January
| Festival | Where | When | What happens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Island Tourism Festival | Andaman & Nicobar Islands | Jan | A ten-day territorial festival in Port Blair with folk troupes from the mainland settler communities, food stalls and water sports displays. |
| Subhash Mela | Andaman & Nicobar Islands | Jan | Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's visit of 1943 is marked at Port Blair with parades and a fair, reflecting the islands' wartime history. |
| Pongal and Tamil new year | Andaman & Nicobar Islands | Jan and Apr | Tamil settler villages across South Andaman mark both, with kolam patterns and new-pot rice cooking. |
| Republic Day | Andaman & Nicobar Islands | 26 Jan | A notably large parade in Port Blair given the territory's penal and military history, with the Cellular Jail floodlit. |
| Sankranti | Andhra Pradesh | 13-16 Jan | The state's biggest home festival; rice-flour muggu patterns at doorways, bull-taming and cockfights in the delta villages, and new-harvest cooking. |
| Visakha Utsav | Andhra Pradesh | Dec-Jan | Visakhapatnam's beach festival of concerts, sand sculpture, food stalls and naval displays along RK Beach. |
| Torgya | Arunachal Pradesh | January | A three day monastic festival at Tawang with ritual cham dances to expel evil, held on the monastery courtyard |
| Reh and Boori Boot | Arunachal Pradesh | Jan-Feb | Idu Mishmi and Hill Miri festivals in the eastern and central valleys, with shamanic chanting and feasting |
| Magh Bihu (Bhogali) | Assam | Mid-January | Harvest feasting, bamboo and thatch meji huts burnt at dawn, buffalo and egg fights in some districts |
| Me-Dam-Me-Phi | Assam | End of January | The Ahom ancestor ceremony in Sivasagar and upper Assam, with offerings to the royal dead |
| Jonbeel Mela | Assam | Jan-Feb | A barter fair near Jagiroad where hill and plains communities still trade goods without money, under a tribal king's authority |
| Winter teachings, Bodh Gaya | Bihar | Dec-Jan | Tibetan monastic gatherings fill the town; in some winters the Dalai Lama gives teachings here, which is announced only a few months ahead |
| Makar Sankranti | Bihar | Mid-Jan | Sesame and jaggery sweets, kite flying and ritual bathing at the river confluences, marking the sun's northward turn |
| Champaran Mela | Chhattisgarh | Jan-Feb | A pilgrimage fair at the birthplace of the saint Vallabhacharya near Raipur, drawing devotees from Gujarat and Rajasthan. |
| Feast of Our Lady of Remedies, Diu | Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu | Jan | A Catholic feast at the Church of Our Lady of Remedies with a procession, music and a fair, one of the clearest survivals of Portuguese Diu. |
| Diu Festival | Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu | Dec-Jan | A territory-run winter programme of music, water sports and food stalls along Ghoghla and Nagoa beaches, with fixed dates announced each year. |
| Republic Day Parade | Delhi | 26 January | Marching contingents, state floats and a flypast down Kartavya Path; ticketed stands sell out weeks ahead |
| Basant Panchami at Nizamuddin | Delhi | January to February | Yellow turbans and Sufi qawwali at the dargah of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya to welcome spring |
| Sunburn and the New Year season | Goa | Late December to 1 January | India's largest electronic music festival runs in the last week of December, and the whole coast books out for New Year's Eve beach parties. |
| Three Kings Feast | Goa | 6 January annually | At Cuelim, Reis Magos and Chandor, boys dressed as the three kings ride in procession to hilltop chapels, a tradition kept since Portuguese times. |
| Uttarayan kite festival | Gujarat | 14-15 Jan | A fixed-date, two-day kite war fought from every rooftop in Ahmedabad and Vadodara, with an international kite gathering on the Sabarmati riverfront. |
| Modhera Dance Festival | Gujarat | Jan | Three days of classical Indian dance staged in front of the eleventh-century Sun Temple, usually just after Uttarayan, with the stepped tank lit behind the dancers. |
| Halda, Lahaul | Himachal Pradesh | January | Mid-winter fire festival with cedar torches carried through snowbound villages |
| Tusu Parab | Jharkhand | Mid-Jan | Makar Sankranti in the south east, with decorated chaudal effigies carried to the rivers and competitive Tusu songs |
| Hampi Utsav (Vijaya Utsav) | Karnataka | Jan-Feb, three days | A state festival staged among the Vijayanagara ruins, with classical music and dance on temple platforms, processions and a light show on the Virupaksha gopuram. |
| Pattadakal Dance Festival | Karnataka | Jan-Feb, a few days | Classical dancers perform against the floodlit 8th century Chalukya temples, with the Badami and Aihole sites open late. |
| Makaravilakku at Sabarimala | Kerala | Dec-Jan | The forest shrine's pilgrim season peaks with a hill-top flame; dress and conduct rules are strict and crowds vast. |
| Losar | Ladakh | December to January | Ladakhi new year, celebrated earlier than Tibetan Losar, with processions and butter lamps |
| Republic Day and territory celebrations | Lakshadweep | 26 Jan | Parades and school displays in Kavaratti, the administrative centre, with inter-island sports. |
| Lokrang Samaroh, Bhopal | Madhya Pradesh | Jan | Four or five days of tribal and folk performance, crafts and food from across central India at Bharat Bhavan and the tribal museum. |
| Dahi Handi | Maharashtra | Aug-Sep, day after Krishna Janmashtami | Young men and women build human pyramids in city streets to break a clay pot of curd hung four or five storeys up, with cash prizes and crowds hosing the climbers down. |
| Gang Ngai | Manipur | Dec-Jan | The Kabui Naga five day festival, with dancing, divination and a common feast |
| Mimkut | Nagaland | January | The Kuki harvest festival in the southern districts, with mourning rites for the dead and a feast to follow |
| Dhanu Jatra, Bargarh | Odisha | Dec-Jan | Claimed as the world's largest open-air theatre, with an entire town staging the Krishna and Kansa story across eleven days. |
| Pongal | Puducherry | Mid-Jan, four days | The Tamil quarter boils rice in new pots, draws kolam and decorates cattle in the surrounding villages. |
| Lohri | Punjab | 13 January | Bonfires, sesame sweets and dancing to mark the end of the coldest fortnight |
| Jaipur Literature Festival | Rajasthan | Jan | Five days of authors, translators, historians and musicians at Hotel Clarks Amer. Entry is free, the programme is largely in English, and foreign visitors simply register online. |
| Nagaur Cattle Fair | Rajasthan | Jan-Feb | Second only to Pushkar in scale and far less visited. A genuine working market for Nagauri bullocks and Marwari horses, with tug of war, camel races and mirchi bada stalls. |
| Pongal | Tamil Nadu | Mid-Jan, four days | The Tamil harvest thanksgiving: rice boiled over until it spills, cattle decorated and raced, and homes marked with kolam. |
| Chennai Margazhi music season | Tamil Nadu | Dec-Jan | Over a thousand Carnatic concerts and dance recitals across the city's sabhas, the largest classical season on earth. |
| Thaipusam | Tamil Nadu | Jan-Feb | Devotees carry kavadi and pierce their skin in processions to Palani and other Murugan hill temples. |
| Jallikattu at Alanganallur | Tamil Nadu | Mid-Jan | Bull-taming contests during Pongal week, legally regulated, where young men try to hold the hump of a charging bull. |
| Numaish (All India Industrial Exhibition) | Telangana | 1 Jan to mid-Feb | A 1930s-vintage trade fair on Nampally grounds that has become Hyderabad's winter carnival, with 2,000-odd stalls and famously good street food. |
| Hyderabad Literary Festival | Telangana | Jan | Three days of readings and Deccan history talks, heavily attended and free, with Urdu and Telugu writing alongside English. |
| Magh Mela | Uttar Pradesh | Jan-Feb | A six-week pilgrim city of canvas rises on the sand at Prayagraj's Triveni Sangam, with the main bathing days set by the lunar month of Magh. |
| Haridwar Ardh Kumbh | Uttarakhand | Expected January to April 2027 | Bathing fairs on the Ganga at Har ki Pauri; principal dates follow the lunar and solar calendars |
| Saraswati Puja | West Bengal | Jan-Feb | The Bengali students' festival; girls wear yellow saris, schools and para clubs worship the goddess of learning and nobody studies |
February
| Festival | Where | When | What happens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beach Festival, Swaraj Dweep | Andaman & Nicobar Islands | Feb-Mar | Dive demonstrations, music and food on Havelock, timed for the calmest sea of the year. |
| Maha Shivaratri at Srisailam | Andhra Pradesh | Feb-Mar | Night-long worship at one of the twelve jyotirlingas, deep in the Nallamala forest above the Krishna gorge. |
| Losar | Arunachal Pradesh | Feb-Mar | Monpa and Tibetan Buddhist new year in Tawang and Dirang, with masked dances at the monasteries; lunar dating |
| Nyokum Yullo | Arunachal Pradesh | February | The Nyishi festival near Itanagar, invoking the earth goddess with shaman-led rites and dance |
| Rose Festival | Chandigarh | February | Three days of music, food and competition among 50,000 rose bushes in the Zakir Hussain Rose Garden |
| Bhoramdeo Mahotsav | Chhattisgarh | Feb-Mar | Music and dance at the 11th century temple in the Maikal hills, with Baiga and Gond performers and a Shivratri fair. |
| Rajim Kumbh Kalp | Chhattisgarh | Feb-Mar | A two-week gathering at the confluence of three rivers at Rajim, with sadhu camps, bathing and a large rural fair. |
| Carnival (Intruz) | Goa | February, three days before Lent | Goa's Latin inheritance at full volume. King Momo leads float parades through Panaji, Margao, Vasco and Mapusa, with red-and-black dances, street bands and all-night music. |
| Rann Utsav, Kutch | Gujarat | Nov to Feb | A tented city at Dhordo on the edge of the white salt desert, with craft bazaars, camel carts, folk music and full-moon nights on the salt. |
| Bhavnath Mahadev Fair, Junagadh | Gujarat | Feb-Mar (Maha Shivratri, lunar) | Five days at the foot of Girnar hill, with naga sadhus arriving in procession, all-night bhajans and a ritual bathing in the Mrugi Kund. |
| Surajkund International Crafts Mela | Haryana | 1 to 15 February | A fortnight-long crafts fair near Faridabad with 1,000-plus artisans and a partner country each year |
| Losar | Himachal Pradesh | February to March | Tibetan and Spitian new year, with masked dances at the monasteries and butter lamps in homes |
| Shivratri Fair, Mandi | Himachal Pradesh | February to March | Deities from across the district gather at Mandi for a week of processions and night music |
| Gokarna Shivaratri and rathotsava | Karnataka | Feb-Mar (lunar calendar) | The Mahabaleshwar temple town holds an all-night vigil and a chariot procession pulled through the main street by pilgrims. |
| Attukal Pongala | Kerala | Feb-Mar | Hundreds of thousands of women cook a rice offering on open hearths filling the streets of Thiruvananthapuram. |
| Dosmoche | Ladakh | February | The festival of the scapegoat at Leh and Likir, with effigies carried out to the desert |
| Matho Nagrang | Ladakh | February to March | Oracle monks enter trance and make predictions after a year of retreat, a distinctive local rite |
| Khajuraho Dance Festival | Madhya Pradesh | Feb | Seven nights of Bharatanatyam, Odissi, Kathak and Kuchipudi performed on an open stage in front of the Western Group temples. Fixed to the Gregorian calendar and the state's best-known cultural event. |
| Mahashivratri at Mahakaleshwar | Madhya Pradesh | Feb-Mar | Ujjain's biggest night, when the Jyotirlinga temple stays open right through and the queue runs for kilometres. Lunar date. |
| Kala Ghoda Arts Festival | Maharashtra | February, nine days | Mumbai's free street arts festival in the Kala Ghoda art district, with installations, literature sessions, classical and jazz concerts, heritage walks and food stalls in the Victorian quarter. |
| Sula Fest | Maharashtra | February, one weekend | A music and wine weekend on a Nashik vineyard, with Indian and international acts, tastings in the barrel room and grape stomping, booked out by Mumbai and Pune visitors weeks ahead. |
| Yaoshang | Manipur | Feb-Mar | The Manipuri Holi over five days, with thabal chongba moonlight circle dancing in the valley; lunar dating |
| Strawberry and Autumn Festivals, Sohra belt | Meghalaya | Feb-Mar | Local produce fairs in the southern villages, with Khasi food stalls, archery and folk singing |
| Mizoram Statehood Day | Mizoram | 20 February | Civic parades and cultural performances marking the 1987 grant of statehood |
| Sekrenyi | Nagaland | February | The Angami purification festival at Kohima villages, with ritual bathing, gate pulling and ten days of ceremony |
| Masi Magam | Puducherry | Feb-Mar | Coastal deities are carried into the sea at the Puducherry and Karaikal shores for a ritual bath. |
| Sri Aurobindo and Mother darshan days | Puducherry | Feb, Apr, Aug, Nov | The ashram opens the samadhi courtyard for special darshan on four fixed anniversary dates each year. |
| Auroville anniversary | Puducherry | Feb | The international township marks its 1968 founding with a bonfire at the Matrimandir amphitheatre. |
| Rural Olympics, Kila Raipur | Punjab | February | Village sports on a grand scale: bullock-cart racing, tractor stunts and tug of war |
| Desert Festival, Jaisalmer | Rajasthan | Feb (Magh Purnima, lunar) | Three days of camel polo, turban-tying competitions and Manganiyar folk singing split between the Jaisalmer stadium and the Sam dunes, closing with a full-moon concert. |
| Losar | Sikkim | Feb-Mar | Tibetan and Bhutia new year, the state's biggest celebration, with cham masked dances at Rumtek and Pemayangtse and three days of household visiting; set by the lunar calendar |
| Bumchu, Tashiding | Sikkim | Feb-Mar | The sacred water pot is opened once a year at Tashiding monastery and the level read to predict the year ahead |
| Natyanjali, Chidambaram | Tamil Nadu | Feb-Mar | Hundreds of Bharatanatyam dancers perform in the Nataraja temple precinct over five days from Maha Shivaratri. |
| Mahamaham, Kumbakonam | Tamil Nadu | Feb-Mar, every 12 years | Pilgrims bathe in the Mahamaham tank in a cycle compared to a Kumbh; the last was 2016. |
| Medaram Sammakka Saralamma Jatara | Telangana | Feb, even-numbered years | Asia's largest tribal gathering, held every two years in the Mulugu forests; millions of Koya pilgrims offer jaggery to two warrior goddesses. |
| Taj Mahotsav | Uttar Pradesh | Feb | Ten days of crafts, Mughal-era cooking and classical music at Shilpgram beside the Taj in Agra; this one follows the Gregorian calendar and usually opens in the third week. |
| Kumaoni Holi | Uttarakhand | February to March | A distinctive sung Holi with classical ragas and seated singing sessions in Almora and Nainital |
March
| Festival | Where | When | What happens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christmas and Easter | Andaman & Nicobar Islands | Dec and Mar-Apr | There is a substantial Christian population, including Nicobarese and Karen communities, and churches in Port Blair hold full services. |
| Ugadi | Andhra Pradesh | Mar-Apr | Telugu new year, marked with the six-taste ugadi pachadi and public readings of the year's almanac by temple astrologers. |
| Myoko | Arunachal Pradesh | March | The Apatani friendship and fertility festival in the Ziro valley, hosted village by village in rotation |
| Sarhul and Ram Navami | Bihar | Mar-Apr | Spring worship among tribal communities in the south, and large Ram Navami processions through Patna and Muzaffarpur |
| Mahavir Jayanti | Bihar | Mar-Apr | Jains gather at Pawapuri, where Mahavira died, for processions and temple ceremonies at the water temple |
| Chrysanthemum and Bougainvillea shows | Chandigarh | December and March | Horticultural shows that the city takes unusually seriously, held in the themed gardens |
| Madai festivals | Chhattisgarh | Dec-Mar | A circuit of village fairs across Bastar where clan deities are carried to a host village in procession, each village taking its turn across the season. |
| Holi and Shimga | Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu | Mar (Phalguna Purnima, lunar) | Colour across the towns, with the tribal Shimga version in Dadra and Nagar Haveli involving bonfires, drumming and all-night village dancing. |
| Holi | Delhi | March | Colour powder, drums and bhang thandai in residential colonies; the date follows the lunar calendar |
| Eid-ul-Fitr | Delhi | Follows the Islamic lunar calendar, around March 2027 | Dawn prayers fill Jama Masjid, then the lanes below serve sheer khurma and kebabs until midnight |
| Shigmo (Shigmotsav) | Goa | Mar-Apr (lunar calendar) | The Hindu spring festival and Goa's own answer to Holi, with huge float parades, romat and ghode modni folk dances, and colour play in village squares. |
| Holi | Haryana | March | Haryanvi villages play a stick-and-shield version called Dhulandi; the lunar date moves each year |
| Dalai Lama teachings, Dharamshala | Himachal Pradesh | Dates announced a few months ahead, often March and September | Several days of public teaching at the Tsuglagkhang temple, free with prior registration |
| Tulip Festival, Srinagar | Jammu & Kashmir | Late March to mid-April | Asia's largest tulip garden opens below the Zabarwan hills with over a million bulbs in bloom |
| Eid-ul-Fitr | Jammu & Kashmir | Follows the Islamic lunar calendar, around March 2027 | Dawn prayers at the Hazratbal and Jama Masjid shrines, then family feasting across the valley |
| Navroz | Jammu & Kashmir | 21 March | Persian new year, marked in the valley with special breads, family visits and spring cleaning |
| Vaishno Devi yatra season | Jammu & Kashmir | Year round, busiest March to July and October | Pilgrims walk 12 km up from Katra in Jammu to a cave shrine, day and night |
| Sarhul | Jharkhand | Mar-Apr | The tribal new year and spring festival: sal blossom offered at the sacred grove, the village priest's pot divination for rainfall, and nights of mandar drumming and line dance |
| Bhagta Parab and Chhau | Jharkhand | Mar-Apr | Spring rituals in Seraikela and Purulia country with masked Chhau dance performed through the night |
| Ram Navami, Ranchi | Jharkhand | Mar-Apr | The capital's largest street festival, with thousands of flags, akhara processions and drums through the old city |
| Ugadi | Karnataka | Mar-Apr (lunar new year) | The Kannada and Telugu new year, marked with neem and jaggery eaten together, mango-leaf doorways and a traditional reading of the year's almanac. |
| Karaga, Bengaluru | Karnataka | Mar-Apr (lunar calendar) | An all-night Thigala community festival in the old city, where a priest in women's dress carries a flowered earthen pot through the streets before dawn. |
| Kambala buffalo races | Karnataka | Nov-Mar, coastal districts | Paired buffaloes are raced through flooded paddy tracks in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi, a coastal sport with large village crowds. |
| Kochi-Muziris Biennale | Kerala | Dec-Mar, alternate years | India's largest contemporary art show takes over spice warehouses and bungalows across Fort Kochi. |
| Bhagoria Haat, Jhabua | Madhya Pradesh | Mar | A Bhil and Bhilala tribal pre-Holi market where young people choose their own partners, with drums, dancing and a market of several thousand. |
| Gudi Padwa | Maharashtra | Mar-Apr (lunar new year) | Marathi new year. Homes raise a gudi of bamboo, silk and neem leaves, Girgaum and Dombivli hold dawn bike processions in nine-yard saris and turbans, and families eat bitter-sweet neem and jaggery. |
| Cheiraoba | Manipur | Mar-Apr | The Meitei new year, with house cleaning, a special meal and a climb up a nearby hill at dusk |
| Chapchar Kut | Mizoram | March | The spring festival after the jhum clearing, with cheraw bamboo dancing, drums and massed performances in Aizawl |
| Good Friday and Easter | Mizoram | Mar-Apr | Solemnly observed statewide with services and processions; dates follow the Christian calendar |
| Hola Mohalla, Anandpur Sahib | Punjab | March | Three days of mock battles, horsemanship and martial arts by Nihang Sikhs after Holi |
| Gangaur | Rajasthan | Mar-Apr (Chaitra, lunar) | Eighteen days in which women carry painted images of Gauri through the streets, ending with a procession out of Jaipur's City Palace and decorated boats on Lake Pichola in Udaipur. |
| Holi | Rajasthan | Mar (Phalguna Purnima, lunar) | Colour throwing statewide. Bikaner holds the rough and cheerful Dolchi Holi water fight, while several Jaipur hotels run organised, alcohol-controlled parties that suit nervous first-timers. |
| Ugadi | Telangana | Mar-Apr | Telugu new year; doorways get mango-leaf garlands and families eat ugadi pachadi, a six-flavour chutney meant to taste like a whole year at once. |
| Ashokastami at Unakoti | Tripura | Mar-Apr | A pilgrimage fair at the rock carvings, with bathing in the hill stream; lunar dating |
| Holi and Lathmar Holi | Uttar Pradesh | Mar | Barsana's women drive Nandgaon's men out of the temple yard with long bamboo staves a week before the main Holi, after which colour engulfs Mathura and Vrindavan. Dates follow the lunar calendar. |
| Basanta Utsav, Santiniketan | West Bengal | Mar | Tagore's spring festival on the Holi full moon, danced in yellow and ochre to his own songs rather than thrown as street colour |
April
| Festival | Where | When | What happens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lumbini and Buddhist Purnima at Amaravati | Andhra Pradesh | Apr-May | Vesak observances at the Mahachaitya mound and the modern Dhyana Buddha, attended by monks from Sri Lanka and Thailand. |
| Rongali Bihu | Assam | Mid-April | Assam's spring new year, with Bihu dancing to dhol and pepa horn in village fields and town stages for about a week |
| Buddha Purnima | Bihar | Apr-May | The Buddha's birth, enlightenment and passing marked on the Vaisakh full moon, with an all-night vigil and chanting at the Mahabodhi Temple |
| Baisakhi | Chandigarh | 13 or 14 April | Harvest fairs, bhangra competitions and gurudwara processions across the sectors |
| Saturday night markets | Goa | Nov-Apr, weekly | The Arpora and Baga night market season, with craft stalls, live bands and food from across Europe and India. They shut for the monsoon. |
| Baisakhi | Haryana | 13 or 14 April | Harvest celebrations with bhangra and giddha dancing in the northern wheat districts |
| Baisakhi in Jammu | Jammu & Kashmir | 13 or 14 April | Harvest fairs and bathing at the Jammu riverside temples on a fixed solar date |
| Jani Shikar | Jharkhand | Apr-May, every twelfth year | The Oraon women's ritual hunt, commemorating a defence of Rohtasgarh, held once on a twelve-year cycle |
| Thrissur Pooram | Kerala | Apr-May | Two temple sides face off at Vadakkunnathan with caparisoned elephants, parasol changes and a fireworks duel running past midnight. |
| Theyyam season | Kerala | Dec-Apr | In north Malabar, costumed dancers are treated as the deity itself and give oracles at family shrines through the night. |
| Vishu | Kerala | Apr | Malayalam new year opens with the vishukkani, a mirror and gold-flower arrangement seen first thing on waking. |
| Simhastha Kumbh Mela, Ujjain | Madhya Pradesh | Apr-May | Ujjain's twelve-year Kumbh on the Shipra, with akhara processions and royal bathing days set by Jupiter's entry into Leo. The last was in 2016. |
| Lai Haraoba | Manipur | Apr-May | The ancient Meitei ritual festival of the pre-Hindu deities, with maibi priestesses dancing the creation story |
| Shad Suk Mynsiem | Meghalaya | April | The Khasi thanksgiving dance in Shillong, with unmarried women in gold and silver and men circling them with swords, over three days |
| Shad Nongkrem at Garo and Jaintia villages | Meghalaya | Apr-May | Smaller clan dances across the hills marking sowing, open to respectful visitors by arrangement |
| Aoling | Nagaland | April | The Konyak new year in Mon district, six days marking the end of sowing, with feasting and full dress |
| Tsukhenyie | Nagaland | Apr-May | The Chakhesang festival of purification and renewal in Phek district, with communal work and dancing |
| Chandan Yatra, Puri | Odisha | Apr-May | Twenty-one days of the deities being taken out on boats on the Narendra tank in the hottest part of the year. |
| Baisakhi | Punjab | 13 or 14 April | The wheat harvest and the Khalsa's founding, marked with bhangra, fairs and processions statewide |
| International Flower Festival | Sikkim | Apr-May | Orchid and rhododendron displays in Gangtok, timed to the state's flowering season of over 500 orchid species |
| Madurai Chithirai Festival | Tamil Nadu | Apr-May | The celestial marriage of Meenakshi and Sundareswarar, with a million people and a temple car hauled through the streets. |
| Garia Puja | Tripura | April | The Tripuri festival marking the sowing season, with bamboo poles, dance and offerings for a good harvest |
| Bizu and Buddha Purnima | Tripura | Apr-May | Chakma and Buddhist community festivals in the southern districts; lunar dating |
| Char Dham opening ceremonies | Uttarakhand | Late April to May | The four shrines' doors are opened with processions after winter; dates are set by priests each year |
| Poila Boishakh | West Bengal | Mid-Apr | Bengali New Year; shopkeepers open fresh account books with sweets, and families eat lunch in white and red |
May
| Festival | Where | When | What happens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moatsu | Nagaland | May | The Ao festival after sowing in Mokokchung, with songs, rice beer and the Sangpangtu fire gathering |
| Villianur Temple car festival | Puducherry | May-Jun | A huge wooden temple car is hauled by hand through Villianur, 10 kilometres west, over several days. |
| Saga Dawa | Sikkim | May-Jun | The holiest Buddhist month, marked on the full moon with monk processions through Gangtok carrying scriptures |
| Ganga Dussehra | Uttarakhand | May to June | Marks the river's descent to earth, with large bathing crowds and evening aarti at Haridwar |
June
| Festival | Where | When | What happens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ambubachi Mela | Assam | June | Four days at Kamakhya when the temple closes for the goddess's cycle and reopens to a huge tantric gathering; dates follow the Assamese calendar |
| Mango Festival at Pinjore | Chandigarh | June to July | Hundreds of mango cultivars judged in the Mughal terrace garden 20 km away |
| Goncha festival, Jagdalpur | Chhattisgarh | Jun-Jul | A Bastar version of the Jagannath Rath Yatra, where young men fire ceremonial bamboo pop-guns with malkangani berries at the chariots. |
| Sao Joao | Goa | 24 June annually | Monsoon well-jumping. Young men in leafy crowns leap into village wells and ponds for bottles of feni, with boat processions on the Siolim backwaters. |
| Mango Festival, Pinjore | Haryana | June to July | Hundreds of mango varieties judged in a 17th-century Mughal terrace garden |
| Hemis Tsechu | Ladakh | June to July | Masked cham dances in the monastery courtyard on dates set by the Tibetan lunar calendar |
| Yuru Kabgyat, Lamayuru | Ladakh | June to July | Masked dances and sand mandala rituals at the oldest monastery on the Srinagar road |
| Sindhu Darshan | Ladakh | June | A festival on the banks of the Indus celebrating the river, with music and offerings |
| Pandharpur Wari | Maharashtra | Jun-Jul (Ashadhi Ekadashi) | Several hundred thousand pilgrims walk up to 250 km to Vithoba's temple at Pandharpur behind palanquins of the saint-poets, singing abhangas and sleeping in villages along the route. |
| Ratha Yatra, Puri | Odisha | Jun-Jul | Three deities are pulled on chariots up to 45 feet tall by thousands of devotees along the Grand Road; the origin of the English word juggernaut. Lunar dating. |
| Raja Parba | Odisha | Mid-Jun | Three days honouring the earth's menstruation and monsoon rest; no ploughing, village swings hung from trees, and pitha cakes in every house. |
| Rath Yatra, Mahesh | West Bengal | Jun-Jul | India's second oldest chariot festival at Serampore, running since 1396, with a 50-foot iron chariot pulled by thousands |
July
| Festival | Where | When | What happens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dree | Arunachal Pradesh | July | The Apatani agricultural festival with prayers for the paddy crop, millet beer and wrestling |
| Teej | Chandigarh | July to August | Monsoon women's festival with swings and giddha dancing at the open-air theatres |
| Bastar Dussehra | Chhattisgarh | Jul-Oct | Approximately 75 days of ritual beginning around Hareli in July and culminating in October, centred on the goddess Danteshwari at Jagdalpur. The rath is pulled by villagers and ritually stolen in one episode. One of the longest festivals in the world. |
| Hareli | Chhattisgarh | Jul-Aug | The state's farming new year, when ploughs and cattle are worshipped, neem branches are fixed to doorways and gedi stilt-walking is played. |
| Nariyal Purnima, Daman | Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu | Jul-Aug (Shravan Purnima, lunar) | Fishing families offer coconuts to the sea at the start of the fishing season, with decorated boats leaving Nani Daman harbour together. |
| Teej | Haryana | July to August | Women swing from mango trees in green and gold during the monsoon month of Sawan |
| Minjar Fair, Chamba | Himachal Pradesh | July to August | A week-long harvest fair where maize tassels are offered to the Ravi river |
| Amarnath Yatra | Jammu & Kashmir | July to August | A regulated high-altitude pilgrimage to an ice lingam, requiring registration and medical clearance |
| Shravani Mela, Deoghar | Jharkhand | Jul-Aug | Through the month of Shravan, millions in saffron carry Ganga water 105 km on foot from Sultanganj to pour over the Baidyanath Jyotirlinga |
| Nashik Simhastha Kumbh Mela | Maharashtra | 31 Oct 2026 to 24 Jul 2028 | The twelve-year Kumbh at Nashik and Trimbakeshwar. Shahi Snan dates are 2 August 2027, 31 August 2027 and 11-12 September 2027, with akharas, tented camps and all-night kirtan on the Godavari. |
| Behdienkhlam | Meghalaya | Jul-Aug | The Jaintia monsoon festival at Jowai, where carved wooden posts are hauled through mud to drive out plague |
| Tuluni | Nagaland | July | The Sumi mid-year festival at Zunheboto, celebrating the season's plenty with rice beer shared from bamboo cups |
| Bastille Day | Puducherry | 14 July | Veterans of the French Indian army parade, the Marseillaise is sung and the tricolour flies beside the Indian flag. |
| Teeyan da Mela | Punjab | July to August | Monsoon women's festival of giddha dancing, swings and henna in the villages |
| Teej | Rajasthan | Jul-Aug (Shravan, lunar) | The monsoon welcome. Green lehengas, garden swings and a royal elephant and palanquin procession through Jaipur's old city, with syrup-soaked ghevar on every sweet counter. |
| Drupka Teshi | Sikkim | Jul-Aug | The Buddha's first sermon, marked at Deer Park in Gangtok and with yak races at Muguthang in the far north |
| Bonalu | Telangana | Jul-Aug | Hyderabad and Secunderabad's goddess festival; women carry decorated pots of rice and jaggery to Mahankali temples, with drumming and the Rangam oracle. Lunar dates. |
| Kharchi Puja | Tripura | July | A week in Agartala honouring fourteen deities of the royal house, with processions, bathing rites and a large fair |
| Ker Puja | Tripura | Jul-Aug | A protective rite following Kharchi, during which movement in and out of the ritual area is restricted |
| Kanwar Yatra | Uttarakhand | July to August | Millions walk to Haridwar for Ganga water in the month of Sawan, then carry it home on foot |
| Harela | Uttarakhand | July | A Kumaoni sowing festival where seedlings grown indoors are offered and planted out |
August
| Festival | Where | When | What happens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ganesh Chaturthi (Chovoth) | Goa | Aug-Sep (lunar calendar) | Goa's biggest Hindu festival, more a household event than Mumbai's street spectacle, with family idols, matoli canopies of fruit and village immersions. |
| Janmashtami at Dwarka | Gujarat | Aug-Sep (Bhadrapada, lunar) | Krishna's birth marked at his own city with midnight prayers, flag changes on the temple spire and crowds filling the Dwarkadhish complex. |
| Tarnetar Fair | Gujarat | Aug-Sep (Bhadrapada, lunar) | A matchmaking fair in Surendranagar district where young Koli men carry embroidered umbrellas to attract a bride, alongside horse trading and folk dance. |
| Karma | Jharkhand | Aug-Sep | Women plant karam branches and fast for their brothers' wellbeing, with all-night Karma dance in a ring around the branch |
| Onam | Kerala | Aug-Sep | Ten days of harvest ritual, floral kolams, the all-vegetarian sadya on a banana leaf and snake-boat racing. |
| Nehru Trophy Boat Race | Kerala | Aug-Sep | Hundred-rower chundan vallam snake boats sprint on Punnamada Lake at Alleppey before enormous crowds. |
| Ganesh Chaturthi (Ganeshotsav) | Maharashtra | Aug-Sep, 10 days (lunar calendar) | The state's defining festival. Household and public mandal idols are installed, Lalbaugcha Raja in Mumbai draws millions, and the final day is a drumming, dancing immersion procession to the sea. |
| Mim Kut | Mizoram | Aug-Sep | The maize harvest festival, with the first crop offered in memory of the dead and a community feast |
| Fete de Pondichery | Puducherry | Aug | A civic festival of music, cycle races and food along the beach promenade and Goubert Avenue. |
| Pang Lhabsol | Sikkim | Aug-Sep | Uniquely Sikkimese: Kangchenjunga is honoured as the state's guardian with warrior Pangtoed cham dance and the renewal of the Lepcha and Bhutia blood-brotherhood oath |
| Janmashtami | Uttar Pradesh | Aug-Sep | Mathura and Vrindavan stay awake for Krishna's midnight birth, with bathing rituals, cradle swings and tableaux in every temple courtyard. |
| Nanda Devi Raj Jat | Uttarakhand | August to September | A Kumaoni procession for the goddess, with a major pilgrimage version held only every twelfth year |
| Devidhura Bagwal | Uttarakhand | August | A ritual stone-throwing contest between clans at a Kumaon temple, now fought with fruit |
September
| Festival | Where | When | What happens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Durga Puja | Andaman & Nicobar Islands | Sep-Oct | The large Bengali settler community stages full pandals in Port Blair, Diglipur and Rangat; the biggest community festival here. |
| Tirumala Brahmotsavam | Andhra Pradesh | Sep-Oct | Nine days of processions at Tirumala, with the deity carried on a different vahana each evening; the Garuda Seva night draws over a million. Lunar dating. |
| Kanaka Durga Dasara, Vijayawada | Andhra Pradesh | Sep-Oct | Nine nights on Indrakeeladri hill, with the goddess dressed in a different form daily and lamp-lit boat processions on the Krishna. |
| Solung | Arunachal Pradesh | September | The Adi harvest festival in the Siang valleys, with mithun sacrifice and the Ponung dance |
| Ziro Music Festival | Arunachal Pradesh | September | Four days of independent Indian and international bands on stages built in the Apatani paddy fields |
| Durga Puja | Assam | Sep-Oct | Pandals across Guwahati and Silchar, with Bengali-Assamese crossover food stalls; lunar dating |
| Feast of St Jerome, Daman | Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu | Sep | Marked at the St Jerome fort chapel in Nani Daman with mass, a procession and a street fair in the old Portuguese quarter. |
| Navratri | Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu | Sep-Oct (Ashwin, lunar) | Garba on the open grounds across all three districts, reflecting the Gujarati population, though smaller in scale than in Gujarat itself. |
| Phoolwalon ki Sair | Delhi | September to October | Mehrauli's flower sellers carry floral fans and pankhas to a dargah and a temple on the same morning |
| Dussehra and Ramlila | Delhi | September to October | Open-air Ramlila theatre runs for ten nights near the Red Fort before giant effigies are burnt |
| Navratri | Gujarat | Sep-Oct (Ashwin, lunar) | Nine nights of garba danced in circles around a lamp, on grounds and in streets statewide. The largest and longest dance festival in India, running past midnight every night. |
| Phulaich, Kinnaur | Himachal Pradesh | September | The festival of flowers, when villagers climb to high meadows to gather blooms for the deities |
| Mysuru Dasara | Karnataka | Sep-Oct, 10 days (lunar calendar) | One of India's great festivals. The Mysuru palace is lit by tens of thousands of bulbs each night, and the final Vijayadashami day brings the Jamboo Savari elephant procession through the city. |
| Ladakh Festival | Ladakh | September | A state-run week of archery, polo, folk dance and monastery processions across the district |
| Anthurium Festival | Mizoram | September | A flower and culture festival at Reiek, with Mizo dance, crafts and local food stalls |
| Durga Puja and Dussehra | Odisha | Sep-Oct | Cuttack's silver filigree pandals are the state's speciality, with goddess backdrops worked in solid silver thread. |
| Bathukamma | Telangana | Sep-Oct | Telangana's flower festival; women build conical stacks of seasonal blooms, sing around them for nine evenings, then float them on lakes and wells. |
| Durga Puja | Tripura | Sep-Oct | The dominant festival of the Bengali calendar here, with pandals across Agartala; lunar dating |
| Ramnagar Ramlila | Uttar Pradesh | Sep-Oct | A 31-night open-air Ramayana staged across the fields and lanes of Ramnagar opposite Varanasi, performed under the Maharaja's patronage since the 1830s. |
| Durga Puja | West Bengal | Sep-Oct | Five main days of pandal-hopping, commissioned art installations, dhunuchi dance, Sindoor Khela and immersion processions on Vijaya Dashami; dates follow the lunar calendar |
October
| Festival | Where | When | What happens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kati Bihu | Assam | Mid-October | The austere Bihu, with earthen lamps lit in paddy fields and under tulsi plants to protect a thin crop |
| Chhath Puja | Bihar | Oct-Nov | Bihar's own festival: two days of fasting and river-bank worship of the sun at dawn and dusk, with hundreds of thousands on the Patna ghats |
| Rajgir Dance Festival | Bihar | Oct-Nov | Classical and folk dance staged in the hills near the Venu Van, timed to the cooler weather |
| Diwali | Chandigarh | October to November | Lamps across the sector markets and restricted fireworks; the date follows the lunar calendar |
| Bastar Lokotsav | Chhattisgarh | Oct-Nov | A tribal arts and crafts festival at Jagdalpur running alongside the close of Dussehra, with dance troupes from across the district. |
| Tarpa Nritya and Warli harvest dances | Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu | Oct-Nov (post-harvest) | Warli and Kokna villages around Silvassa dance to the tarpa, a gourd and bamboo wind instrument, in circles that can last through the night. |
| Diwali | Delhi | October to November | Oil lamps on every parapet, sweet shops working all night and Chandni Chowk lit end to end |
| Diwali and Gujarati New Year | Gujarat | Oct-Nov (Kartik, lunar) | Lamps, rangoli and the business community's new accounting year, with Labh Pancham closing the holiday. Shops shut for several days, so plan around it. |
| Pehowa Kartik Fair | Haryana | October to November | Pilgrims perform ancestral rites at the Saraswati ghats over the full-moon fortnight |
| Diwali | Haryana | October to November | Lamps, card games and whitewashed village courtyards; shops shut for two days around the new moon |
| Kullu Dussehra | Himachal Pradesh | October | Over 200 village deities are carried in palanquins to Kullu for a week; the lunar date shifts yearly |
| Saffron harvest, Pampore | Jammu & Kashmir | Late October to early November | Purple crocus fields are picked by hand at dawn and the stigmas separated indoors |
| Sohrai | Jharkhand | Oct-Nov | The harvest and cattle festival, when Santhal and Kurmi women paint house walls with charcoal, ochre and mud in the Sohrai style |
| Thiksey Gustor | Ladakh | October to November | Two days of masked dance and ritual at the hilltop monastery above the Indus |
| Pole-and-line tuna season opening | Lakshadweep | Oct-Nov | Not a religious festival but the event that matters most locally, as boats return to sea after the monsoon. |
| Orchha Ram Raja Festival | Madhya Pradesh | Oct-Nov | The only place Rama is worshipped as a reigning king receives a full state salute, with processions through Orchha and lamps on the Betwa. |
| Diwali and Lakshmi Puja | Maharashtra | Oct-Nov (lunar calendar) | Four days of oil lamps, rangoli at every threshold and faral sweets. Bombay's docks and Pune's wadas light up, and sweet shops sell karanji, chakli and anarsa by the kilo. |
| Ningol Chakouba | Manipur | Oct-Nov | Married daughters return to their parents' homes for a feast, the most important family day in the Meitei calendar |
| Nongkrem Dance | Meghalaya | Oct-Nov | The Khasi state ritual at Smit, where the Syiem and high priestess preside over goat sacrifice and ceremonial dance for five days |
| Diwali and Bandi Chhor Divas | Punjab | October to November | Punjab marks the day Guru Hargobind was freed from prison; the Golden Temple is lit with thousands of lamps |
| Pushkar Camel Fair | Rajasthan | Oct-Nov (Kartik Purnima, lunar) | Up to 20,000 camels, horses and cattle change hands on the dunes beside Pushkar lake, alongside moustache contests, matka phod races and a mass pilgrim bathing on the full moon. |
| Marwar Festival | Rajasthan | Oct (Sharad Purnima, lunar) | Jodhpur honours its folk heroes with two nights of music at Mehrangarh and the Umaid Bhawan grounds, plus horse shows, polo and a camel tattoo on the maidan. |
| Dashain and Tihar | Sikkim | Oct-Nov | The Nepali-majority population keeps both, with family blessings, swings and then lamps, garlands and Bhai Tika |
| Diwali at Tripura Sundari | Tripura | Oct-Nov | The temple at Udaipur draws very large crowds on the Kali Puja night; lunar dating |
| Deepotsav | Uttar Pradesh | Oct-Nov | Ayodhya sets hundreds of thousands of diyas along the Saryu ghats on the eve of Diwali, with tableaux of Rama's return and a projection show on the water. |
| Kali Puja | West Bengal | Oct-Nov | Night-long worship of Kali on the Diwali new moon, strongest at Kalighat and Thanthania, with fireworks and all-night street kitchens |
November
| Festival | Where | When | What happens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raas Mahotsav, Majuli | Assam | Nov-Dec | Satra monks and villagers stage the life of Krishna over several nights of masked drama, the island's biggest event |
| Sonepur Mela | Bihar | Nov-Dec | Asia's largest cattle fair across the Ganga from Patna, a month of livestock trading, wrestling and theatre from the Kartik full moon |
| Chandigarh Carnival | Chandigarh | November to December | Street parades, food stalls and craft markets in Sector 17's pedestrian plaza |
| Guru Nanak Gurpurab | Chandigarh | November | Scripture readings and illuminated processions from the city's main gurudwaras |
| Guru Nanak Gurpurab | Delhi | November | All-night kirtan and processions from Gurudwara Bangla Sahib and Sis Ganj in the walled city |
| Gita Jayanti Mahotsav | Haryana | November to December | A week of recitation, lamp-lighting on Brahma Sarovar and crafts at Kurukshetra; the date follows the lunar calendar |
| Lavi Fair, Rampur | Himachal Pradesh | November | A centuries-old trade fair where Kinnauri and Tibetan traders sell horses, wool and dry fruit |
| Nagaji Mela, Bhind | Madhya Pradesh | Nov-Dec | A month-long rural cattle and horse fair with wrestling, folk theatre and traders from across the Chambal region. |
| Kut | Manipur | 1 November | The Kuki-Zo harvest festival, with dance, feasting and community gatherings in the hill districts |
| Ras Lila performances | Manipur | Nov-Dec | Classical Manipuri dance drama staged at temples around Imphal through the cool season |
| Wangala, the Hundred Drums Festival | Meghalaya | November | The Garo harvest festival in the western hills, with long drums, feathered headdresses and massed dancing |
| Cherry Blossom Festival, Shillong | Meghalaya | November | Himalayan cherry trees flowering across the city, marked with concerts, markets and a well-attended music line-up |
| Thalfavang Kut | Mizoram | November | A post-weeding festival revived as a cultural event, with dance competitions across the districts |
| Bali Jatra, Cuttack | Odisha | Nov | A riverside fair on Kartik Purnima remembering Odisha's ancient sea trade to Bali and Java, with paper boats floated at dawn. |
| Puri Beach Festival | Odisha | Nov | Sand sculpture, Odissi performances, Gotipua dance and food stalls along the Puri seafront over several days. |
| Guru Nanak Gurpurab | Punjab | November | The founder's birth anniversary, with 48-hour continuous scripture reading and lit-up gurudwaras |
| Karthigai Deepam, Tiruvannamalai | Tamil Nadu | Nov-Dec | A cauldron of ghee is lit on the summit of Arunachala and burns for days, visible for 30 kilometres. |
| Orange and Tourism Festival, Jampui | Tripura | November | The orange harvest in the Jampui hills, with Mizo and Tripuri dance and hill views |
| Dev Deepawali | Uttar Pradesh | Nov | On Kartik Purnima the Varanasi ghats are lined with roughly a million clay lamps and the river gives every one of them back. |
| Lucknow Mahotsav | Uttar Pradesh | Nov-Dec | Ten days of Awadhi craft stalls, thumri and kathak recitals, kite flying and chikankari shopping on the Smriti Upvan grounds. |
| Jagaddhatri Puja, Chandannagar | West Bengal | Nov | The former French town raises enormous idols and a famous electric light display that lines the Hooghly for a week |
December
| Festival | Where | When | What happens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christmas and New Year | Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu | 25 Dec, 31 Dec | Midnight mass at the Diu and Daman churches, with the territory's beach hotels fully booked by visitors from dry Gujarat. |
| Feast of St Francis Xavier | Goa | 3 December annually | The state's largest Catholic gathering at Old Goa, with open-air masses and novenas for the saint whose body lies in the Basilica of Bom Jesus. |
| Tansen Samaroh, Gwalior | Madhya Pradesh | Dec | India's most prestigious Hindustani classical music festival, held at the tomb of Tansen in Behat, with all-night concerts. |
| Christmas | Manipur | December | Marked widely in the hill districts, where most communities are Christian, with carol services and feasts |
| Christmas and Carol Season | Meghalaya | December | Carol singing in Khasi, Presbyterian and Catholic services, and lit-up villages across a largely Christian state |
| Pawl Kut | Mizoram | December | The harvest thanksgiving festival, with feasting and the sharing of meat and rice beer in older practice |
| Christmas and Kut week | Mizoram | December | The biggest season of the year, with carol singing, night services and village-wide feasts |
| Hornbill Festival | Nagaland | 1-10 December | All sixteen Naga peoples gather at Kisama near Kohima with morungs, dance, log drums, wrestling and night concerts |
| Christmas | Nagaland | December | Carol singing and week-long services across a largely Baptist state, with villages lit and schools closed |
| Konark Dance Festival | Odisha | Dec, usually 1-5 | Odissi, Bharatanatyam and Kathak performed on an open stage beside the floodlit Sun Temple, with a sand art festival alongside. |
| Christmas in White Town | Puducherry | Dec | Midnight mass at the Sacred Heart basilica and Notre Dame des Anges, with the quarter lit and busy. |
| Jor Mela, Fatehgarh Sahib | Punjab | December | A solemn gathering remembering the two young sons of Guru Gobind Singh, martyred in 1705 |
| Losoong and Namsoong | Sikkim | Dec | The Bhutia and Lepcha harvest new year, with archery contests, Kagyed masked dance and the burning of old grievances |
| Poush Mela, Santiniketan | West Bengal | Dec | Tagore's winter fair at Visva-Bharati with Baul singing, tribal dance, handloom stalls and open-air classical recitals |
Dates that move or run year round
| Festival | Where | When | What happens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eid | Andaman & Nicobar Islands | Islamic calendar, moves yearly | Observed in Port Blair and the Muslim settler villages, with a public holiday across the territory. |
| Itchapuram and Godavari Pushkaram | Andhra Pradesh | Every 12 years, next cycles vary | A mass river bathing festival when Jupiter enters a particular sign; between cycles the ghats at Rajahmundry stay quietly busy. |
| Urs at Sufi shrines | Jammu & Kashmir | Dates vary by shrine and follow the Islamic calendar | Saint anniversaries at Charar-e-Sharief and other dargahs, with night-long devotional singing |
| Mahamastakabhisheka, Shravanabelagola | Karnataka | Once every 12 years, next cycle after 2030 | The anointing of the 17 m Gomateshwara Jain monolith from scaffolding above its head, drawing hundreds of thousands of pilgrims. |
| Eid al-Fitr | Lakshadweep | Varies with the Islamic calendar | The end of Ramadan is the biggest celebration of the year, with family feasting and new clothes across all islands. |
| Eid al-Adha | Lakshadweep | Varies with the Islamic calendar | The second Eid, marked with prayers, shared meat and visiting between island households. |
| Milad un-Nabi | Lakshadweep | Varies with the Islamic calendar | The Prophet's birthday, observed with mosque gatherings and recitation on every inhabited island. |
| Muharram | Lakshadweep | Varies with the Islamic calendar | Observed quietly across the territory, with the first month of the Islamic year marked at the mosques. |
| Minicoy Lava dance | Lakshadweep | Around Eid and official occasions | Men in costume perform the Lava, a drum and song tradition unique to Minicoy, with Maldivian roots. |
| Kavaratti boat races | Lakshadweep | Varies, usually post-monsoon | Rowing and sailing races between island crews in the lagoon, held on territory and national days. |
| Ramzan nights and Eid-ul-Fitr | Telangana | Moves 11 days earlier each year | The old city stays open past midnight for haleem, sheermal and firni; Mecca Masjid and Charminar are lit, and Eid prayers fill the streets. |
| Muharram | Telangana | Islamic calendar, moves yearly | Hyderabad's Shia processions carry alams from Bibi-ka-Alawa; a sombre, powerful counterpoint to the city's party reputation. |