Fairs & Festivals of Jammu and Kashmir:
Hemis, Mansar and Mel Lozar are the three important festivals of Jammu and Kashmir.
Hemis Festival: This is celebrated every year in the month of June in the Hemis monastery in Ladakh to mark the birth anniversary of Guru Padmasambhava, the patron deity of the gompa or monastery.
Fairs & Festivals of Jharkhand:
Chhath Puja: It is an important festival of Jharkhand during which the Sun God is worshipped.
Barura Sharif Fair: It is associated with the shrine of Sufi saint Data Amir Ali Shah, which is located at Barura Sharif. It is held on the eve of Chaitra Navami.
Kolhaiya Mela: It is one of the very popular cattle fairs in Jharkhand held in the month of Maagh. The Chatra Mela, Kundri Mela, Tutilawa Mela, Lawalong Mela and the Belgada Mela are other cattle fairs held in Jharkhand.
Sangat: It is the main festival of Udasi Panth of Sikh community held in Gudri Baza Mohalla of Chatra, where an old manuscript of Guru Granth Saheb is placed.
Sarhaul: It is the main festival of the tribal communities of Jharkhand, during which the Sal tree, which is believed to be the house of Goddess Sarna, is worshipped.
Sohrah: It is held in November, coinciding with the Diwali. During this festival, the cattle are washed and worshiped and bullfights are organised.
Jani Shikar, Karma and Manda are some other festivals of Jharkhand.
Fairs & Festivals of Karnataka:
Navarasapur-Pattadakkal (January), Coorg Festival (February), Hoysala Mahotsava held at Belur, Halebid (April) and the Vijayanagar Hampi Festival (November) are important local festivals of Karnataka.
Fairs & Festivals of Kerala:
Arat Festival: This festival is held at Thiruvanthapuram in November in which decorated elephants form a procession at the Padmanabha Temple.
Pooram Festival: It is held in Trichur in the month of May during which decorated elephants are paraded at the Vadakkunathan Temple.
Boat Race (January) and the Great Elephant March (December) are other important events of Kerala.
Fairs & Festivals of Madhya Pradesh:
Madhya Pradesh organises one of the largest cultural festivals in the country, which include the following: Akhil Bhartiya Kalidas Samaroh (Ujjain); Allauddin Khan Sangeet Samaroh (Maihar, Satna); Alauddin Khan Vyakhyanmala (Bhopal); Ameer Khan Festival (Indore); Bhagoria(Indore); Bhavbhuti Samaroh (Gwalior); Bhoj Samaroh (Dhar); Chakradhar Samaroh (Raigarh); Dhrupad Samaroh (Bhopal); Festival of Dances (Khajuraho); Jagar Samaroh;Kabir Samaroh; Keshav Jayanti Samaroh (Orchha); Krishna Rao Shankar Pandit Samaroh (Gwalior); Lokrang Samaroh (Bhopal); Malwa Utsava (Ujjain, Mandu and Indore); Makhanlal Chaturvedi Samaroh (Jabalpur); Mandu Utsava (Mandu); Mangalacharan Samaroh; Muktibodh Samaroh (Bhind); Nimar Utsava (Maheshwar); Orchha Utsava (Orchha); Pachmarhi Utsava (Pachmarhi); Padmakar Samaroh; Pt. Balkrishna Sharma “Naveen” Samaroh; Pt. Kumar Gandharva Samaroh (Dewas); Rajshekhar Samaroh; Rashtriya Alankaran Samaroh (Bhopal); Rashtriya Hindi Natya Samaroh (Bhopal); Rashtriya Ramleela Mela; Shankari Samaroh; Subhadra Kumari Chauhan Samaroh; Tansen Sangeet Samaroh (Gwalior), etc.
Fairs & Festivals of Maharashtra:
Banganga Festival: Legend has it that Lord Rama, on his way to Lanka in search of his wife Sita, stopped on a hillock of the Malabar Hills, where he shot an arrow (ban) into the ground to obtain fresh water (Banganga) for his followers. A cultural festival is organised at Banganga every year in the month of January, during which top artistes give live performances and music concerts.
Elephanta Festival: It is being held every year in February since 1989 at the Elephanta Island, near Mumbai, during which renowned dancers and musicians give performance outside the caves.
Ellora Festival: It is organised by Maharashtra Tourism every year in December at the Ellora Caves, near Aurangabad, during which renowned artistes give their performances in the field of music and dance.
Kalidas Festival: This festival is held annually in November at Ramgiri or Ramtek in honour of Kalidasa, the legendary Sanskrit poet and dramatist. Leading exponents of music, dance and drama give performances during this two-day festival.
Narali Purnima: The full moon night of the month of Shravana is celebrated with characteristic fervour in different parts of Maharashtra and is known variously as Narali Purnima, Shravani Purnima or Rakhi Purnima.
Pune Festival: It is one of the leading festivals of art and culture, song and dance and customs and traditions, which attracts the participation of several internationally renowned artistes.
Vithoba Festival: This festival is held at the Vithoba Temple at Pandharpur in the honour of Lord Vithoba.
Fairs & Festivals of Manipur:
Cheiraoba: It is the Manipur New Year festival.
Chumpha: It is an important harvest festival of the Tanghul Nagas, which is celebrated for seven days in the month of December.
Gang-Ngai: It is an important festival of the ‘Kabui Nagas’, which is celebrated in the month of ‘Wakching’ (December/January).
Heikru Hitongba: It is a joyous festival celebrated in September, during which people row long narrow boats in a boat race.
Kang: Described as the ‘Ratha Jatra of Manipur’, it is an important festival dedicated to Lord Jagannath.
Keikru Hitongba: It is an annual festival celebrated in Imphal and features boat races.
Kut: Kut, Chavang-Kut or Khodou is an autumn thanks-giving festival of the different tribes of Kuki-Chin-Mizo groups of Manipur.
Lai Haroba: It is a spring festival held in April-May.
Ningol Chakouba: It is a remarkable social festival of the Meitei tribes aimed at revival of the family ties. It is observed on the second day of the Manipuri month of Hiyangei in November.
Yaoshang: This is a premier five-day festival of Manipur that is celebrated during the month of ‘Phaguna’ (February/March). The Manipuri folk dance Thabal Chongba is particularly associated with this festival.
Fairs & Festivals of Meghalaya:
Bendenkhlam: This is a monsoon festival that is celebrated in the Jaintia Hills in the month of July as a thanks-giving for a bountiful harvest.
Ka Pamblang Nongkrem: It is the annual five-day religious festival of the ‘Khasi’ tribes held at Smit village near Shillong.
Shad Sukmynsiem: It is another important festival of the ‘Khasis’, which is held in Shillong during the second week of April.
Wangala: It is the ‘Hundred Drums Festival’ celebrated by the ‘Garos’ in the honour of Saljong, the sun-god of fertility.
Fairs & Festivals of Mizoram:
Chapchar Kut (February/March), Mim Kut (August/September) and Pawl Kut (December/January) are the leading festivals of Mizoram.
Fairs & Festivals of Nagaland:
The important festivals of Nagaland include Amongmong (Sangtam tribe), Aoling (Konyaks tribe), Metemneo (Yimchunger tribe), Minakut (Kuki tribe), Moatsu (Ao tribe), Monyu (Phom tribe), Ngada (Rengma tribe), Nga-Ngai (Zeliang tribe), Naknyulum (Chang tribe), Pikhuchak (Lotha tribe), Sekrenyi (Angamis), Sukhrunyi (Chakhesang tribe), Tokhu Emong (Lotha tribe), Tsokum (Khiamniungan tribe), Tsungremmong (‘Ao’ tribe), Tuluni (Sema tribe) and Yemshe (Pochury tribe).
Fairs & Festivals of Odisha:
The important festivals celebrated in Orissa include Ashokastami, Bali Yatra, Chaitra Parba, Dhanu Yatra, Dola or Holi, Konark Festival, Magha Mela, Makar Mela, Rajrani Festival, Rath Yatra, Sitalasasthi and Taratarini Mela.
Ashokastami: It is the Car Festival of Lord Lingaraj at Bhubaneshwar, held in the month of Chaitra.
Bali Yatra: It is held at Cuttack in the months of November- December to commemorate the glorious past during which traders from Orissa used to undertake commercial voyages to the islands of Bali, Java and Sumatra.
Dhanu Yatra: It is a colourful festival that is relating to the episodes of Lord Krishna, observed at the town of Bargah in the months of December-January.
Magha Mela: It is a popular festival of Konark that falls on the 7th day of the bright half of ‘Magha’.
Sitalasasthi: It is the celebration of marriage ceremony of Lord Shiva with Parvati and it takes place in the month of May-June.
Taratarini Mela: It is one of Orissa’s biggest fairs that take place in the month of Chaitra at Taratarini Pitha, near Berhampur.
Fairs & Festivals of Puducherry:
Eve of the Bastille Day: On this day retired soldiers parade the streets in war finery, singing the French and Indian National Anthems.
Masquerade: It is a popular mask festival held in March-April.
Sani Peyarchi: This festival is considered as the “Kumbh Mela of Pondicherry” and attracts thousands of devotees.
Puducherry also plays host to the International Yoga Festival held in the first week of January every year.