Hyderabad FestivalsCelebrations, Colors, Lights and Happiness Hyderabad Festivals: Hyderabad is a place where festivals are a way of life and celebrated around the year. Muslim and Hindu festivals are celebrated with equal fervour in Hyderabad. Muslim festivals of Id-ul-Fitr, Id-ul-Zuha, Shab-e-Qadr, Shab-e-Barat, Shab-e-Meraj, Youmul Ashura, etc are celebrated with fanfare. Hindu festivals like Ugadi, Dussehra, Holi, Diwali, Janmashtami, Ganesh Chaturthi, solar and lunar eclipses called for celebration and rejoicing. Hindu festivals like RamNavami, Bhaidooj, Akshaya Tritiya, Amavasya and Chaturdashi too were celebrated. Christians celebrate Christmas, New Year, Good Friday and Easter and the Parsis celebrate Navroz with great enthusiasm. If you are in Hyderabad, it is possible that you will get a chance to be a part of any one of the following Festivals.
Ganesh Chaturthi marks the birth of Lord Ganesha, the remover of obstacles and harbinger of peace and prosperity, in every Hindu household. This festival was begun by Shivaji, the great Maratha warrior in Maharashtra and revived by Bal Gangadhar Tilak during India’s struggle for Independence. It was intended to revive patriotic spirit among the Indians and unite them in their struggle against the British. Though Ganesh Chaturthi began in Maharashtra it soon spread to all adjoining states specially Hyderabad. Idols of Lord Ganesha were installed and after ten days of festivity they were immersed in water. Even today, Hyderabad celebrates the festival with great passion and fervour. The biggest idol in the country is put at Khairatabad – Hyderabad, and is usually more than thirty feet tall.
The colorful festival of Holi is celebrated on Phalgun Purnima which comes in February end or early March. Holi festival has an ancient origin and celebrates the triumph of 'good' over 'bad'. The colorful festival bridges the social gap and renews sweet relationships. On this day, people hug and wish each other 'Happy Holi'. Holi celebration begins with lighting up of bonfire on the Holi eve. Numerous legends & stories associated with Holi celebration makes the festival more exuberant and vivid. People rub 'gulal' and 'abeer' on each others' faces and cheer up saying, "bura na maano Holi hai". Holi also gives a wonderful chance to send blessings and love to dear ones wrapped in a special Holi gift.
Bonalu is another festival of Telangana with a distinct ethnic origin. In 1813, an epidemic broke out in Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh. The villagers believed that Mahankali or Mother Goddess was angry with the people and that had led to outbreak of the epidemic. A Hyderabadi, who was serving in the army there, prayed to Mahankali and promised that if he survived the plague, he would build a Mahankali temple in Hyderabad. He did survive and on his return built the temple for the goddess at Secunderabad. The Mahankali Jatara is still popularly celebrated in Hyderabad. This eleven day festival is celebrated in nearly sixteen hundred Devi temples in the city, the most popular being the two hundred year old Mahankali temple at Hyderabad. On the final day of the Jatara a ceremony called Rangam is performed where a young girl in a trance, believed to be blessed by the Goddess, predicts the future.
Dussehra is another important festival of the Hindus signifying the triumph of good over evil. Goddess Durga is worshipped for nine days and on the tenth day or Dussehra, people celebrate the killing of Ravana, the demon king by Lord Rama. In Hyderabad Dussehra is associated with the festival of Bathkamma – a colourful floral festival where women dressed in all their finery arrange flowers in colourful pyramids and worship the local deity Bahtkamma.
One of the biggest festivals of Hindus, Deepawali or Diwali is celebrated with lots of enthusiasm and happiness. This festival is celebrated for five continuous days, with the third day being celebrated as the main Diwali or as 'Festival of Lights'. Fireworks are always associated with this festival. The day is celebrated with people lighting diyas, candles all around their house. Lakshmi Puja is performed in the evening to seek divine blessings of Goddess of Wealth. Diwali gifts are exchanged among all near and dear ones.
Ugadi is celebrated at the onset of spring as the Telugu New Year. The day marks the beginning of the Hindu lunar calendar and it is believed that Lord Brahma, the creator of the Hindu pantheon started creation on this day. Spring is the season that heralds new beginnings and on this day, new neem leaves, raw mangoes and fresh jaggery is used to make the Ugadi Pachadi – a relish that is a must-have on this day. The sweet, sour and bitter taste of the pachadi is a reflection of life and its different flavours.
Celebrated on the 14th of January every year, Sankranthi, the harvest festival, is the most important Hindu festival in Hyderabad. It spreads over three days and farmers celebrate the harvesting of rice and other fresh crops. It is considered auspicious to take a holy dip in a river and worship the sun on this day. Decorative patterns or muggu is traced infront of every home. Freshly harvested rice, fresh jaggery and castor are used to make the savories that people enjoy with their friends and family.
Rakhi, commonly called "Raksha Bandhan" is one of the most popular festivals of India. The Rakhi festival is a celebration of the pure and sacred bond between brothers and sisters. 'Raksha Bandhan' or 'Rakhi' is a very special day for brothers and sisters, when the sister celebrates her emotional bonding by tying a holy thread around the wrist of her brother. This thread, which symbolizes love and care, is called the 'Rakhi'. "Rakhi" means the bond of protection. The Raksha Bandhan festival also connotes a broad significance that the strong must protect the weak from all the evils and dangers. On the occasion of Raksha Bandhan, different kinds of Rakhis are available in the market. Some Rakhis are made of silken, golden and silver threads and studded with semi precious stones, while the others are simple and sober with just a piece of string.
The holy month of Ramzan is every auspicious for the Muslims the world over and is an occasion for expression of goodwill and friendship. Eid is celebrated on the first of Shawaal, the tenth lunar month of the Islamic calendar immediately after Ramzan. Ramzan means the festival of breaking the fast. Muslims fast for thirty days before the festival. It is believed that the Holy Quran came into existence during this month. Sheerkhurma is the special dessert made on this day.
A large number of Shia Muslims participate in the Muharram procession, the day of mourning commemorating the martyrdom of Imam Hussain, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), at the battle of Karbala. While mourning the death of Imam Hussain, pious Shia men beat their chests and flagellate themselves creating devotional hysteria. When new moon is sited at Muharram, Alams (banners) are placed for public viewing at all the Ashur Khanas or the mourning halls. Though they do not join in the actual mourning, the Hindus accompany their Muslim compatriots to the mourning halls (Ashur Khanas). These Alams are essentially the replicas of the banners carried by Imam Hussain at Karbala. Different Alams are taken out in processions on different dates of which Bibi ka Alam taken out on the tenth day of Muharram has the most impressive attendance. The tradition of Bibi-ka-Alam dates back to the Qutb Shahi times.
The Urs or the anniversaries of holy men were occasions when Muslims and Hindus actively participated in the festivity. These fairs were annual events where people gathered to feast and celebrate with friends and family. A few days before the Urs, people lie earthen lamps or chirag on the holy tombs. On the day of the Urs, a specially embellished cover or Ghilaf was carried in procession to the tomb. The important Urs were those of Moula Ali, Baba Sherfuddin of Pahadi Sharif, Abdul Faiz at Bidar, and Hazrat Jehangir Peeran near Hyderabad. Despite its Shai inspiration, the Urs at Maula Ali became a devotion for Sufis, mystics and ascetics. From the 1780’s onwards, due to the Nizams patronage, the Urs at Maula Ali became a popular destination for all – high and low, Hindus and Muslims, locals or visitors.
On the fortieth day after birth, in a grand ceremony called Chilla, the new born was christened. When the child was four years, four months and four days old, the Rasm-e-Bismillah was performed where amidst the recital of Quranic verses the child was given a slate, a silver pen, an inkpot and a copy of the first chapter of the Quran. The child, dressed like a young prince, was then initiated by a family elder. He would make the child hold a pen and write the holy prayer, Bismillah-Hir-Rahman-Nir-Rahim (I begin in the name of God, the most Merciful and Forgiving). Later, during the Ramzan when the child observed a day of fasting for the first time, family members celebrate the occasion of Roza Kushai or Roza Rakhai.
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