9 Big And Famous Fairs In India

- Largest peaceful gathering in the world.
- Mass Hindu pilgrimage of faith in which Hindus gather to bathe in a sacred river.
- Kumbha means a pitcher and Mela means fair in Sanskrit.
- On important bathing dates, millions of pilgrims take bath on the banks of the holy Sangam.
- It is held every third year at one of the four places by rotation.
- The site of the observance rotating between four pilgrimage places on four sacred rivers: at Haridwar on the Ganges River, at Ujjain on the Shipra, at Nasik on the Godavari, and at Prayag (Allahabad) at the confluence of the Ganges, Jamuna, and the mythical Sarasvati.
- Approximately 80 million people had attended on 14 Feb'13.

- Held on Kartik Poornima (the full moon day) in the month of November in Sonepur, Bihar, on the confluence of river Ganges and Gandak.
- It hosts one of the world's largest animal fairs.
- Biggest cattle fair of Asia and stretches on from fifteen days to one month.
- Also known as Harihar Kshetra Mela, it's a month-long fair where elephants, camels, cows, buffaloes, horses, dogs, birds, sheep, rabbits, guinea pigs are traded.
- Its origin dates back to ancient times when Emperor Chandragupta Maurya used to buy elephants and horses.
 

- Annual five-day camel and livestock fair, held in the town of Pushkar in the Ajmer district of Rajasthan.
- One of the worlds largest camel fairs and livestock fair.
- The fair attracts thousands of livestock dealers, who bring incredible numbers of camels, horses and cattle.
- Competitions such as the "matka phod", "longest moustache", and "bridal competition" are the main draws for this fair which attracts thousands of tourists.
- This is also an occasion for Hindu pilgrims to take a dip in the sacred Pushkar Lake.
- Around 50,000 camels which are sold, decorated, shaved and raced every year.

- Celebration on the birth anniversary of spiritual leader Padmasambhava, the founder of Tibet Tantric Buddhism in Hemis, Ladakh (Leh).
- It falls on the 10th day of the fifth month of the Tibetan lunar calendar.
- Celebrated across two days and is marked by a huge, colorful fair.
- A solemn parade is initiated by pre-Lamaism priests dressed in rich robes of china silk and brocade with odd tall tufted hats.

- Largest fair of Bikaner, the Rajasthan Kapil Muni Fair is held on Kartik Poornima.
- Kolayat is an historical centre of pilgrimage where the Vedic sage, Kapila is believed to have shed his body under a Peepul tree.
- During the Kolayat Fair, all the 52 ghats are beautifully decorated.
- It holds as much significance as spending ten years at any other holy place.
- It is mainly associated with the birth of the Ganges river.
- It will be a great sight for the tourists to see hundreds of lighted lamps floating in the lake.

- Magha Saptami which is also called Chandrabhaga Mela is the most popular festival which fall in the month of February.
- This day is specifically set aside for the worship of the Sun God at Konark.
- It is held at Jhalrapatan, situated at a distance of about six kilometers from Jhalawar, in the month of Kartik (the full moon night).
- One of most popular and colourful festival of the place when lakhs of pilgrims visit Konark to observe the festival.

- Largest fair celebrated in West Bengal.
- Located on an island in the Sunderbans, about 80 km south of Kolkata.
- It is held every year on the occasion of Makar Sankranti and draws devotees from all over the country.
- A dip in the water at this place, during Gangasagar Mela, is considered to be extremely sacred. On the day of Makar Sankranti (January 14), when the sun makes a transition to Capricorn from Sagittarius, it is said that the bath becomes a holy source of salvation.
- After the holy dip, the pilgrims offer 'Puja' at the Kapil Muni Temple or Ashram. It is a charming tourist destination, which attracts both pilgrims and adventure lovers.

- Ambubachi Mela of Kamakhya Dham is one of the significant fairs and festivals celebrated in India.
- This mela is held every year during monsoon in the Kamakhya temple at Guwahati that happens to fall during the Assamese month Ahaar, around the middle of June, when the Brahmaputra river is in spate.
- It is the celebration of the yearly menstruation course of goddess Kamakhya.
- Thousands of followers visit this fair from different parts of the country.
- The pandits chanting mantras on behalf of the devotees, pilgrims performing puja, all these make the fair an interesting affair.

- It is a popular tribal fair held in Dungarpur district in Rajasthan.
- Baneshwar means the 'master of the delta' which is derived from the Shiva Linga worshipped in the Mahadev temple in Dungarpur.
- This is a religious fair with simple and traditional rituals.
- Every year, between January to Feburary the people of the Bhil community of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh gather at the confluence of the Mahi and Som Rivers.
- The fair echoes with the fun of songs, folk dances, magic shows, animal shows and acrobatic feats.