| Traditional Festivals |
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Uttar Pradesh is a state that has lots of culture, history and tradition brimming in it. This is why you have to make a visit to Uttar Pradesh if you are one who loves tradition and are in awe with the beautiful history of India.
One of the many traditional festivals of Uttar Pradesh is Sri Krishna Janmashtami which is celebrated not only in UP, but in all parts of India. It is the celebrations held in the Mathura zone that brings special significance to the festival. It is because Mathura is the birth place of lord Krishna that Sri Krishna Janmashtami is celebrated with pomp and show in the twin cities of Mathura and Vrindavan. During Sri Krishna Janmashtami, the temples here are heavily decorated with ‘Jhankis’ depicting the different episodes of the life of lord Krishna. The gold and silver ‘Jhulas’ or swings are the special attraction of this traditional festival of UP. They are placed on display during the occasion while the entire temple is decorated with one color, the ‘Ghata’ of that day. To add to the splendor of this traditional festival of up, you find Raaslila enactments. The Ram Leela is another of the traditional festivals of Uttar Pradesh which takes place in Ramnagar, about 15 km from Varanasi. This is a festival where traditional enactments of the Ramayana are held for 31 days by hundreds of sandhus, the Ramayanis who come both to watch and recite the Ramayana. There are permanent structures for representing the locales of the story like Ashok Vatika and Panchvati. This transforms the town into a vast Ramlila ground. During this festival, the audience follows the performers to the next location after every episode. It is the austere character of the Ramlila that is the greatest attraction here as till today, no electric lights, loudspeakers or mikes are used. Nevertheless, the average audience here is never less than ten thousand on any day. Another traditional festival of UP is the Ayurved Jhansi Mahotsava where the ayurvedic system of healing and use of Ayurveda is emphasized on. With handicraft fairs, and traditional folk performances, this is a wonderful traditional festival of UP that aims at attracting people here through health tourism. |
