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Andhra Pradesh is a calendar of
one long procession of
festivals. Festivities here are
characterised by colour, gaiety,
enthusiasm, feasts and a variety
of prayers and rituals.
Travellers and tourists are
struck by the scale and
multiplicity of the festivities
that populate the cultural scene
of this land. The state is
famous for celebrating festival
of every region and religion
with equal pomp and gaiety. Be
it the age old traditional hindu
festivals or the muslim
festivity of brotherhood or
Christmas. The diversity of the
state is manifested in its
people, languages, religions and
cultures.
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 Deccan
Festival / Hyderabad Festival
Deccan Festival will be held at
Qutub Shahi Tombs Hyderabad on
Second Friday, Saturday & Sunday
of April every year.
This festival brings the
choicest talent from the field
of Music, Dance and Theatre.
Ghazals, Mushairas, Qawwalis,
Classical dances and Music.
Reverberate in the air of
Hyderabad. The Festival reflects
the love the Hyderabad always
had for art and Literature. The
Deccan Festival essentially
mirrors the glorious Qutub Shahi
epoch.
Pearls
& Bangles Fair
This festival also
includes Pearls and Bangles
fair, displaying creations in
lustrous pearls and multi-hued
bangles that are local
specialties, and a Food Fair,
with items covering both Andhra
and Hyderabadi cuisine. Cultural
programs, food stalls, arts and
craft shops etc. are well
organized. |
 Lumbini
Festival
Lumbini festival is organized
from the 2nd Friday to Sunday of
December every year at Hyderabad
and Nagarjunasagar to highlight
and celebrate the 'Buddhist
Heritage' of Andhra Pradesh. |
 Mahasivarathri
Mahasivarathri means the great
night of Siva. It is believed
that Lord Siva was born in the
form of a lingam on the night of
Krishna Chaturdasi (14th day of
the dark fortnight).
On this day after bath a lingam
is placed in the mandapam. It is
then worshipped with bel leaves
(Aegle marmelos maaredu). In the
evening the devotees take bath &
go to the Siva temple & chant
Siva’s name continuously, listen
to Siva’s stories & remain awake
the whole night & break their
fast the next day. |
 Makara
Sakranti
SANKRANTI is an important
festival for Telugus and people
in rural Andhra look forward to
this harvest festival, which has
different attractions for
different people. With crops
harvested people have both money
and leisure to make merry with.
This is the festival of
peasants. It is celebrated when
the sun passes from Sagittarius
to Capricorn & the transition is
called Makara Sankranthi. A
month before the festival the
harvesting of crops begins.
Gangireddula Vadu comes with a
colourfully dressed pet bull.
The bull sways its head, dances,
sits and stands and does things
in accordance with the rhythm of
the music and commands of its
master.
The first day is called as Bhogi.
On this day before sunrise
youngsters collect dry twigs,
grass, waste paper etc., make a
heap & light a bonfire. Women
and girls draw patterns on the
ground using mortar powder. They
make Gobbemmas i.e., lumps of
cowdung and place it on the
drawings in front of their
houses. People pick up some ash
from the bhogi fire & rub it on
their foreheads. The special
dish of the day is Pongal, a
mixture of husked greengram and
rice with salt and pepper powder
cooked in a pot.
The second day is the actual
Sankranthi day. In the evening
men & women go to their
neighbours and relatives to
offer sesame seeds, sugar &
sugarcane pieces.
Kanumu the third day is
celebrated as a cattle festival.
On this day the peasants wake up
early to bathe their cattle &
paint their horns with bright
colors and tie bells around
their necks. Some farmers go out
to their fields, sacrifice a
goat or a sheep and sprinkle the
blood in their fields. Still
some others take cooked rice and
milk to the cattleshed offer
some of it to the cattle and
take the remainder to their
fields and scatter it there.
They believe that this offering
keeps the ghosts away from their
crops. In the villages on this
day cockfights are held. |
 Pongal
Pongal, a harvest festival, is
celebrated from the 13th to the
15th of January. Pongal
literally means "boiling over"
and celebrates the bounteous
crops in the fields. Pongal was
originally a festival for the
farming community, but today it
has become one of South India's
most popular festivals, and is
widely celebrated in Tamil Nadu,
Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
On the first day Pongal, a dish
of rice and dal, is
ceremoniously prepared and
served. The second day is
especially for worship of Lord
Surya, and for the distribution
of clothes and gifts. Worship of
the cow marks the third day.
Cattle are given a ceremonious
bath, decorated and fed
sweetmeats. |
Rayalaseema Food and Dance
Festival
Organised in October to
highlight the arts and cuisine
of Rasyalaseema area of Tirupati,
Chitoor District. |
 Ugadi
Ugadi is the Telugu New Year
day. It is specially associated
with Pacchadi (chutney) in
telugu. The chutney is prepared
with tender flowers of neem,
jaggery or sugar & new tamarind.
The whole family has to eat the
chutney. The chutney is offered
to the deity first and then
eaten by the members of the
family.
The whole family wears new
clothes. Around 3.00 p.m. a
brahmin sits on the pail outside
the front yard door & recites
the panchangam. All the nearby
residents gather to listen to
him about the new year, rain
fall, agriculture, prices,
education, eclipses, and
auspicious days for marriages,
health and astrological
forecasts for the individuals
and the community based upon the
planetary position. In the
evening many competitions are
held like bullock-cart races,
physical duels, lifting of heavy
weights, running races, card
games and so on. |
 Vinayaka
Chaturthi /Ganesh Chaturthi
Ganesha Chaturthi is one of the
most popular Hindu festivals.
This is
the birthday of Lord Ganesha. It
is the day most sacred to Lord
Ganesha
and falls on the 4th day of the
bright fortnight of 'Bhadrapada'
(August - September). Ganesha
Chaturthi is celebrated
throughout India,
as well as by the devoted Hindus
all across of the world.
History
One day Parvathi,
wife of Lord Siva made a boy
with turmeric & breathed
life into it. She then asked the
boy to guard the door till she
took
her bath. The boy was instructed
not to allow any one to enter.
When
Siva came and tried to open the
door, the boy objected to it. In
a fit
of anger Siva severed the boy’s
head with his Trishul. When
Parvathi
came to know what had happened
to the boy she began to weep.
Seeing this Siva’s heart melted
and he promised to put back life
into
the boy. After a massive search
Siva’s disciples could find the
head of
an elephant to fix on the boy’s
body. From then on he was called
Gajanan, the elephant-headed
boy. From this day is celebrated
as birth
of Lord Ganesha. The idol of the
Lord is worshipped for 10 days
and on
the eleventh day it is immersed
in river or sea amidst a huge
procession. |
 Visaka
Utsav'Visakha
Utsav' is organised by A.P.
Tourism every year from the
third Friday to Sunday of
January. The Visakha Utsav is
organised to bring together a
kaleidoscope of brilliant hues .
The festival comprises of a
variety of cultural programmes,
sports events, food fair and
exhibitions, fashion shows,
trekking etc. |
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