The Attuvela Mahotsavam is a water carnival takes place in March at the Elankavu Sree Bhagavathy temple in Vaikom. A vibrantly decked up and illuminated replica of a temple drifting across the waters accompanied by an entourage of brilliantly decorated small canoes with the temple percussion music resounding in the background. For those yearning to witness this spectacle head off to Elankavu Bhagavathy Temple during the Attuvela Mahotsavam. Legend has it that it represents the welcome ceremony accorded to the Goddess of Kodungalloor who arrives to visit her sister, the Goddess of Elamkavu. The temple has Goddess Bhagavathy as its presiding deity. The cynosure of all eyes during the two-day festival is the huge replica of the temple sailing down the waters. This arresting procession of canoes starts from Attuvela kadavu, 2 km away from the temple.

That one day where almost everyone in the country is a walking, dancing artwork! It is the day people let their hair down, forget all differences of caste creed or color or socio-economic divides and embrace each other with colors of various hues.

The colors used primarily in the festival are red, which represents love and fertility, yellow, the color of India’s healing medicine since ancient times - turmeric, then green, symbolizing spring season and blue which is the color of Krishna’s skin. People traditionally smear and paint each other with colors in parks, buildings, temples and on the streets, and everyone young or old joins in on the fun.

Many an elders or those who do not wish to really play it all out, with due respect, are put a small bit on their foreheads as a mark of celebration. Mouth watering sweets called ‘Gujiyas’ are shared with all coming over and playing. Family and community lunches are organized post late afternoon as the festival closes and all adorn a neat yet colorful look which tends to go post a few days.

This Hindu festival is also celebrated in Nepal and marks both the onset of spring season and the triumph of good over evil. Holi this year fell in March but it was a subdued one this year due Covid 19.

Like most of India’s festive traditions, Holi too has its roots in Indian mythology and its traditions vary throughout the country. For instance, for many the festival signifies the legend of Hiranyakashipu, a demon king from the Puranic scriptures of Hinduism. And so the legend goes that the demon king, with the help of his sister, Holika, wished to kill his son, Prahlada, a devoted worshipper of Vishnu, much to his power-hungry father’s disappointment. In the pursuit of burning Prahlada, Holika sat with him on a pyre, wearing a special cloak that was to protect her from the fire. But fate turned its wheels around and the cloak protected Prahlada instead, and Holika burned. Later, that night Vishnu in his boar avatar known as Varaha, succeeded in killing Hiranyakashipu by ramming his tusks into his chest, and the episode was heralded as a triumph of good over evil. In many places in India, a large bonfire is lit on the night before Holi, to celebrate this victory.

For some, the story of Krishna and Radha is more central. The story goes that Krishna, a Hindu deity and yet another manifestation (from a total of 10!) of Vishnu, fell in love with the village dairymaid Radha, but was embarrassed that his skin was dark blue and hers fair. To fix this, Krishna playfully colored Radha’s face during a game with her and the other dairymaids. This is believed to be the origin of the water and coloured powder throwing, and the general merrymaking celebrates Krishna’s fun charisma that loved pranks and play.

The best Indian destinations to enjoy the splendour of this fun festival are Mathura, Vrindavan, Varanasi, Jaipur and Goa where the festival is known as Shigmotsav and locals perform their folk dances in traditional Goan attire, lamps and intricately crafted floats. The most popular destination of them all for Holi is Jaipur, which is thronged by locals and tourists, all lost in carefree colour play. The others are Varanasi (Master photographer Steve McCurry has managed to capture the festival in all its vibrant and cultural glory at the ghats! His photos were responsible for bringing in even more tourists to the ancient city during Holi and Diwali!) and twin cities, Vrindavan and Mathura, the birth place of Krishna.

Come home to Rishikesh, the birthplace of yoga and Yoga Capital of the World, the home of the ancient yogis, sages and seers. Each year the International Yoga Festival grows and expands, embracing more and more people from more and more countries around the world. In the 7-day immersion and celebration, you have the opportunity to embrace every major style of yoga and learn from enlightened Spiritual Leaders, Master Yoga Teachers, Evolutionary Thought Leaders, and Wellness Specialists from around the world. Awaken to the best version of yourself and ignite your inner light through this not-to-be-missed event at Parmarth Niketan Ashram, the largest ashram in Rishikesh.

Painkuni’ is one of the main annual festivals of Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala and is celebrated over 10 days with fascinating rituals, from the 30th of March till the 8th of April. The rituals are performed at the temple and the waters of the Arabian sea, for the principal deity ‘Padmanabhaswamy’, also known as Lord Vishnu. The beautiful temple overlooking the emerald Anantha Lake, is built in Dravidian architecture and was eulogized in ancient Puranic texts, along with the city of Travancore as having been entirely sculpted out of pure gold.

The rituals here begin with ‘Kodiyettu’, which is the hoisting of the ceremonial flag. During the festival, the eastern entrance of the temple is bedecked with huge fiberglass figures of the Pandavas (the five sons of Pandu in the Indian epic, Mahabharata), which is done to invoke the rain God, Indra.

On the 9th day, the ritual ‘palli vetta’ , or the royal hunt is performed. In earlier times ‘palli vetta’ used to be a very fascinating and colourful procession wherein the locals dressed up as various animals, used to be chased by or beaten down by the deity sitting atop an elephant! The ritual now is performed by the head of the Royal Travancore Family, who shoots at a tender coconut with a bow and arrow.

The next day the holy bath ritual or the ‘Aarattu’ is performed, wherein the temple idols are immersed in the Shanghumugham beach by the male members of the royal family, thus marking the end of the Painkuni Festival.

Mahashivratri is one of the largest and most significant among the sacred festivals of India. The festival celebrates the Grace of Shiva, who is considered the Adi Guru or the First Guru from whom the Yogic tradition originates. The name also refers to the night when Shiva performs the heavenly dance. This festival is solemn and marks a remembrance of "overcoming darkness and ignorance" in life and the world. Unlike most Hindu festivals which are celebrated during the day, the Maha Shivaratri is celebrated at night. Furthermore, unlike most Hindu festivals which include expression of cultural revelry, the Maha Shivaratri is a solemn event notable for its introspective focus, fasting, meditation on Shiva, self study, social harmony and an all night vigil at Shiva temples.