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Gokulashtami
 Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Rama, Hare Hare! In the sixties, these chants of Hari Bhakti were sweeping across the Western Hemisphere spreading the word of Krishna. And now, well into the 21st century, although the movement may have ebbed a bit, yet it has secured its share of the devout in the form of the new Hindu.
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Onam
 Verdant fields, emerald lagoons, coconut palms kissing the blue sky, sounds of mridangams reverberating in temples, kathakali dance-dramas enacting the legend of Mahabali, high-voltage boat races! Welcome to the festival of what is often referred to as 'God's Own Country'. Welcome to Kerala.
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Christmas and India
 This website article for Christmas is offered by an Indian follower of Jesus Christ who has the mischievous notion that the spiritual meaning of Christmas is perhaps better understood in India (even by non-Christians) than it is in the West. On the other hand, the beautiful and deeply spiritual Christmas celebrations of Indian Christians often present a Jesus understood through western logical categories - not incorrect but somewhat anemic.
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Raksha Bandhan
 Come August and one sees stalls upon stalls in various kinds of shops, big and small, all across the country filled up with Rakhis (entwined silken or golden threads generally adorned by beads) of all kinds, some with heavy embellishments and some very simple ones, to be tied on the wrists of men. And women from all age and social brackets throng to these stalls and purchase these rakhis to be tied on the hand of their brothers and sometimes even fathers on the day of Raksha Bandhan.
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Diwali
 The word "Diwali" comes from the Sanskrit word "Deepawali" - Deepa meaning light and Avali, meaning a row. It is celebrated 20 days after Dussera, on the 13th day of the dark fortnight of the Hindu calendar month of Ashwin (October-November).
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Easter
 These words are being written for the Christian Easter festival. Mumbai's citizens were stirred up by a two-hour dance extravaganza entitled, "Yes! The Spirit of Triumph." The show was dedicated to the people of Gujarat who had an awful earthquake experience. Top professionals were involved in the performance. Colour. Movement. Joy. The tragedy of pain. The ecstasy of life and spirit.
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Dussera
 Dussera literally means the tenth day. It marks the end of the nine days of Navratri. Dussera means different things to different people. Vijayadashami as Dussera is also known, celebrates the homecoming of Lord Rama the hero of the epic Ramayana, after he rescued his wife Sita from Ravana, the king of Lanka.
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Holi
 Holi is all about having fun, playing with color and getting doped, all with the permission of the Gods! The sternest of Gods would forgive you any number of indiscretions on Holi. After all, it commemorates the day when Kamadeva (the Lord of Love) dared to strike Lord Shiva's (Lord Shiva forms a part of the holy trinity which include Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu) heart with one of his arrows.
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Durga Puja
 Of the many festivals that India has through the year, perhaps none is so beautifully Indian in all the contradictions it easily manages than the Durga Puja - the worship of the goddess Durga.
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Maha Kumbh Mela
 It happens once in 144 years and might give you a relief from the cycle of birth and death. The Maha Kumbh Mela in Jan-Feb 2001 also promises luxuries unheard of in the earlier years. THIRTY-FIVE million people, 144 years, three rivers, six days and four drops of nectar- this about sums up the significance of the Maha Kumbh.
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Ramlila
 The Ramlila - literally Rama's play, as in 'game' not drama, is nevertheless India's most famous theatrical experience. Historically it would not seem to be over 500 years at the most, but like all things historical in India that is vague too.The only equivalent would be the famous passion play at Baeder-Meinhoff, with the difference that during the Ramilia period there are many thousands of these productions being staged all over India and all of them being ad majorem gloriam Dei.
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Mahashivratri
 The festival of 'Mahashivratri' is celebrated as a mark of respect towards Lord Shiva each year. The festival of Mahashivratri, which literally means the night of Lord Shiva, is universally celebrated by Hindus each year. Lord Shiva forms a part of the Hindu holy Trimurti (trinity of Gods), wherein Brahma is the creator, Vishnu the sustainer and Shiva is the destroyer.
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Navratri
 What is Navratri? It actually comes from two words, 'Nav', which means nine and 'Ratri' which translates to nights. So it is the nine days devoted to the propitiation of Shakti or Divine Mother. She represents prakriti, counterpart of purusha jointly making possible the creation of the world according to the religious ideology of Goddess worship.
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Pongal
 On the day the sun commences its journey to the north is the day when the Tamilians celebrate Pongal on January 14. Pongal must be the only festival in the Indian calendar that derives its name from a dish of sweet rice. Appropriately enough it is the day on which the harvest is brought in.
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Ganesh Chaturthi
 Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated on the birthday of Lord Ganesh (Ganesha), the god of wisdom and prosperity on the fourth day of the moons bright fortnight, or period from new moon in the lunar month of Bhadrapada.
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