Kota is a princely city of the state of Rajasthan. Rajasthan is known for its rich culture and colorful tradition. Kota offers no exception to it. Fairs and festival forms an integral part of the culture and hence the fairs and festivals celebrated in Kota serves a platform for the tourists to witness the rich and colorful culture and traditions of the people of Kota. Kota celebrates all major festival like Deepawali, Dussera, holi etc with much enthusiasm. Along with these festivals Kota hosts many other fairs and festivals with much pomp and show.

Gangaur festival is a major festival of the state of Rajasthan. The city of Kota also celebrates the festival with much fanfare. The festival is celebrated in honor of goddess Gauri the consort of lord Shiva. It is the festival of maiden and married women and starts from the following day of holi and continues for eighteen days. It is the uniqueness of the festival in different places. For example in Bikaner married women and maidens fast and prepare sweet dishes for the festival. In Jaipur 'ghewar' a sweet dish is made specially during this festival and people buy this to eat and distribute it amoung their relatives. The festival of Dussera is celebrated in Kota with great enthusiasm. On the occasion of the festival a large effigy of demon king of Ravana is set alight in the public place. The event is witnessed by thousands of people gathered on the occasion.

Chambal Adventure sport festival in Kota is annual event organized in the month of February. The festival is participated by many professional sportsmen and army men. The festival includes the sports activities like water skiing, rafting, wind surfing, etc. Thrilling performances of sportsmen leave the audience spellbound. Chambal River on the bank of which the city of Kota is situated serves as the venue of the festival.  Kota also hosts the Handicraft Mela (fair) every year in the month of December.  Beautiful tribal artifacts, handmade articles, fabrics, paintings, etc can be seen on display and for sale in the fair.

Visakhapatnam, the port city of Andhra Pradesh state, is known for hosting several cultural events and festivals. Also known as Vizag, the city of Visakhapatnam is famous for its Visakha Utsav (festival). Visakha Utsav is a three day long festival organized by Andhra Pradesh Tourism Department. The festival starts every year from third Friday of January and last for the next three days. To promote tourism in and around Visakhapatnam is the main purpose of hosting this cultural event. Folk dance, music, arts, crafts and cuisines are the main highlights of this festival. Rama Krishna beach serves to be the main venue of Visakha Utsav. A number of artists from different parts of Andhra Pradesh take part in the festival and display their arts and skills. Exhibition, fashion show and food fairs are other noteworthy features of Visakha festival
Chandana Yatra, also known as Chandanostavam, is major religious festival celebrated at Sri Varaha Laxminarasimha temple situated at Simachalam near Visakhapatnam. Held every year in the month of March-April, Chandanostavam witnesses a large number of devotees thronging there from all over Andhra Pradesh and some parts of neighboring states. On the occasion of the festival the idol of the main deity which is kept covered with sandal paste all the time is removed ceremoniously and is covered with new and fresh layer of sandalwood.
Rishikonda Beach Festival is another major cultural event of Visakhapatnam organized every year in the month of December. Exhibition stores, craft Bazaar and food shows are the key attractions of the festival. Another interesting festival of Visakhapatnam is Lumbini festival associated with Buddhism. Organized every year in the month of December, Lumbini festival is marked with various religious and cultural activities.

 

Known for its rich culture and tradition, Rajkot is the third largest city of Indian state of Gujarat.  The city is famous for hosting several cultural events and festivals. Rajkot is often referred as Rangilu Rajkot meaning colorful Rajkot and that could be seen in its colorful celebration of its festivals. Though Rajkot is rapidly growing into a multicultural city, it still continues to preserve its traditional customs and rituals. Festivals celebrated in Rajkot offers us insights of its rich cultures and tradition.

Navratri, the festival of nine nights, is the most charming festival of Gujarat. Being a part of Gujarat state, the city of Rajkot also celebrates Navratri with great fanfare. The festival is celebrated for nine days which witnesses daily prayers and other religious activities. The main attraction of Navratri festival is colorful Garba dance. Garba dance serves to be the main folk dance form of Gujarat state. It is mainly performed on the occasion of Navratri festival. People of all ages and different strata of society take part in this beautiful and charming Garba dance.

Kite festival is another prominent cultural event celebrated on the occasion of Makar Sankranti which usually falls on 14th January. On the occasion of festival people of Rajkot are seen flying there kites high in the sky. The blue sky of the city fills with thousand of colorful kites competing with each other.  Similar kind of festival are celebrated on large scale in Ahmedabad and other major cities of Gujarat. There are many other major festivals like holi, Dussera, and Deepawali which are celebrated in Rajkot with great religious fervor.

Guntur, the fourth largest city of the state of Andhra Pradesh, is known for its diverse culture. Festival is one of the vital parts of the culture and therefore the city of Guntur celebrates multi religious and multi-cultural festivals with equal zest. Along with the major festivals like Deepawali, Dussera, Holi etc Guntur also celebrates Id-ul-fitr and Christmas with great enthusiasm.  Apart from these important festivals Guntur also hosts some of its regional fairs and festivals with much pomp and show.

Mulathaneswaraswami Kalyanothsavam is five-day festival celebrated in the month of March-April at the temple of Tadikonda situated near Guntur. The festival is a prominent religious event and on the occasion of the festival devotees offers the coconut, flowers, fruits and betel leaves to the deity of the temple. Sri Narsimhaswami Kalyanothsavam is another major festival celebrated for 16 days in the month of March-April at Lakshami Narasimhaswami temple in Guntur. Hazart Sayed Bajit Shahi Aulia Urs is Muslim fair held every year in the month of Ramzan at Pedakani near Ramzan. The fair is visited by many Muslim devotees from far and wide. Sri Ramlingeswaraswami Lakshabilvarchana and Sri Ramakoti Mahothsvam are other major fairs and festivals celebrated full zest in Guntur.

Rich in history and culture, the city of Jaisalmer is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the state of Rajasthan, India. Famous for its several historic monuments, structures and picturesque sand dunes, Jaisalmer has another interesting facet that make the city a special place to visit. Fairs & festivals of Jaisalmer are known for their cultural extravaganza. Jaisalmer celebrates several prominent festivals with great fanfare.

Jaisalmer Desert festival is the most important cultural festival of Jaisalmer. The festival is organized by Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation and is known for its myriads of cultural and entertainment activities. Jaisalmer Desert Festival serves to be a platform from where one can have the insights of rich culture and tradition of the people of the region. Beautifully adorned camels, colorful traditional attires of the people, attractive folk dance and songs are the main highlights of the desert festivals of Jaisalmer.

Jaisalmer celebrates many other major festivals celebrated in other parts of Rajasthan. Among other festivals celebrated in Jaisalmer the festival of Gangaur is prominent one. Holi and Dussera are other major festivals of Jaisalmer celebrated with much pomp and show. Colorful festivals of Jaisalmer attract thousands of tourists from all over the globe.

 
Trichy known for its rich culture and traditions celebrates several festivals and cultural events. Fairs and festivals celebrated in the city serve the occasions which offer the insights of traditional customs and rituals followed by the people of Trichy. Along with the major national festivals the city of Trichy celebrates its regional festivals with much fanfare. Pongal serves to be the most important festival of the state of  Tamil Nadu. Being a part of the state Trichy also celebrates the festivals with much pomp and show.

Samayapuram Mariamman Temple festivals are prominent religious events held in Trichy. Poochoriyal, Pancha Prakaram and Bramhostavam are famous festivals celebrated at the temple of Samyapuram. During these festivals Samayapuram temple witnesses the thousands of people thronging there from across the country. Jallikattu is another prominent cultural event organized in several villages near Trichy. Jallikattu is bull catching event organized mainly during the celebration of Pongal festival.  Allur Jallathiru Vizha and Vaikunta Ekadasi are other prominent festivals celebrated in Trichy with much fanfare.

Gadda Jatra, or Nandi Dhwaja (decorated bamboo pole) Procession is the main event of Solapur. This is a fair of the local tradition associated with a story of the spiritual leader Siddharameshwara. Siddarama who was influenced by the teachings of Basaveshwara of Kalyana (he was the person who propagated Veerashaiva Dharma) had lived here. The villagers consider him as a deity. A young girl of the village had wished to marry him. But, Siddeshwara asked her to marry one of his disciples. Siddeshwara conducted their marriage and the day is celebrated as the Gadda fair now.

The fair is celebrated for three days in the month of January around the Makara Sankranti festival.  A day before and after the Makara Sankranti festival are the festival days in Solapur. It is a Marriage ritual. Two Nandi Dhwajas will be taken out for procession symbolizing bride and groom and on the Sankranti day the marriage ritual would take place. A fifteen day cultural fair would be arranged on this occasion.

Other than the above said event, Solapur also celebrates festivities related to Tulaja Bhavani and the Vithoba of Pandharapur. Navaratri is the most favored festival here.

Mysore, the second largest city of Karnataka state, celebrates its fairs and festivals with great religious fervor. Fairs and festivals are essential parts of culture and tradition of Mysore. People of Karnataka believe in making every event a special one. Celebration of the festivals and fairs in Mysore offer insights of rich culture and traditions which have percolated from the time immemorial to this modern day.  Unaltered and unchanged by modern civilization, fairs and festivals in Mysore are still celebrated with same religious and traditional touch.
  Mysore has turned into a cosmopolitan city housing people of different faiths, religions and regions. As a result the city is seen celebrating festivals of all religions with equal zeal and zest. However, so far as the traditional fairs and festivals of the region are concerned, the city of Mysore which once was a princely state of Mysore kingdom is known for its celebration of Dussera and Yugadi. Ten day festival of Dussera in Mysore involves several religious and cultural activities. In ancient times, the mighty ruler Vijayanagar Empire used to take out a large procession of elephants on the occasion of the festival. In modern day too people of Mysore take out colorfully dressed elephant in the procession which goes round the city.

  Yugadi is major festival of Karnataka state. Mysore, being a part of Karnataka, also celebrates Yugadi with much pomp and show. The festival marks the beginning of New Year for the people of Karnataka and hence the festival is celebrated with much fanfare. The festival usually comes in the end of March month or in the beginning of April. Besides Dussera and Yugudi, other major festivals like Deepawali and Holi are celebrated Mysore with much pomp and show.

The diverse culture of Ahmedabad is known all over the world. The people here are very obsessive regarding their celebration of every festival. Be it Navratri or for that matter Kite flying festival, the people of Ahmedabad celebrates each and every festival with same zeal and gusto. People of Ahmedabad are generally food loving people. The cookery of Ahmedabad is very famous. Ahmedabad is heavenly for food lovers. A Gujrati Thali food has many mouth watering dishes. The food is mainly vegetarian, though non vegetarian food is also available.

The people of Ahmedabad are very active and simple in their nature. During festivity time the whole city is on its toe to celebrate enthusiastically. The people are generally food lover therefore the city restaurants and cafes are always full. As Ahmedabad lies in the state of Gujarat the main language spoken here is Gujarati, while other languages spoken here are Hindi and English.
Ahmedabad is also known for its folk and classical music and folk arts and dance. The Garba, a beautiful folk dance of Gujarat state is mainly performed on the occasion of the Navratri festival. The festivals and fairs of Ahmedabad form an integral part of Ahmedabad culture. Festival celebrated there also offers insights of rich cultures and tradition of Ahmedabad people.

Beautiful city of Guwahati in the state of Assam is known for its rich culture and traditions. All major festivals like Deepawali, Dussera, Christmas and Id-ul-fitr are celebrated with much pomp and show.  Apart from these festival Guwahati also hosts myriads of other festivals and fairs. Ambubachi Mela is the biggest fair in the entire state of Assam. The fair is held at Kamakhya temple in Guwahati every year in the month of June. Bohag Bhiu is a prominent festival of Guwahati. The festival comes in the month of April and also marks the new year of Assam. Bohag Bhiu festival is celebrated for the seven days.

Manasa festival is another major festival of Guwahati. Kamakhya temple in Guwahati is the main venue of the celebration of the festival. Manasa festival comes in the month of September every year and witnesses thousands of devotees offering prayer to the deity of the temple for abolishing all evils things from the region. The city of Guwahati also hosts Brahmaputra beach festival. Brahmaputra Beach Festival is the most charming event of the city. It is organized by Assam Tourism Development Authority every year at the beautiful beach of Brahmaputra river on the bank of which the city of Guwahati is situated.  This three-day festival witnesses many cultural and sports activities. Many water sports activities like surfing, kayaking, Canoeing and rafting are organized on the occasion. Folk dance and songs, crafts show, elephant race and many other entertaining activities are seen alluring the visitors who flock there from across the country during the celebration of the festival. Jonbeel Mela, Durga Puja and Rangoli Utsav are other prominent fairs and festivals celebrated with much fanfare in Guwahati. 

Navratri Festival in Jamnagar

Cape Festival of Kanyakumari