Festival:

The Charama and Kurna communities of Kanker district,

tribes of Bastar and people of Bhanupratappur, Narayanpur, Kondagaon and Antagrah celebrate the Madai Festival in the state of Chhattisgarh. From themonth of December to March, the festival of Madai tours from one place of the state to another. The local tribes of the state along with other communities worship the presiding deity during the festival. In the beginning of Madai Festival, the tribal people of Chhattisgarh launch a procession on an open field where large number of devotees and general tourists gather to witness the rituals. Afterthe end of the procession, the priest or similar figure starts worshiping the goddess. While the puja ceremony goes on, the onlookers maintain silence and also offer prayers to the feet of the deity. When theworshiping finishes, several cultural events like folk dance, drama, songs etc starts taking place in the open space. As a huge number of villagers come toenjoy the ecstasies the occasion, so Madai Festival is always organized on a vast stretch of land. The Bastar region of Chhattisgarh marks the beginning of Madai Festival. From Bastar the festival goes to the Kanker district of the state from where it is again shifted to Narayanpur, antagarh and Bhanupratappur. Keshkal, bhopalpattnam and Kondagaon welcome Madai Festival in the month of March when it comes to its final end. Since the Madai Festival goes from one location to another, each and every tribe and other human groups of Chhattisgarh enjoy the unique pleasures of the occasion. Derived from the old customs and traditions of the state, Madai Festival today has become a popular religious event of Chhattisgarh in particular and India in general.

 

Gauraiya Mela, Chaurel, Durg District, On bank of Pairi River Kabirpanthi Mela, Damakheda, Raipur District (C.G.)

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February

Narayanpur Mela

Chhattisgarh is located in the eastern part of India. It came to be recognized as a separate state of India very recently. The state is mainly inhabited by the tribal people. The people of Chhattisgarh celebrate their festivals with great pomp and show. The festivals of Chhatisgarh reflect the traditional culture of India. Thefestivals of Chhattisgarh also give out the local flavor of the region.Narayanpur Mela is celebrated in the Bastardistrict of Chhattisgarh. This occasion has no longer

remained a mere fair but it has transformed into a festival of the state of Chhattisgarh. The tribal communities of Chhattisgarh celebrate this festival. It is an occasion for the tribal people to celebrate happiness and make merriment. 

Narayanpur Mela in Bastar is a festival that is reflective of the customs and rituals of the tribals of Chhattisgarh. They perform various ceremonial worships inthis festival. The tribal people follow several deities and during the Narayanpur Mela, they pay a homage to the goddesses with lots of devotion. Besides being a culturaland religious festival, merriment is an intrinsic part ofit. Thus the people take pleasure in carrying on the drinking sessions as a part of the celebration of the festival in Bastar. During the celebration of Narayanpur Mela in Bastar, the local people also take part in the dancing ceremonies. These dance performances are accompanied by the drums. It is a magnificent site to watch the tribal men and women taking part in the dance and tapping their feet to the rhythmic music. In Bastar, Narayanpur Mela is

celebrated every year during the last week of February.

Sarhul

Sarhul is celebrated in during spring season and the Saal trees get new flowers on their branches. It is a worship of the village deity whois considered to be the protector of the tribes. People sing and dance a lot when the new flowers appear. The deities are worshiped with saal flowers. The village priest or Pahan fasts for a couple of days. In theearly morning he takes a bath and puts on new a dhoti made of virgin cotton (kachha dhaga). The previous evening, the Pahan takes three new earthen pots and fills them with fresh water; the next morning he observes these earthen pots and water level inside. If the water level decreases he predicts that there would be famine or less rain, and if the water level is normal, that is the signal of a good rain. Before pooja starts, the wife of the Pahan washes his feet and gets blessings from him. At the pooja, Pahan offers three young roosters of different colors to one for the almighty god — the Singbonga or Dharmesh, as the Mundas, Ho and Oraons respectively address Him; another for the villagedeities; and the third for the ancestors. During this pooja villagers surround the Sarna place.

Traditional drum — Dhol, Nagara and Turhi — players keep drumming and playing along with Pahan chanting prayers to deities. When pooja is finished, boys carry Pahan on their shoulders and girls dancing ahead take him to his house where his wife welcomes him by washing his feet. Then Pahan offers Saal flowers to her wife and villagers. These flowersrepresent the brotherhood and friendship among villagers and Pahan the priest, distributes saal flowers to every villager. He also puts saals flowers on every house's roof which is called "phool khonsi". At the same time Prasad, a rice made beer called Handia, is distributed among the villagers. And the whole village celebrates with singing and dancing this festival of Sarhul. It is celebrated in Jashpur , Sargujaand Raigarhdistricts of Chhattisgarh along with the adjoining districts of Jharkhand.

Rajim Lochan Mahotsav

Rajim Lochan Mahotsav in Chhattisgarh The small town of Rajim located on the banks of the Mahanadi River is renowned because of its rich historical past and its varied cultural heritage.In India, temples and fairs have a very intimate association. Most of the temples in India become the venues for fairs particularly during festivals. The Rajimalochana Temple in Rajim is well known for its exquisite sculptures as well as for being the venue of the Rajim Lochan Mahotsav. The Rajim Lochan Mahotsav is one of thevery important fairs in Chhattisgarh that is heldannually.

Shivari Narayan Mela, Janjgir-Champa District (C.G.)

The small sleepy town of Shivarinarayan is thevenue of the Shivarinarayan Fair. Located in theJanjgir district of Chhattisgarh, Shivarinarayanis positioned at the confluence of three rivers.The Rivers Mahanadi, Sheonath and Jonk meet here.A temple in honor of Lord Rama dating back to the13th century is to be seen here.

The conversion of temple premises into fairgrounds is a fairly common trend in India. Inkeeping with this tradition, the Shivarinarayan

temple hosts the Shivarinarayan fair. These kindsof fairs held in Chhattisgarh showcase themultihued culture of the land.

Bilasa Mahotsava, Bilaspur District (C.G.) Tala Mahotsav, Tala, Bilaspur District (C.G.) Narayanpur Mela, Narayanpur (C.G.)

One of the most famous festival of Bastar after Jagdalpur Dusshera isNarayanpur Mela. It is celebrated during the last week of February. Tribalpeople come with their deities, establish them, worship them and enjoy withtheir famous dances.

Kabirghat Mohalai Mela, Mohalai, Durg DistrictChamparan Mela, Raipur District

Champaran Mela is part of the festivals celebrated in the Raipur. Raipur isthe state capital of Chhattisgarh and it is located almost in the center ofthe state. The city was established in the 14th century. Raipur is anindustrially developed city but the traditional culture and heritage havenot died out. The Champaran Mela is actually a fair that is organized at aplace called Champaran. This annual fair has obtained its name from theplace where it is celebrated. Champaran is situated at a distance of 56 kmfrom the state capital of Chhattisgarh. The fair at Champaran is held on themonth of Magh, that is from the January to February. This cultural fair ofChamparan is very popular. It is attended by a number of people from allover the state. Mainly the followers of Vaishnav religion visit theChamparan Mela.

Koriya MelaThis fair was first held by Ramanuj Pratap Singh Judeo, King of KoriyaState, on Mahashivratri, in 1936. The tradition follows even today.

MarchChitrakot Mahotsav, Baster District (C.G.)

Bhormadeo Mahotsava, Bhormadeo Kawardha, Kabeerdham District(C.G)

The enamoring state of Chattisgarh celebrates all its festivals with a greatdeal of fanfare. The Bhoramdeo Mahotsav Festival is no exception. Thisfestival attracts a large number of people not only from the rest of Indiabut also from different parts of the world.

Falgun Mandai Mela, KondagaonThis is a 10day long festival which startsgenerally 7-8 days prior to Holi and ends after acouple of days after Holi. This is a very

colourful and vibrant festival in which tribesfrom all over Bastar assemble to celebrate it.These tribes bring with them their local deitiesand establish them at the Dantewada temple. Thisis followed by a number of cultural and religiousactivities. A number of dances are speciallyperformed on this occasion like Cheetal dance,mask dance and relo dance. Ending of this fair isthe most grand event of the entire festival.

Jajwalaydev Lok Mahostav, Janjgir-Champa District Malhar Mahotsav,Malhar, Bilaspur District Mawali Mela, Mawali, Narayanpur District Gadhbasala chaitrai mela, Gadhbasala, Kanker District

April Dongargarh Mahotsav, Rajnandgaon District Nagpura Mahotsav, Nagpura, Durg District Khalai Mahotsav, Mahasamund District Lok Mandi, Rajnandgaon

June Ramgarh Mahotsav,Ramgarh, Surguja District Sadhana Mahotsav / Yuva Sangeet Nritya Mahotsav, Rajnandgaon

District (C.G)

July Kudargarh Mahotsav, Surguja District Pawan Prasang, Pawas (C.G)

Goncha festival Jagadalpur of Bastar district inChhattisgarh is the place where the Goncha Festival iscelebrated. Connoting a special fruit of Chhattisgarh,Goncha is used as mock bullet by the tribes of thestate who celebrate the festival in July. Since GonchaFestival occurs at the same time when Rath Yatra ofHindus is celebrated, so it is also referred as the

Chariot festival. 

Goncha Festival is primarily a cultural trait of thetribal communities of the state of Chhattisgarh.However, as the festival starts gaining momentum,people from all corners of the state flock to Bastardistrict. Enjoying the essence of the festival throughvarious cultural activities, the local peoplecompletely engross themselves in the very aura ofGoncha Festival.One of the interesting part of thefestival of Goncha is that the tribal people make fakepistols with bamboo and use the goncha fruit asartificial bullets. As a compulsory custom, the mentarget each other and shoot the bullets with the helpof the bamboo pistols. The onlookers take the pleasureof the sight as it is a fun game of the tribalcommunities. 

August

Karma is one of the most popular festivals ofChhattisgarh. This festival falls in the month ofAugust/September (11th moon of the Hindu month ofBhadrapad). It is a festival celebrated by mainlythe Oraon, Baiga, Binjhwari and Majhwar tribes ofJharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Madhya Pradeshamong others.

The name Karma is drawn from the name of a tree“Karam”. The branch of  the Karam  tree  is carried by the  Karma dancers and  is  passed among  them  with  singing  and  dancing. Thisbranch is washed with milk and rice beer locallyknown as Handia. Then it is raised in the middle ofthe dancing arena. All worshipers dance for wholenight in the praise of the “Karam”. The ritualstarts with the planting of the trees. The dancersform a circle and dance with their arms around eachother dancer’s waists.

On this day people go in the forest to collectfruits and flowers, and they worship Karma Devi, agoddess who is represented with a branch of karamtree. The branches are garlanded on the next day.Offerings of flowers, rice and curd are made tothem. Red colored baskets filled with grains are

placed before the branches. Barley seedlings aredistributed among the young people, who wear it ontheir heads. The branches are worshiped and theirblessings sought. As per the legends of Karam Devi,she is believed to be the goddess of wealth andchildren.

During the dance they pass the branch of the tree,the men leap forward to a rapid roll of drums,while women dance with their feet moving in perfectrhythm to and fro.

Teeja festival, across ChhattisgarhThe Indian subcontinent is noted for a myriadreasons. One of them being the cultural diversityunderlying which there exists an unbreakablespirit of unity. Each state in India celebrates anumber of festivals unique to its own culture andtradition. Likewise Chhattisgarh celebrates Teejafestival with elaborate grandeur.Teeja isessentially a Rajashthani festival. Thepopularity of this festival is evinced by thegrand nationwide celebrations. Even the quiettribal paradise of Chhattisgarh is not spared.Teeja celebrations commence in the months of Julyand August to welcome the first monsoon downpoursof the year.Teeja festival is primarily confinedto the female world from which the menfolk arestrictly excluded. Colorful and gay procession ofthe women dressed in vibrant garments andelaborately adorned fill the streets and ageneral atmosphere of vivacity and enjoyment

prevails. The women gossip amongst themselves andfrolic around the quintessential Indian bazaars

dressed in all their finery. 

Pola festivalPola is one such festival that is largelycelebrated in the bucolic zones of Chhattisgarhwith great pomp and grandeur. The objectivebehind the festive celebrations is to pay respectto the bullocks, without whom the country'seconomy and agriculture would be in deplorableshambles. Pola Festival, also known as PithoriAmavasya is celebrated during Sharavana ormonsoon and lays great emphasis on treating thebestial creatures with due respect. The festivalis celebrated on a lovely new moon night when thestar studded whitewashed sky closely resembles aripe and flourishing paddy field. At theculmination of this ceremony, ploughing andsowing of seeds begin. Pola or Bail Pola is afestival that is grandly celebrated in ruralIndia, which has a predominantly agrarianeconomy. The festivites commence with the farmersadorning their bulls with decorating garments,embellishing their bodies with turmeric powderand garlanding the beast and finally offeringthem holy food. The evenings witness musicalparades promenades where the farmers march withtheir cattle in tow. They also regale in outdoor

games and gorge on the local delicacy of PuranPoli. 

Raag – 2012, Bilaspur

SeptemberChakradhar Samaroh, Raigarh The town of Raigarh in Chhattisgarh has carved aniche for itself in the cultural scenario of thecountry. Several distinguished Kathak Dancers andClassical Musicians were born on this soil.Mentions worthy among them are Shree FirtuMaharaj and Vijaya Sharma and most importantlyMaharaja Chakradhar Singh in whose memory theChakradhar Festival is held in Chhattisgarh.

Maharaja Chakradhar Singh was the former king ofRaigarh. He was also a great patron of music anddance. He could play the tabla and was a skilleddancer as well. In addition to that he wrote manybooks on music. The Chakradhar Samaraho inRaigarh is in honor and remembrance of this greatman whose contribution is valued to this day.

Ratanpur Mahotsav, Bilaspur District Shivratri Mela, Devada, Bastar District Shivarti Mela, Keshkal, Bastar District Lok Swar Jagar, Kanker District

October

Bastar Dashahara

Bastar Dussera is the unique cultural trait of Chhattisgarh. Celebrated by the local people of the state with sufficient vigor, the festival of Dussera connotes to the supreme power of goddess Danteswari. During Dussera, the inhabitants of Bastar organizes special worship ceremonies at the Danteswari temple of Jagadalpur. 

It is believed that Maharaja Purushaottam Deo first initiated the festival of Dussera in the early hours of 15th century. From since then it became customary for all th tribes of Bastar to take part in this holy festival. During the entire ten days of the occasion, the respected Raj family of Bastar arrange worship sessions in which the ancient arms of the Goddess Danteswari are treated as divine elements. One of the inherent traits of Bastar Dussera is that the control of the state is formally transfered to the Diwan keeping the Zamindar and similar important personalities as witnesses. Kunwar amavasya is the first day of dussera. On the night of the first day the customary transfer of

control takes place. A mystique characteristics of this ceremony is that before handing over the power to the Diwan, a girl who is believed to have possessed the spiritual powers is asked for permission. This girl is seen with a wooden swordand stands in a war-like posture. The second day of dussera is called pratipada which is followed by aarti and salami. On the ninth day, the Raja of Bastar welcomes goddess Danteswari who comes to the entrance of the city in a doli or palanquin. The tenth day of the festival is called dussera when the Raja organizes a darbar where people come and present their requests. Also aarti ceremony is held on the last day of dussera. The dussera festival is a famous event of India. But the dussera of Bastar is completelydifferent from the commonly known festival of thecountry. Bastar dussera celebrate the divine bliss of Goddess Danteswari who is the revered deity of all the existing tribes of Chhattisgarh.