Festivals and Events in India in September 2010

What's On in India in September

The Gogamedi Fair is a traditional Rajasthani cattle and handicraft fair. It's held to pay tribute to regional hero Gogaji, believed to be a snake God. One of the big attractions of the fair is the rustic singing and dancing.

• When: August 24-September 23, 2010.
• Where: Ganganagar, on the northern Rajasthan border.

The Ladakh Festival is a cultural extravaganza, and main showcase event for the region. It has plenty to offer tourists, including polo-match, music concerts, mask dances from the monasteries, motorbike/cycle expedition to Khardung-la, Thanka painting exhibition, archery, river rafting, and folk songs. Hotel and local transport discounts are available for the duration of the festival.

Leh Ladakh Travel Guide

• When: September 1-15 every year.
• Where: Leh and surrounding villages.

The festival of Krishna Janmashtami, also known as Govinda, commemorates the birthday of Lord Krishna. An extremely fun part of the festival involves people climbing on each other and forming a human pyramid to try and reach and break open clay pots filled with curd, which have been strung up high from buildings.

• When: September 2, 2010.
• Where: Throughout India. One of the best places to experience the festival is in the city of Mumbai. Celebrations take place at hundreds of locations throughout the city. The huge ISKCON temple complex, in the beach side suburb of Juhu, also runs a three day cultural program. The most elaborate rituals are performed at Mathura in northern India, where Lord Krishna was born and spent his childhood.

Onam is a traditional ten day harvest festival that marks the homecoming of the mythical King Mahabali. It’s a festival rich in culture and heritage. People strikingly decorate the ground in front of their houses with flowers arranged in beautiful patterns to welcome the King. The festival is also celebrated with new clothes, feasts served on banana leaves, dancing, sports, games, and snake boat races.

• When: September 7, 2010.
• Where: Kerala. The most spectacular celebrations take place in Trivandrum, Thrissur, and Kottayam.

The Aranmula Boat Race is a predominantly religious occasion, that forms part of Onam celebrations. Rather than being a contest, it's more about retracing the time offerings were carried on snake boats to the Aranmula Parthasarthy Temple. The whole occasion is a celebration of the day Lord Krishna crossed the river.

• When: Near the end of Onam (date to be determined).
• Where: Along the Pampa River at Aranmula, near Chengannur, around 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of Alleppey in Kerala.

The spectacular eleven day Ganesh Chaturthi festival honors the birth of the beloved Hindu elephant-headed god, Lord Ganesha. The start of the festival sees huge, elaborately crafted statutes of Ganesha installed in homes and podiums, which have been especially constructed and beautifully decorated. At the end of the festival, the statutes are paraded through the streets, accompanied by much singing and dancing, and then submerged in the ocean.

Ganesh Chaturthi Photo Gallery

• When: September 11-22, 2010.
• Where: Mostly in the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. One of the best places to experience the festival is in the city of Mumbai.