India : Agra & Jaipur : Agra Fairs and Festivals - 6

Guys, here are the fairs and festivals of Agra. In next article we will focussed on Jaipur fairs and festivals. Just take a look.

Tajmahostav:

A Festival of art, craft culture and celebrations, organised by U.P. Tourism, is held every year between 18th to 27th February. Right from folk music to classical dance performances to elephant and camel rides to games and food festival, the event celebrates traditional Indian art forms and culture in the true sense.

The main outcomes of this festival include classical dance performances by leading dance indices and musical yarns by maestros, apart from display of various craft products and cultural shows. Taj Mathotsav is one such festival of India that clearly reflects the Mughal splendour.

This advancement is an effort to reconstruct the ones that were taken out during the time of the Mughals. The crafts that are showcased in the festival have immense variety and include:

• Woodcarvings of Saharanpur
• Brass and other metal ware of Moradabad
• Handmade carpets of Badohi
• Blue pottery of Khurja
• Chikan work of Lucknow
• Silk of Banares, etc

Kailash Fair (Aug/Sept):

Held at Kailash it's a major fair celebrated in hounour of Lord Shiva who is believed to have appeared here in the form of a stone lingam.

India celebrates all its fairs and festivals with a great deal of joyful enthusiasm. A visit to Agra gives you the opportunity not only to witness one of the Seven Wonders of the World but also to be a part of the unrestrained merriment of the fairs. Agra hosts some of the most famous fairs of the country. The Kailash Fair is a colorful carnival and you will surely enjoy being a part of it. It is held at Kailash which is at a distance of merely 12 km from Agra.

Sheetala Fair (July/Aug):

It is held near Delhi Gate. The festival of Sheetala Ashtami is celebrated with the belief that this would prevent them from the deadly epidemics. The local people of the village Chakshu pay obeisance to the goddess of small pox who is Sheetala Mata. The locals have a firm reverence for the goddess and they are of the view that by paying reverence to the goddess they will be immune to the hazards of the epidemics. There is a red stone that represents the deity of Sheetala Ashtami. The festival is celebrated with huge excitement and gusto and there is a market that is put up during the festival to celebrate the festival with a lot of items being on display where the devotees congregate. Indigenous shoes, food items, agricultural implements and food are the chief products that are being sold during the fair at the Sheetala Ashtami. There are lot of colorful attires and musical events that are organized in which the participants display their talent. There are also a lot of rituals and religious activities that are performed during the play. The tourists have a good time being here during the festival since they have a chance to observe the culture and tradition of the local people of the village from very close. They come and take the souvenirs that are also on display at the markets during the fair.

Bateshwar Fair :

This festival is held annually during the month of November at Bateshwar, 65 kms from Agra. Bateshwar is named after the presiding deity of the region, Bateshwar Mahadeo. The place has a small but magnificent temple of the deity apart from the 108 temples dedicated to the gods and goddesses of the Hindu pantheon. During the annual cattle fair devotees congregate here in large numbers to worship Lord Shiva and take holy dips in river Yamuna.

Urs (Fatehpuri Sikri):

This fair is organised of Shiekh Salim Chisthi's Dargah, during the month of Ramzan.