Upcoming Tourist Festivals

Here's a list of upcoming festivals and events that might interest tourists visiting India.

1) Sikkim Tourism Festival - Sikkim - December 5 - 11
2) Ice Skating Carnival - Ice-Skating Rink, Shimla - December
3) Himalayan International Festival -Mcleodganj, Himachal Pradesh - 10th to 12th December
4) Konark Dance festival - Konark, Orissa - 1 -t 5 Dec 2007
5) Tansen Music festival - Gwalior - 7- 10th Dec 2007
6) Chennai Dance And Music festival - Chennai - December 2007
7) Hornbill Festival - Kohima, Nagaland - December 2007
8) Island Tourism festival - Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands - December 07 - Jan 08
9) Kurukshetra Festival - Kurukshetra, Haryana - December-2007
10) Mamallapuram Dance Festival - Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu - December 07 - January08

Festive Season Is Just Round The Corner

October and November are the months when festival fever runs high and everything else takes a backseat in India. Moms go out for shopping and all they can think about buying are clothes for their family members to be worn during these festivals. Decoration of houses begin as if they were purchased new. Rehearsals of dance, dramas and songs for cultural show are at their peak.Plans are on as to what delicacies will be made on the festival day and to how many relatives visits will be paid.

This year too, all this and much more will begin shortly. As September draws to a close and October begins,festivals will fill the life of one and all with colours and enthusiasm.Infact,the festivities have already begun with the celebration of Janamashtmi and Ganesh Chaturthi. The other festivals that will follow soon in the two months include Eid-ul-Fitr, Duesshra, Marwar festival, Karva Chauth, Deepawali, and Bhai Duj.

The reason for celebration for these festivals are different and so are the highlights. While Deepawali glitters with innumerable diyas, Karvachauth has women dressed up beautiflly to welcome the moon and break their fast(which is kept for the well being and long life of their husbands).Children and women get gifts on Eid Ul Fitr and on Duesshra, Ramlila - a dramatisation of the famous epic Ramayana - is performed to remind everyone that evil is invariably conquered by goodness.

These festivals are time when we get to know more about our culture and appreciate it. They are a welcome break from the day to day tensions of the life and fill our hearts with happiness. They are to be enjoyed completely.

So are you all set to make the most of the festive season this year?

Nehru Trophy Boat Race

Come 11th of August, 2007 and the tranquil lake of Punnamda near Alappuzha will convert into one of the most exciting places in Kerala. The reason behind it is the Nehru Trophy Boat Race. For those who are not really aware of the NTBR, let me start off by giving a brief introduction. Boat races are quiet popular in the south India state of Kerala. Infact, they are one of the major attractions for foreign tourists. NTBR is the most popular of all these races and is organised on every second Saturday of August. People, in lakhs come to witness the competitive exuberance of this boat race.

The boat race was first held in 1952 to honour the first Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who was on a trip to the region. Watching the race, Pandit Nehru got so involved and excited that he broke all security barriers and embarked a boat to take a ride on it. Later, in the same year, he presented a a silver trophy for the winner of the race. The trophy bore an inscription which said, “To the winners of the boat race which is a unique feature of community life in Travancore Cochin." Since then, the boat race has become one of the most elaborate events in Kerala every year.

In 2006, the event was organised on 13th of August and saw participation from around 60 boats including 18 snake boats. The event also saw the participation of UAE based 10 women who joined a group of 23 Indian women. This was the first ever international participation in the women category. The race was won by the Payippad Snake Boat from Kumarakom in Kottayam. This boat has not only been a regular participant of the event for decades but is also the winner of the coveted trophy for three consecutive year. For those who have already made arrangements to see the event this year, this boat is a definite watch out one. However, it will also be interesting to see if another boat can break the winning streak of the Payippad Snake Boat.

The image you are seeing above was used as alogo of 2006 NTBR. The logo of the event is selected by the Nehru Boat Race committee from amongst the entries received from the general public. The logo name was Thakkudu. The name itself was selected from amongst thousands of entries received from children belonging to class 1- 7. Both the winner of the person whose logo and the child whose suggested name is selected is given a cash prize. In 2005, the state bird of Kerala, VEZHAMBAL was he logo of the NTBR.

The NTBR is not the only boat race that is organised in the month of August. There are two other boat races taking place in this month. The Aranmula Boat Race is scheduled to be held on 30th of August while Payippad Boat Race is going to be held just a day before, on 29th of Aug. So anyone wishing to be a part of the Nehru Boat Race is definitely going to benefit watching two other exciting and pulseracing competition.

To know more about the boat races of Kerala, click here

Hemis Festival

Every year, in June-July, the Ladakh region of Jammu Kashmir gears up for the grandest event of the area, the Hemis festival. Hemis Monastery, the venue of the festival, is the wealthiest Buddhist monastery in India. No wonder, then, that the annual festival of Hemis is not just a local affair. Rather, it is an event that attracts thousands of Buddhists from all over the world. History also has records of the 1st Prime Minister of independent India, Jawahar Lal Nehru, participating in the event in 1949.

The festival marks the birth of Guru Padmasambhava, the founder of tantric Buddhism in Tibet. Masked dances are the highlights of this festival. These dances, for which the participants prepare in advance, depict the victory of good over evil. It is believed that Guru Padmasambhava battled with evil forces to ensure the safety of the local people. The masks themselves are works of art and represent guardian divinities of the Drukpa order to which the Hemis Monastery belongs. Apart from the masked dances, what attracts the attention of visitors is the fair which sees Ladakhis coming out in best of their colourful dresses. The fair offers excellent opportunities for shoppers to pick up some handicraft items of the area. A two storey Thangka displayed once in every 12 years is yet another highlight of the festival. The entire festival is presided over by the Rimpoche, the head Lama of the Hemis Monastery.





Foreign tourists coming from abroad to attend the Hemis festival are mostly Germans, Britons, Americans, French, Swiss, Italians and Israelites. Asian tourists from Korea, Japan, Thailand, Tibet, Singapore and SriLanka follow. This inflow of foreign tourists gives a big boost to tourism in the region. Tour operators come out with packages that take take tourists to the Hemis festival. Infact, this year, the Himachal Pradesh tourism department has also rolled out a special Manali-Leh (Manali being one of the base to reach Leh, the capital of Ladakh. The other base is Srinagar) journey package. This package covers over 400 km of Lahaul-Ladakh Cold Desert and offers tourists a chance to savour the stupendous beauty of the route.


Participating in Hemis festival is like giving oneself an opportunity to understand the local culture of the Buddhist people. It is truly not to be missed for those interested in cultural tourism in India.

Know more about hemis Festival here