According to Bengalis, Goddess Saraswati is believed to be the daughter of Lord Shiva and Parvati but actually she is daughter of Lord Brahma and sister of Goddess Parvati. She is said to be unmarried. She is the Goddess of music and education. She is seen riding a swan and sometimes on a peacock. She is also known as Binapani as we can see her playing the musical instrument “Veena” also spelt as “Bina”. Mostly she is seen wearing a white saree with minimum jewellery.

Saraswati Puja is also known as Sri Panchami or Basant Panchami and it falls in the Hindu month of Magha (January – February), the late winters before the Spring season starts coming in. Saraswati Puja is celebrated not only in India but also in foreign countries by the Hindus residing there. It is mostly celebrated by people who has student in their home or they themselves are students. It is celebrated at home, schools, colleges, banks and many other institutions. On this day most schools, colleges and other institutions remain closed. Nowadays, in some places the Government also declare this day as a holiday.

Saraswati Puja is mainly celebrated in West Bengal, Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya and Odisha. The flower which is dearest of all to the Goddess is known as “Palash”. The fruit which is mainly offered to her is “Indian jujube” which is very popularly called as “Boroi or Kul” amongst the Bengalis. Its scientific name is “Ziziphus mauritiana” belonging to the Rhamnaceae family. Among the bengalis, there is a popular belief associated with the eating of this fruit, it is said if you are a student then from a particular time you should not eat this fruit till Saraswati puja day. After you have offered your puja and prayers to the Goddess you can eat as many as you want. It is also said to offer mango flower to the Goddess and eat it later. Bengalis also apply turmeric paste mixed with oil in their body before taking bath.

Artisans start making idols few months prior to the festival. Preparations for the puja normally start few weeks before the puja. Priests are very busy on the day of Saraswati Puja as it is a good chance for their income so anybody who requires a priest must book one well in advance. It is said you shouldn’t study on this day but you must place your books near Goddess Saraswati during the puja. It is said if a toddler is going to start education for the first time in life then Saraswati Puja is the best day to start with. The priest first offers special puja for the child’s bright future and then holding his or her hand helps in writing in a small blackboard called “slate” using chalk. This unique ceremony is known as “Khadi – Chuan” or “Vidya Arambha” or “Haathe Khori”.

On the puja day boys and girls wake up early in the morning, take bath and does the puja arrangements. Most of the girls prefer to wear saree on this day and boys prefer wearing pyjama-panjabi or dhoti-panjabi. Boys and girls also fast on this day and offers puja and prayer to the Goddess of Knowledge. Along with puja and prayers many people also perform fire rituals known as “Yajna”. Most of the puja committees organize only puja with a small feast while there are some who goes to an extent of organizing cultural programmes and games maybe on the same or the next
day.

The idol of Goddess Saraswati is never immersed in water rather they are kept at a proper place so that it gets washed away in rain. It is only done if the idol cannot be kept at home or in the respective puja area. It is said as we worship her for our education, knowledge, career and future if we immerse her, all our puja and prayers becomes meaningless and gets washed away in water. Though we do not immerse her in the water after Saraswati Puja, we must not get confused with the immersion of the same Goddess during Durga Puja. After Durga Puja, the idol of Goddess Saraswati is immersed in the water with all the other deities because at that time Durga is the prime Goddess whom we worship.

Being a student, Saraswati Puja should be organized and performed by everyone whether at homes or anywhere else no matter if its done on a large scale or just a small one. Any puja performed with full heart, love and devotion to the Lord is above all.

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This topic might be little argumental for some, whereas, for some it might be of curiosity. Different people will have different opinions or point of view. Like me, there are many people who haven’t heard about this form of Lord Ganesha. Just few days back on a social media platform I came across this topic which became a point of interest for me to write. We all are aware that we get plenty of genuine and fake news too from social media so after researching on the internet I thought I should share it with you all.
We all know the story of Lord Ganesha very well – his birth, parents, childhood, and craze for modaks, how he got the head of an elephant and lots of other information. He is a friendly-God to many. We also celebrate his birthday for 11 days with huge pomp and gaiety.
On the other hand, not much information is provided in the mythology regarding the female form Vinayaki as she is least talked about. She is much neglected and does not have too much importance. The female form does not even have any proper name. She being a female form of Ganesha derives her name from her male counterpart like, Vinayaki, Ganeshini, Gajamukhi, Lambodarini, and so on.
It is not mentioned in the Puranas about her birth, some say she is the consort of the male form and some say she is the sibling of Lord Ganesha. She is also believed to be riding a mouse and fond of Modaks like her counterpart. It is very sad to see that why she was so neglected and given no importance as it is given to the other Gods, Goddesses and even Demi-Gods. It could be because of the huge popularity of her male counterpart that she was neglected. She can hardly be seen in temples of worship. One of the most famous sculptures of Vinayaki is as the forty-first yogini in the Chausath Yogini Temple in Bhedaghat, Maharashtra. Here the Goddess is called as Sri – Aingini.
It is not very much clear whether it was another Goddess or a female form of Ganesha. According to Devdutt Pattnaik, a demon named Andhaka wanted to marry Parvati, the wife of Lord Shiva. In order to defeat Andhaka, Parvati called for help from Shaktis of every divine being because Shiva was unable to kill Andhaka, as a new Andhaka would be born from the drop of blood that fell to the ground. So, then there came Vaishnavi, the shakti of Vishnu, Indrani, was the shakti of Indra, Brahmini, the shakti of Brahma, and also the shakti of Ganesha, Ganeshani appeared there to help Parvati and Shiva to defeat Andhaka by drinking the blood of the demon without letting a single drop of blood touch the ground.
Again, in some other stories, Ganeshani is said to represent Malini, who was the elephant – headed companion of Parvati and the nurse – maid of Ganesha.
It is still unclear who she actually was – the female Ganesha, his consort, sibling, nurse – maid or any other Goddess and also why she is not popular like other Gods.

(P.S.: The main intention of writing on this topic was to inform and let readers know about this deity who is not known to many, and not to hurt any individual’s or groups sentiments, emotions or feelings nor to create any sort of controversies and whatever data and photos are used are completely based on the information provided in Google).

Gymnasium is very popularly called as a gym in almost every part of the world. The word is derived from the ancient Greek word “gymnasium”. The first recorded gymnasiums date back to 3000 years ago in ancient Persia, where they were known as zurkhaneh. A gym is found mostly in a closed area but it can sometimes be found in an open air too. It is a place for gymnastics or athletics.
In today’s fast moving and busy life we can see people are being very much concerned about their health and in order to stay fit and healthy they join a gym which is one of the best ways to stay fit. It is a place where we do various kinds of workouts like cardio, kettlebells, bar bells, dumb bells and many more.
A gym can be particularly for men, women or even unisex i.e. both men and women working out together. A gym may be big or small in size, local gym or a franchisee gym of a domestic or international gym brand, it doesn’t matter but what matters the most is that a gym must always have good and knowledgeable trainers who can train and guide the clients towards having a good and proper health.
A gym without a trainer is like radar less boat or a school without a teacher.
These days a gym does not only provide space for fitness workout but they may also provide classes for aerobics, yoga, zumba, mixed martial arts (MMA) and many more.
We can also see many schools and colleges providing gym facilities for the students staying in hostels so that they can take care of their health while staying far away from home and does not have to go out of hostels in search of a gym as sometimes there may not be any gym near a school or college which will be a problem for the health conscious youths.
Not only educational institutions, many big star – rated hotels and apartments also provide gym facility for their guests or residents.
These days it is not difficult to find a gym as it used to be in the earlier years. We can find atleast one gym in an area. If someone is really interested to stay healthy and fit, then it is always better to join a gym. Some gyms run for six days and some runs for seven days a week. Different gyms has a different time table for workout, some stays open from morning till night and some on a shift basis but there are very few gyms which runs for twenty-four hours and seven days a week.
Apart from working out in a gym, there are many facilities which a client can avail in a gym especially in the big and expensive ones. The facilities are – body massage, locker room, shower, spa, healthy food counter, and many more. In most of the gyms, one can avail for a personal trainer who will guide exclusively to a particular client at a particular time.
All gyms must have a certified nutritionist or a dietician to provide a correct and proper diet to the clients as it is very essential along with
workout.
In Guwahati too, we have many gyms located at different areas. Some of the best and leading gyms are as listed below:
1. Transformers Fitness Academy.
2. Fit 7.
3. NXT Gym.
4. Talwalkars.
5. Chisel.
6. Gold Gym.
7. Biofit and many more. Hence, to stay fit and healthy it is very necessary to atleast join a gym and follow a proper diet given by a certified practitioner.

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The Kamakhya Temple is one of the 51 shakti peethas located on the Nilachal Hills at Guwahati, Assam. It is dedicated to the Goddess Kamakhya. Apart from the main Kamakhya Temple, there are other temples that is dedicated to the ten Mahavidyas, viz, Kali, Tara, Sodashi, Bhuvaneshwari, Bhairavi, Chhinnamasta, Dhumavati, Bagalamukhi, Matangi and Kamalatmika. Large numbers of devotees flock to this temple everyday from different parts of the country as well as local devotees to seek blessings from the Goddess.
It was built in between the 8th to 17th century formerly, by King Narakasur and Koch King Biswa Singha but it was destroyed several times and the present structure of the temple was built by Koch King Naranarayan and Chilarai.
The sacrifice of animals to please the Goddess is still prevalent here and mainly goats are sacrificed here. One will never find any idol of the Goddess inside the Temple except for the yoni that fell from the corpse of Goddess Sati. The Kamakhya is said to be one of the four primary shakti peethas.
This temple has no fixed time of worship though it remains closed from time to time. Devotees start coming here from 4 or 5 in the morning and stand in queues to worship the Goddess. There is no fixed time as for how long does one need to wait in the queue to get a chance to worship. If someone is really interested in visiting the temple and worships the Goddess, then he or she must have sufficient time in hand and can spend a day at the temple as it is difficult to say for how long does one need to wait in the queues before worshipping the Deity.
The temple was earlier administered by the Kamakhya Debutter Board but was later transferred to the Bordewri Samaj by the Supreme Court of India in the month of July, 2015.
Ambubachi Mela is one of the annual festivals that is celebrated here every year which falls in the month of Ashadha (mid June – July). During this time, the temple remains closed for atleast three days during which the Goddess goes through her menstruation cycle. After three days the temple is opened and the Goddess is cleaned to regain her purity and allows the devotees to worship her. Every year, thousands and lakhs of devotees, tantrics, naga sadhus, sanyasins, sanyasinis, baul singers visit the temple during this period. They not only come from various parts of the country but even from different parts of the world. There are many sages who can only be seen during this time and stay hidden for rest of the year. During this time, many devotees do not offer pujas at their homes and keeps the puja area covered; they also do not lit fire or read any holy scriptures. They eat only vegetarian food which is prepared by someone else who is not from their family or depends on fruits.
After three days, when the Kamakhya Temple is reopened after a particular time, devotees also take bath and clean their puja area of their home and offer puja.
Apart from the Ambubachi Mela, Manasha Puja is another major festival that is celebrated here along with Durga Puja and Navaratri in the autumn.

(Kamakhya Temple Beatifully Decorated During Navaratri).
Other than the pujas and festivals of the temple, one can also arrange wedding ceremonies, annaprashan (first rice eating ceremony), upanayana(holy thread taking) ceremony and many other occasions.
People can come to Guwahati by railways, airways or roadways from different parts of the country and after reaching Guwahati; one can book a cab, take an auto rickshaw or even travel in a city bus to reach the temple. One can visit this temple at any time of the year except during “Ambubachi Mela” if you want to avoid massive crowd or you have problem in your legs and cannot walk much. Ambubachi Mela is a good time for photographers too.
If someone is coming to Guwahati to visit the temple but does not have a place to stay then one does not need to worry anymore, as nowadays, there are many good hotels and lodges which provide food and accommodation for the devotees inside the premises. There are many big and small restaurants selling vegetarian and non vegetarian food for the devotees coming to the temple. Apart from hotels there is also a parking area for the devotees who come by their own vehicles. There are innumerous shops selling many spiritual and holy items. There is a place inside a temple where food is served for free at a particular time to all the devotees coming there.
There was a time when there was no proper road to the temple and people had to face lots of difficulty in reaching the temple by climbing hills and steep roads but now the Government of Assam has constructed a good road not only for the devotees to go on foot but they can also go by vehicles.

Lord Shiva is known by several names like Mahadeva, Bholenath, Neelkantha, Devadidev, Kedarnath, Ashish, Shankara, Pashupatinatha, Nataraja, Aghori, Jattadhari and many more. Lord Shiva is said to dwell on the mount Kailasha since ages. He also loves to dwell in the Hindu graveyard. He is said to be the destroyer of the evil. He along with Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma is known as Trideva. Devotees of Lord Shiva are known as Shaivites. Lord Shiva is seen with a trishul (trident) in one hand, serpent around his neck, and moon on his jata in the head and Ganga flowing from his jata. He is seen riding a bull called Nandi. Lord Shiva is seen wearing a piece of cloth made of tiger skin and garland made of roodraksha. Lord Shiva is said to be the master of everything. He is said to be the beginning as well as the end.
Lord Shiva first married Sati, the daughter of Prajapati Daksha but she sacrificed herself in the fire when her father did not invite Shiva to a yagnya where all the saints, sages, gods, goddesses and demi-gods were invited and Daksha insulted Shiva very badly in front of everyone which could not be tolerated by Sati and thus she ended her life which made Shiva very much grief stricken and years later Lord Shiva married Goddess Parvati, the daughter of King Himavan and Queen Mainavati. She was the re-incarnation of Goddess Sati.
Shivaratri or Maha Shivaratri, the great night of Lord Shiva is an annual festival celebrated world-wide which falls in the months of February – March (phalguna). According to some legends, it is believed that, the wedding night of Lord Shiva and Parvati is known as Maha Shivaratri, whereas, according to some other legends, Mahashivaratri is believed to be the time when a war amongst the Gods and the Demons in the ocean took place which is known as “Samudra Manthan”. Many precious items came out which both the parties took equally but along with everything, a deadly poison “Halahal” also came out which no one agreed to take and thus it was Lord Shiva who in order to protect the universe churned the deadly “Halahal”. In order to stop the poison from spreading further in Shiva’s body, Goddess Parvati pressed his neck with her hand and stopped it from spreading. She then gave him the name of Neelkantha (one with a blue throat) by Parvati. It is believed that it took place where the Neelkantha Mahadeva Temple is located. Again, due to some legends, Mahashivaratri is said to be the night when Shiva performed the dance of creation and destruction known as the “Tandava” dance and his dancing form is known as “Nataraja”.
On this day, people fast for a whole day and night and offer puja and prayers. Shivaratri is celebrated at home or in temples and it is also celebrated by making a temporary temple like structures as like in other festivals.

In many places, fairs and processions are also organized to mark the event. On this day many people don’t go to sleep rather spend the whole night offering puja, singing songs, dancing and meditating.
It is said that, Lord Shiva can be easily pleased if one pours milk, curd, honey and ghee along with bilva leaves on a shivalinga. People can even smear Vibhuti (holy ash) in the shivalinga.

One can offer dhutura flowers and their seed to Shivalinga as it is Lord Shiva’s favourite. One must chant the hymn “Om Namah Shivaya” while offering puja on the Shivalinga. In temples, devotees also offer “Bhaang” (a form of addictive mixed with milk) as Prasad to Lord Shiva.
Though there are idols of Shiva for worship but he is mostly worshipped in the form of a Shivalinga. Most people also believe that if girls who are eligible to get married if does fasting on this day and offers puja to Lord Shiva then he will be pleased and the girl will get a good life partner like him.

People know about the Kamakhya Temple which is situated in the Nilachal Hills, Guwahati, Assam. It is one of the oldest Shakti Peeths and is also a very popular tourist spot too and people also know many other facts about this Temple but unfortunately what many people do not know, is that, there is another Kamakhya Temple which is located at Thakuranbari village near Mankachar in the Assam – Meghalaya border. Some people claim it to be one of the Shakti Peeths.

Goddess Kamakhya is a Hindu tantric Goddess of desire that evolved in the Himalayan hills. The Goddess is also identified as Kali and Maha Tripura Sundari.

The main priest of the Temple, Om Prakash Jha, claims that the navel of Goddess Sati fell in this place from her corpse which Lord Shiva was carrying on his shoulder that was later cut into pieces by the Sudarshana Chakra of Lord Vishnu.

This second temple of Goddess Kamakhya a counterpart of the main Temple does not have a very big area. Localites as well as the head priest says if the Governments of Assam and Meghalaya comes together to develop the temple infrastructure which will not only bring more number of devotees to the Temple but will also generate revenue for the area and it can also be a source of income for the localites who are unemployed.

It is only 45 kilometres from the town of Tura, the second largest town in Meghalaya after Shillong. But the main problem is that, the roadways leading to the temple is not well constructed which makes reaching the temple little difficult. So once the road is well built and the temple is developed then it is for sure that it will also be very much popular like it’s counterpart in Guwahati. Though the devotees coming to this temple has started spreading news about this temple and many new devotees have started recognising it but the Government should take immediate steps to develop the area.

There are not too many Hindu devotees here and the devotees who come here are mainly from places of Meghalaya and Assam and even from Bangladesh.

In the recent times, a community hall was inaugurated at the temple premises by Deputy Commissioner of West Garo Hills, Shri Pravin Bakshi. The temple was built under sanctioned from Backward Region Grant Fund (BRGF). A rest house was also built during Chief Minister of Assam, Shri Hiteswar Saikia’s tenure and a washroom constructed by the Assam tourism department.

Hence, let us all spread the word to everyone we know as soon as possible so that more and more number of devotees starts visiting this temple and it compels the Government to develop the temple as well as the area.

Photo Credit – Google

Dhak is a leather instrument which is mainly used during festivals especially Durga Puja.

Durga Puja is believed to be incomplete without the beating of the dhaks (drum). Almost every puja communities hire dhakis (drum players) to play dhak during the puja.

The dhak is made of leather and wood and requires two different shape and size of sticks to be played. It can be played either by keeping it on the floor or by hanging it on the shoulder. To make the dhaks look more beautiful and attractive, the dhakis paint something of their choice on the opposite side which is not used much and also put a dress on the dhak. Some go to the extent of putting a tail like structure made of feathers on the opposite side.

Dhaks may be in different shapes and sizes. These days, we find dhaks made of different materials but the ones made of leathers are the best.

To make it more melodious, dhaks are often accompanied by a dhol (a different kind of leather drum, which is played using a single stick on one side and hand on the other) and a kashor (a round bell like structure which is also played with a stick).

People may hire one or more than one dhaki depending on their budget and capacity. These days, a dhak is not only restricted to be used only in Durga Puja but is used in almost all pujas. Not only in India, dhakis are also hired from India to perform in abroad as dhakis are not available everywhere.

As time started passing, both dhak and dhakis has started gaining name and fame everywhere in the entire world.

In the ancient days, dhaks were played by men only, due to myths that restricted women from playing dhaks but nowadays, we can find many women dhakis along with the male dhakis. As the dhaks contain weight and it might be difficult for the women to carry it on their shoulder and play for long durations so their dhaks are little different as compared to the male ones.

Shri Gokul Chandra Das from West Bengal, India is a world-class renowned dhaki who is very famous all over the world for playing dhak. He is the person who started the mission of teaching women how to play dhak. He designed and made the dhaks for the women so that they don’t have to carry the heavy ones on their shoulder.

The beating of dhaks in almost all festivals has become indispensable to make the people dance with the rhythm and sound produced by it.

ABOUT GODDESS DURGA
Goddess Durga or Parvati is said to be the re-incarnation of Goddess Sati, the first wife of Lord Shiva and daughter of Prajapati Daksha and granddaughter of Lord Brahma. Durga is the second wife of Lord Shiva and daughter of King Himavan and Queen Mainavati. Durga received her name after defeating a demon named Durgasur and she received her power and weapons from 10 different Gods to conquer the demon called Mahishasura as he couldn’t be defeated by any male God due to the boon he received from Lord Brahma. After killing Mahishasura she came to be known as Mahishasuramardini.

ABOUT DURGA PUJA
Durga Puja is celebrated twice a year. The first one falls in the months of March-April and is known as Basanti Puja which was first started by the demon King Ravana, but it is not too much celebrated unlike the second one which was started by Lord Ramachandra (Rama) in the month of Ashvina i.e. Sept-Oct also known as Sharadiyo Durgotsab, Sharadiyo Utsav or Akaal Bodhan, as it was performed in an untimely part of the year to seek blessings of Goddess Durga to defeat demon King Ravana who had captivated Sita, the wife of Lord Rama. This time of celebration is still prevalent and is widely celebrated all over the world.
It is said that, Durga Puja is the time when Goddess Durga goes to her parental home from Kailasha along with Saraswati, Karthika, Laxmi and Ganesha.

We all wait for Durga Puja for a whole long year, no matter whatever age we belong to. It is said to be the biggest festival mainly of the Bengalis though celebrated by people of almost every Hindu community not only in India but even in abroad. The puja is generally a 10 days long festival but its preparations starts months before the puja.
What makes this festival unique is its theme-based pandals (the temporary temples or structures where the idols are placed),

the shiuli and kaash flowers,

the mesmerizing decorations, beautiful idols, beating of the dhaaks

and I think each and every thing involved in it makes it unique.

Mahalaya, which falls 7 days prior to Durga Puja marks the end of Pitru Paksha and the start of Devi Paksha. It is the day from when we get the actual feeling of Durga Puja. Mahishasuramardini, a two-hours programme that used to be aired on the radios which was very popular since 1950 and it is still very popular as it is not only aired on radios but also on televisions is another attraction of Durga Puja. Earlier it used to be conducted live but later recorded versions began to broadcast. People mostly Bengalis wake up by 4 am on Mahalaya to listen to the voices of Late Birendra Krishna Bhadra and Late Pankaj Kumar Mullick, though the chanting of the latter is not very popular on All India Radio (AIR). The hymns they recite are from the Devi Mahatmyam or Chandi Path.
These days there are many Bengali and few other TV channels where they telecast special programs from Mahalaya till Dashami, the immersion day. They show puja preparations, pujas, shopping, puja special food programs and many more.
Some Bengali and Odiya weekly magazines bring out special editions of their magazines for the pujas known as “Pujo Barshiki” or “Pujo Shonkha”. Some of the popular magazines are “Anandamela”, “Shuktara”, “Sarodiya Anandabazaar Patrika”, “Naba kallol” and many more.
Mahalaya is the day when the puja starts in many places and it is the time when everyone has to give final touches to their preparations for the puja. The 5 main days of the puja are:
1. Shashti – After Mahalaya, the main puja starts from the sixth day known as Shashti. On this day, the idols are placed inside the pandals. The priests after reciting hymns/chants will place different weapons in the hands of the Gods and Goddesses. On this day no puja is offered in the day, it is done in the evening only. Bodhana, Adhivasa and Navapatrika Sthapna are done on this day.
Bodhana means the rites to awaken and welcome Goddess Durga along with her children.
Adhivasa means the ritual wherein many symbolic offerings are made to Durga, where every item represents a rememberance of her forms.
Navapatrika sthapna means giving a bath to nine different holy plants and placing them for puja.
2. Saptami – It is the seventh day of the puja. On this day the priest offers bath to the Goddess and then offers puja by reciting hymns which is followed by pushpanjali (devotees offering flowers and holy leaves to the Goddess followed by hymns).
3. Ashtami – It is the eighth day of puja where like saptami, more pujas, hymns and pushpanjali are offered to the Goddess. On this day in some places a ritual known as Kumari Puja is very popular where a young girl is dressed and decorated like a young Goddess and then puja is offered to her. In many places animals especially buffaloes are sacrificed. In the evening, sandhi puja is performed which is another important ritual. It is generally for forty-eight minutes. Mostly ladies fast on this day atleast till Sandhi Puja is over so that they can offer puja and prayers during the Sandhi Puja. 4. Navami – It is the ninth day of celebration. On this day too, puja and prayers are offered to the Goddess, the difference is that the celebration is after Durga’s victory over the demon Mahishasura and Vedic style homa (fire rituals) are now offered.
5. Vijaya Dashami – On this day a small puja is peformed unlike the other three days. All our enjoyments, fun and happiness comes to an end as it’s the last day of the puja, the time to bid adieu to Goddess Durga and her family. Though it is very difficult but with a heavy heart, maybe even with tears in our eyes we bid adieu which is done with Sindoor Khela (vermillion game) by married women in the morning. At first, the married women smear sindoor/kumkum (vermillion) to the Gods and Goddesses idols and then they play with all the other married women.

Later in the afternoon, processions are taken out from the puja pandals to the respective immersion rivers or seas with large number of devotees walking, dancing and singing on the streets to the beats of the dhaaks (drums) with slogans like “Bolo Durga Mai Ki Jai”, “Abaar Kobe, Bochhor Pore”, and many more. After the immersion is completed, it is now time to seek blessings from our parents and other elderly members of the family followed by eating sweets and snacks (Jalebi and nimkis preferably) and also tying holy thread (known as Aparajita) from the priest of the puja pandal and taking holy water (shanti jal). People also visit the homes of their relatives and friends.

Vijaya Dasami coincides with Dussehra the day when Lord Rama conquered Ravana and in many places after the Durga Puja immersion is over, people burn effigies of Ravana, his son Meghnada and brother Kumbhakarna to mark the victory of Lord Rama.
Durga Puja is incomplete without having Khichdi (rice mixed with legumes and spices)-Labda (mix veg)

and almost every puja pandal serves khichdi-labda for the devotees. Some may serve it on 1 day or maybe every day. Nowadays, some puja communities not only serve khichdi but even provide variations in food and they also serve 3 times a day.
Apart from Khichdi, what makes Durga Puja unique is, many communities organize cultural programs and various games during the festival which gathers a huge crowd in the pandal. Durga Puja is also incomplete without the famous Dhunuchi Naach (Dance).

In many parts of the world, during Durga Puja few organisations conduct competitions for the puja pandals which has not only brought competitiveness in the puja committee organizers but the level and quality of the pujas has also raised. Best idol, best pandal, best illumination, best dhaki (drum player), best immersion procession are some of the different categories where the puja committees are given prizes.
In many places like Gujarat, Maharashtra, etc, Durga Puja is celebrated in the form of Navaratri for 9 days worshipping a different form of the Goddess on each day.
Durga Puja resembles the win of good over evil. Keeping this spirit in mind we shall endeavour to devote ourselves to follow as well as to spread the spirit of peace, harmony and brotherhood in our society.

(Some of the photos have been taken from Google).

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India is a land to innumerable number of saints belonging to different religions whose teachings more or less were the same. Different saints came to this world at a different time; some were believed to be a re-incarnation of a God. Some found a new religion whereas some have founded an organization. Below is a list of spiritual saints and sages. The little details about them and the photos that I have used belong to Google and the actual owners. I do not have any right on them. I have tried my best to keep it error free based on whatever details were provided on the internet. It is not possible to include all saints as the list would have been longer and details of all saints are not available on the internet. Some saints were given lots of information, some were given a little information and some even had controversies with details.

01. ANUKULCHANDRA

Anukulchandra Chakravarty was the founder of Satsang organisation and he was born on 14th September, 1888 in Himaitpur Village (present day, Pabna dist, Bangladesh). He left us for heavenly abode on 27th January 1969, at Deoghar Town, Jharkhand, India. His parents were Shri Sivachandra Chakravarty and Smti Manomohini Devi. He was married to Sorashibala Devi (known as Boro Maa) and Sarbomangala Devi (known as Choto Maa). He had 3 Sons; Amarendranath Chakravarty, Bibekranjan Chakravarty and Prachetaranjan Chakravarty (only child of Thakur and Choto Maa) and 3 Daughters; Sadhana Devi, Santwana Devi and Anuka Devi. His guru was Shri Huzur Maharaj.

02. PRANABANANDA

Pranabananda was the founder of Bharat Sevashram Sangha. He was born as Jaynath and was later named Binode by his father. He was born on 29th January 1896 in Bajitpur, Madaripur (Faridpur) Dist, Bengal, British India and he left us on 8th February 1941 at the age of 45 years in Kolkata, Bengal, British India. He was the son of Shri Vishnu Charan Bhuia and Smti Sarada Devi. His diksha guru was Shri Yogiraj Baba Gambhirnathji Maharaj and sanyas guru was Shri Gobindanandagiri.

03. RAMAKRISHNA PARAMHANSA Shri Ramakrishna was the founder of Ramakrishna Order. His philosophy is Advaita Vedanta, Bhakti and Tantra. He was born as Gadadhar Chattopadhyay on 18th February 1836 in Kamarpukur, Bengal Presidency, British India (Present Day – Hoogly, West Bengal, India. He left us on 16th August 1886 at the age of 50 years in Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India (present day – Cossipore, Kolkata, W.B. India). He was born to Shri Khudiram Chattopadhyay and Smti Chandramani Devi and was married to Smti Sarada Devi. His guru was Totapuri.

04. SWAMI VIVEKANANDA
Narendranath Datta (shortened to Narendra or Naren) was born on 12th January 1863 in Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India (present-day Kolkata, West Bengal, India) was born to Shri Vishwanath Datta and Smti Bhubaneswari Devi. He later came to be known as Swami Vivekananda and he was the founder of Ramakrishna Mission and Ramakrishna Math. His philosophy was Modern Vedanta and Raja Yoga. He left us on 4th July 1902 aged 39 years in Belur Math, Bengal Presidency, British India (present-day West Bengal, India). His guru was Shri Ramakrishna Paramahansadev.

05. SHRI RAM THAKUR.

Shri Radhamadhava Chakravarty and Smti Kamala Devi had a son named Ram Chandra Chakravarty who later came to be known as Ram Thakur was born on 2nd February 1860 in Dingamanik, Faridpur, Bengal, British India (Now Bangladesh). His philosophy was Tantra and Yoga. He died on 1st May 1949 at the age of 89 years in Noakhali, East Bengal, Pakistan (Now Bangladesh).

06. RAMDAS KATHIABABA
There were many kathiababas and one of them was Ramdas. Ram means the Lord Rama of Ayodhya and Dasa means “servant of the Lord”, thus the name Ramdas, as he was a great devotee of Lord Rama. His philosophy was Dvaitadvaita and Nimbarka Sampradaya. He was born in early 19th century in Lonachamari, Punjab, India and died in the year 1909 CE in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, India. His guru was Devdas Kathiababa.

07. SHIRDI SAI BABA
Sai Baba is also known as Shirdi Sai or Sai Baba of Shirdi or Shirdi Sai Baba. Baba’s philosophy was Bhakti Yoga, Sufism, Jnana Yoga and Karma Yoga. Details of his birth and parents are not known as he never revealed his true identity to anyone. He left us on 15th October 1918 in Shirdi, Bombay Presidency, British India (present-day Maharashtra, India). His guru was Shyamacharan Lahiri for Kriya Yoga (according to a book “Purana Purusha”). His famous saying is “Sabka Malik Ek” meaning “God is One”.

08. SHYAMA CHARAN LAHIRI
Shyama Charan Lahiri, affectionately called as Lahiri Mahashaya was born on 30th September 1828 in Ghurni Village (presently a neighborhood of Krishnanagar town) in Nadia district, Bengal Province, British India. His parents were Shri Gaur Mohan Lahiri and Smti Muktakashi. His philosophy is Kriya Yoga. He died on 26th September 1895 at the age of 66 years in Varanasi, United Provinces, British India. He was married to Srimati Kashi Moni who is affectionately called as Guru Maa. They had 2 sons named Tincouri and Ducouri and 3 daughters named Harimoti, Harikamini and Harimohini. His guru was Shri Mahavatar Babaji.

09. SHRI SATHYA SAI BABA.

The founder of Sathya Sai Organisation, Sri Sathya Sai Baba was born as Sathyanarayana Raju. His philosophy was Love All. Serve All. Help Ever. Hurt Never.
Raju was born on 23rd November 1926 in Puttaparthi, Madras Presidency, British India to Shri Peddavenkama Raju Ratnakaram and Smti Meesaraganda Eashwaramma. He left us on 24th April 2011 at the age of 84 years in Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh, India.

10. PARAMANANDA
Born as Suresh Chandra Guha – Thakurta on 5th February 1884 in Banaripara Upazila, East Bengal, British India (now Bangladesh). Paramananda’s parents were Shri Ananda Mohan Guha-Thakurta and Smti Brahmamoyee Basu and he was a disciple of Swami Vivekananda. He died on 21st June 1940 at the age of 56 years in Cohasset, Massachusetts.

11. CHAITANYA MAHAPRABHU
Gaudiya Vaishnavism and Achintya Bheda Abheda was founded by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu whose philosophy was Bhakti Yoga and Achintya Bheda Abheda. He was born as Vishvambhar Mishra also known as Nimai. He was born on 18th February 1486 in Nabadwip Dham (present-day Nadia, West Bengal, India), known as Yogapith. He was born to Shri Jagannath Mishra and Smti Sachi Devi. He had 2 gurus, one of them was his mantra guru, Shri Isvara Puri and the other his sanyas guru, Shri Kesava Bharati.

12. TULSIDAS

Tulsidas founded the Sankatmochan Temple of Lord Hanuman in Varanasi. The name ‘Tulsidas’ is derived from ‘tulsi’ a holy basil leaf and ‘dasa’ means servant. His philosophy is based on Ramanandi Sampradaya. He was born as Rambola in the year 1532. There are lots of argument regarding his birth place. There are as many as seven places mentioned as his birthplace. In 2012, Sukarkhet Soron was declared officially by the govt of Uttar Pradesh as his birth place. He died in the year 1623 in Assi Ghat, Varanasi, Awadh Subah, Mughal Empire (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India). He was born to
Shri Atmaram Dubey and Smti Hulsi. Regarding his marriage some say he was married to Ratnavali whereas some claim him to be a bachelor. His guru was Shri Narahari Dasa.

13. MAHAVEER
Mahaveer is believed to be born on
c. 497 BCE according to historical records/ c. 599 BCE according to svetambara / c. 582 BCE according to digambaras. He was born in
Kundagrama, Vaishali, Vajji (present-day Vaishali district, Bihar, India). He was born to King Siddhartha and Queen Trishala. According to Digambaras, his parents wanted him to marry Yashoda but he refused to marry but according to Svetambaras he was married to Yashoda and also had a daughter named Priyadarshana also called as Anojja. He left us on c. 425 BCE according to historical records / c. 527 BCE according to svetambaras / c. 510 BCE according to digambaras in Pawapuri, Magadha (present-day Bihar, India).

14. GURU NANAK.

On 15th April 1469 in Rai Bhoi Ki Talvandi, (present-day Nankana Sahib, Punjab, Pakistan) near Lahore, Guru Nanak was born to Shri Kalyan Chand Das Bedi popularly shortened to Mehta Kalu and Mata Tripta. His parents were Hindu but he founded a new religion, Sikhism. He had an elder sister called Nanki. He was married to Mata Sulakkhani. They had 2 sons named, Sri Chand and Lakhmi Chand. He left us for heavenly abode on 22nd September 1539 aged 70 years in Kartarpur, Mughal Empire (present-day Pakistan).

15. SWAMI BRAHMANANDA.

Rakhal Chandra Ghosh who is known as Swami Brahmananda was born on 21st January 1863 in Sikra Kulingram near Basirhat, Calcutta, British India. He left us on 10th April 1922 aged 59 years in Belur Math, Calcutta, British India. His guru was also Shri Ramakrishna Paramhansadev.

16. JALARAM BAPA
Jalaram Bapa was born on 14th November 1799 in Virpur, Virpur – Kherdi State, British India. Bapa means father in Gujarati. Jalaram was born to Shri Pradhan Thakkar and Smti Rajbai Thakkar. He died on 23rd February 1881 aged 81 years in Virpur, Virpur-Kherdi State, British India. His wife was Virbai Thakkar with whom they had 1 daughter named Jamnaben. His guru was Shri Bhojalram.

17.MOHANANANDA BRAHMACHARI
Mohananda was born Manmohan Bandhopadhyay (Banerjee) on 17th December 1903 in Midnapore, West Bengal and died on 29th August 1999 aged 95 years in Tennessee, United States. His parents were Shri Hem Chandra Bandhopadhyay and Smti Binoyini Debi and guru was Sri Balananda Brahmachari.

18. HARIHARANANDA GIRI
Rabindranath Bhattacharya was born on 27th May 1907 in Nadia district, West Bengal as Hariharananda Giri. His philosophy was Kriya Yoga and he left us on 3rd December 2002 at the age of 95 years in Miami, Florida, United States. His gurus were Bijoy Krishna Chattopadhyay, Yukteswar Giri, Bharati Krishna Tirtha, Paramahansa Yogananda and Satyananda Giri.

19. SANT DNYANESWAR
One of the disciples of Shri Nivruttinath was his younger brother Dnyaneswar who is also known as Dnyandev or Mauli. He was born to Shri Vitthalapant and Smti Rakhumabai in 1275 CE in Apegaon, dist Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India. His philosophy was Advaita, Varkari and Hinduism. He left us in 1296 CE (Sanjeevan Samadhi at the age of 21) in Alandi, British India.

20. SADHAK RAMPRASAD
Sadhak Ramprasad was born as Ramprasad Sen in the year c. 1718 or c. 1723 in Halisahar, near Calcutta, Bengal to Shri Ramram Sen and Smti Siddheshwari. His wife’s name was Smti Sarvani. They had 1 daughter whose name is not known and 1 son named Ramdulal. He died in the year c.1775 in Halisahar, near Calcutta, Bengal, India. His gurus were Shri Madhavacharya and Shri Krishnananda Agamavagisha. Ramprasad composed many devotional songs which used to be dedicated to Goddess Kali and his songs are known as Ramprasadi.

21. SHRI MAHANAMBRATA BRAHMACHARI
Born as Bankim Dasgupta on 25th December 1904 in Khalishakota, Barisal, Bengal, British India. Mahanambrata’s parents were
Shri Kalidas Dasgupta and Smti Kaminisundari Devi and guru was Sripad Mahendraji. He died at the age of 94 years on 18th October, 1999.

22. SHRI VISHUDDHANANDA PARAMHANSA
Shri Akhil Chandra Chattopadhyay and Smti Raj Rajeshswari Chattopadhyay had a son who was named Bholanath Chattopadhyay. He was born on 14th March 1853 in Bondul Village, Bengal Province, British India. His philosophy was Surya Vigyan, Chandra Vigyan, Nakshatra Vigyan, Vayu Vigyan and Yog Jyotish. Bholanath came to be known as Vishuddhananda Paramhansa or most affectionately Gandha Baba (the perfume saint). He was a disciple of Maharshi Mahatapa Paramahansa. He died on 14th July 1937 at the age of 84 years in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.

23. PARAMAHANSA YOGANANDA Yogananda is the founder of Self – Realisation Fellowship and Yogoda Satsanga Society of India. His philosophy was Hinduism and Kriya Yoga. He was born as Mukunda Lal Ghosh on 5th January 1893 in Gorakhpur (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India). Details about his family is not known. He died on 7th March 1952 aged 59 years in Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles, California and his guru was Swami Yukteswar Giri.

24. SWAMI ABHEDANANDA
The founder of Ramakrishna Vedanta Math in Calcutta and Darjeeling was Swami Abhedananda whose philosophy was Vedanta. He was born on 2nd October 1866 in North Calcutta, Bengal, British India as Kaliprasad Chandra to Sri Rasiklal Chandra and Smti Nayantara Devi. He left us on 8th September 1939 aged 72 years in Calcutta, Bengal, British India. He was also a disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahansadev.

25. SWAMI SATYANANDA

Bihar School of Yoga was founded by
Swami Satyananda Saraswati. He was born on 25th December, 1923 in Almora and died on 5th December, 2009 at the age of 85 years. His guru was Sivananda Saraswati.

26. SWAMI SWARUPANANDA
Ajay Hari Banerjee popularly known as Swami Swarupananda or Babamani was born on 8th July 1871 in Bhawanipur, Bengal, India and died on 27th June 1906 (aged 34), in Nainital, India. His guru was Swami Vivekananda. Details about his family is unknown.

27. MAHAVATAR BABAJI
Mahavatar Babaji was born as Nagarajan on 30th November 203 CE in Parangipettai village, Cuddalore dist, Tamil Nadu, India. His philosophy was Kriya Yoga. Details of his family life and death is not available. His gurus were Shri Siddha Bhogarnathar and Shri Siddha Maharshi Agastya.

28. SAMARTHA RAMDAS
Narayan Suryaji Thosar was born in April 1608 in Jambi village, Jalna district, Maharashtra, India to Shri Suryaji Pant and Smti Ranubai. Narayan later came to be known as Samartha Ramdas and his philosophy was Advaita. He died on 2nd February 1681 aged 73 years in Sajjangad. His guru was Lord Rama.

29. DAYANANDA SARASWATI
Arya Samaj was founded by Dayananda Saraswati and his philosophy was Vedanta. He was born as Mul Shankar Tiwari or Mulshankar Karsandas Tiwari on 24th February 1824 in Tankara, Gujarat, India. His parents were Shri Karshanji Lalji Tiwari and Smti Amrutbai. He left us on 30th October 1883 aged 59 years in Ajmer, Rajasthan, India and he was a disciple of Virajananda Dandeesha.

30. RAMANA MAHARSHI

Venkataraman Iyer was born on 30th December 1879 in Tiruchuzhi, near Aruppukkottai, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. His philosophy was Advaita Vedanta and his guru was Shri Arunachala. He died on 14th April1950 at the age of 70 years in Shri Ramana Ashram, Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, India. His parents were
Shri Sundaram Iyer and Smti Azhagammal.

31. NIGAMANANDA PARAMAHANSA
Nalinikanta Chattopadhyay known as Paribrajakacharya Paramhansa Srimat Swami Nigamananda Saraswati Deva or Nigamananda Paramhansa or simply Nigamananda was born on 18th August 1880 in Kutabpur, Nadia, Bengal, British India (at present Meherpur district, Bangladesh) and left us on 29th November 1935 aged 55 years in Kolkata, Bengal, British India to parents Shri Bhuban Mohan and Smti Manikya Sundari Devi. He was married to Sudhansubala Devi. His philosophy is Tantra, Jnana (Vedanta), Yoga, Prema or Bhakti Yoga. His gurus were Bamakhyepa, Sachidananda Saraswati, Sumeru Das ji, Gouri Maa.

32. SANKARACHARYA
Founder of Dashanami Sampradaya and Advaita Vedanta, Shankaracharya was also known as Shankara, Adi Shankaracharya or Shankara Bhagavatpada. His philosophy was Advaita Vedanta. He was born in the year 788 CE in Kaladi (present-day Kochi, Kerala, India). His father’s name is not known but his mother was Smti Sivataraka. His guru was Shri Govinda Bhagavatpada. He left us for heavenly abode in the year
820 CE (aged 32) in Kedarnath (present-day Uttarakhand, India).

33. DURGA PRASANNA
Born in the year 1891 in Rajapur village, district Barishal (presently in Bangladesh), Durga Prasanna’s parents were Shri Umacharan Chakrabarti and Smti Chintamani Devi and his guru was Shri Nigamananda Paramahamsa.

34. KABIR
Kabir is one of the saints whose details are not clearly mentioned anywhere and there are different views according to different hagiographies. He is the founder of Kabir Panth (Path of Kabir). According to some historians he is said to be born in the year 1398 and some say in the year 1440. His parents details are not known as some say he was born in a Muslim family but was raised in a Hindu family while others believe he was born in a Hindu family but was brought up by a Muslim family. Both the Hindus and Muslims followed him and considered him to be of their own. According to some scholars he is believed to have married a girl named Dhania and had
1 son named Kamal and 1 daughter named Kamali. He was a disciple of Swami Ramananda.

35. CHINMAYANANDA SARASWATI
The founder of Chinmaya Mission and Vishva Hindu Parishad was Shri Chinmayananda Saraswati whose philosophy was advaita vedanta. He was born as Balakrishna Menon on 8th May 1916 in Ernakulam, Cochin Princely State, British India and died on 3rd August 1993 aged 77 years in San Diego, California, U.S. He was the son of Shri Vadakke Kuruppathu Kuttan Menon and Smti Parukutti Amma and his gurus were Sivananda Saraswati and Tapovan Maharaj.

36. GAUTAMA BUDDHA.

The founder of Buddhism, a new religion, Buddha is also known as Siddhartha Gautama, Siddhattha Gotama, Shakyamuni or Buddha. His date of birth and death year is little controversial. His birth year is c. 563 or c. 480 BCE, Lumbini, Shakya Republic (according to Buddhist tradition) and died in the year c.483 or c.400 BCE (aged 80) in Kushinagar, Malla Republic (according to Buddhist tradition). His parents were Shri Suddhodana and Smti Maya Devi and was married to Yasodhara and had a son called Rahul.

37. DHANANJAY DAS KATHIABABA

Born as Dhirendra Mohan Chakrabarty on 15.11.1901 in Bhara village, Bankura, West Bengal. His parents were Shri Purna Chandra Chakrabarty and Smti Kshudumoni. His guru was Shri Shantadas Ji Kathia Baba.

38. RAMANUJA
Ramanuja was born as Ilaiyalvar in 1017 CE in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, India to Shri Asuri Kesava Somayaji and Smti Kanthimathi. He
died in the year 1137 CE (aged 120) in Sri Rangam, Tamil Nadu, India. His philosophy was Vishishtadvaita. His guru was Shri Yadava Prakasa.

39. MADHUSUDAN SARASWATI
Madhusudan was born as Kamalanayana in 1540 CE in Bengal, India. His philosophy is based on Advaita Vedanta. He died on 1640 CE in Bengal India. His gurus were Shri Visvesvara Sarasvati and Shri Madhava Sarasvati.

40. RISHI AUROBINDO
The founder of Sri Aurobindo Ashram Auroville near Puducherry ( Pondicherry), Tamil Nadu is Rishi Aurobindo who was born as Aurobindo Ghose on 15th August 1872, Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India (now Kolkata, West Bengal, India. His philosophy was integral yoga, involution (Sri Aurobindo), evolution, psychology, intermediate zone and supermind. He died on 5th December 1950 (aged 78), Pondicherry, French India (now in Puducherry, India).

41. LOKENATH BRAHMACHARI
Lokenath or Loknath is often called as Baba Loknath by the people. Baba means someone of a saintly or father figure. His philosophy was karma, bhakti, ashtanga yoga of Patanjali and hatha yoga. He was born as Lokenath Ghoshal on 31st August 1730 in Chakla (or Kachua Dham), Basirhat, North 24 Paraganas, West Bengal, India and left us on 2nd June 1890 in Baradi, district Narayanganj, Bangladesh. He is believed to have survived for 350 years which is little debatable. His guru was Shri Bhagwan Ganguly.

42. PRABHUPADA
Srila Prabhupada was the founder of ISKCON, an international Hare Krishna Movement. His philosophy was Achintya Bheda Abheda. He was
born as Abhay Charan De (also known as Abhay Caranaravinda, Shrila Prabhupada. Prabhupada was born on 04th September 1896 in Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India, the next day after Shri Krishna Janmashtami, which marks the birthday of Krishna’s father Nanda. He left us for heavenly abode on 14th November 1977 aged 81 years in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, India. His parents were Shri Gour Mohan De and Smti Rajani De. They married him to Smti Radharani Devi and had 1 son whose name is not known. His guru was Shri Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura.

43. BHAKTIVINODA THAKUR
Born as Kedarnath Datta on 02nd September 1838 in Birnagar, British India, Bhaktivoda’s philosophy was Vedanta: Achintya Bheda Abheda. He was married to Shaymani Devi at first and later to Bhagavati Devi after the death of his first wife. He had a total of fourteen children, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, Lalita Prasad are names of his two children and twelve other children whose name is not known. He left us on 23rd June 1914 aged 75 years in Calcutta, Indian Empire. His gurus were Bipin Bihari Goswami and Jagannatha Dasa Babaji.

44. SANT NAMDEV
Namdev’s philosophy was Varkari. He was born in c. 1720 CE in Maharashtra, India to Shri Damashet and Smti Gonai and was married to
Smti Rajai with whom he had 1 son named Vitha. He left us in the year 1350 CE.

India being a secular and democratic nation does not stop any religion or community from celebrating their own festivals and everyone can celebrate the way they like, thus, India is called as a land of festivals.

Every community has some festivals of their own, which makes India more beautiful. Some festivals may be big whereas some be small, some may be celebrated for a single day whereas some may last for days but each festival has its own unique attributes thus making the festival even more special. Another fact about festivals is that, most of the festivals do not fall on a fixed date but only at a fixed time. There are so many festivals to celebrate that sometimes even 365 days or 12 months a year seems to be less.

Most festivals seems incomplete without good food and even new clothes, some people also re-paint their homes to give a new look. In India fairs and processions are organized during some festivals.
There are festivals in every community which is related only to harvesting, which is celebrated at different times of the year by different communities. It is the time to eat, drink, rejoice and merry-making. Some of the harvest festivals are Bhogali or Magh Bihu in Assam, Nuakhai in Odisha, Makar Sankranti in almost all parts of the country, maybe known by different names and many more.

(Bhogali Bihu on top, Nuakhai in the centre and Makar Sankranti below).

Some festivals are declared as national holidays in India whereas some festivals are only declared as a State holiday for some particular areas but unfortunately as there are so many festivals to celebrate, that there are some festivals for which holiday is not declared.

We can find some or the other festival in every month of the year. Apart from our own festivals we have 3 national festivals which we all celebrate by forgetting our class and community; they are, Republic Day on 26th January, Independence Day on 15th August and Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti on 2nd October.

(Independence Day Celebrations)

Holi, Krishna Janamashtami, Ganesh Chaturthi, Durga Puja and Navaratri, Kali Puja and Diwali are some of the major festivals celebrated by Hindus,

(Janamashtami, Ganesha Chaturthi, Durga Puja, Diwali)

Eid Ul Fitr, Eid Ul Adha, are some major festivals celebrated by the Muslims, Buddha Purnima celebrated by the Buddhists, Easter, Lent, Christmas are major festivals celebrated by the Christians, Guru Nanak Jayanti by the Sikhs, Mahavir Jayanti by the Jains.

[Guru Nanak Jayanti, Mahavir Jayanti, Christmas (centre), Eid and Buddha Purnima].

Links of the photos used in the blog:

http://www.blogs.wsj.com

http://www.eidmubarakwishes.com

http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

http://www.indianexpress.com

http://www.guibingzhuche.com

http://www.scratchingcanvas.com

http://www.1hindi.com

http://www.thenortheasttoday.com