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Baisakhi has special significance for two of India's major religious groups. For Hindus, it's the start of the new year, and is celebrated with requisite bathing, partying, and worshipping. It's believed that the goddess Ganga descended to earth thousands of years ago, and in her honor many Hindus gather along the sacred Ganges River for ritual baths. The action is centered in the holy cities along the Ganges in north India, or in Srinagar's Mughal Gardens, Jammu's Nagbani Temple, or anywhere in Tamil Nadu. Hindus plant poles wrapped in flags of god-embroidered silk in front of their homes, and hang pots of brass, copper or silver on top. Baisakhi is celebrated all over India, by different names and with different rituals.
Baisakhi day is observed as the Naba Barsha (New Year) in Bengal. On April 14, the people take a ritual bath in the River Ganga or any other river or a nearby tank and decorate their houses with rangoli (floral patterns) drawn at the entrance of their homes with a paste made of rice powder. |
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In Assam, this is the day for the Rongali Bihu, which is a chance for the young people of the state to dress up in their traditional finery and dance the night away. There too, this is the harvest festival, which allows the farmers to relax and enjoy before they take up the task of harvesting their crop.
Baisakhi festival is celebrated twice a year in Himachal Pradesh in the honor of Goddess Jwalamukhi. In the months of Vaishakha (April-May) and Kartika (November), the Himachalis worship the Goddess whose image near a hot spring issues forth flames.
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In the South, Baisakhi is celebrated to mark the Tamil and Telugu New Year. In a ceremonial march, people take out wooden chariots in a procession. In Kerala the festival is called Vishu, and includes fireworks, shopping for new clothes and interesting displays called Vishu Kani. These are arrangements of flowers, grains, fruits, cloth, gold, and money are viewed early in the morning, to ensure a year of prosperity. The temples in Kerala celebrate Pooram festivals usually in honor of Vishnu at this time. Among them, the Pooram observed in the Vaddakunathan Swamy (Shiva) temple of Trichur is famous.
The state of Bihar state celebrates a festival in Vaishakha (April) and Kartika (November) in honor of the Sun God, Surya, at a place called Surajpur-Baragaon. This is essentially a village where, according to an ancient practice, people bathe in the temple tank and pay obeisance to the Sun God while offering flowers and water from the sacred river Ganga. |
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