Maharashtra’s vibrant festivals have always brought together people from diverse cultures and communities. For instance, the Ganpati Festival, which was instrumental in bringing people together during the Indian independence movement, was first celebrated in this state.
Dhol tashe, lawani (folk dance), loud music and vibrant colours are usually a part of most festivals celebrated in Maharashtra. The state celebrates all pan-India festivals such as Diwali, Eid, Christmas and Holi, with much verve and enthusiasm. In addition, there are some that hold special meaning to Maharashtrians. The Ganpati Festival, like mentioned before, is still one of the biggest celebrations here. While Janmashtami, Shivaji Jayanti and Ganesh Chaturthi are marked by huge public gatherings, Gudi Padwa and Makar Sankranti are more sober affairs, usually celebrated with family. Each of these festivals have shaped the state’s culture to make it what it is today.
Makar Sankranti
Makar Sankranti is usually celebrated on 14 January when the Sun enters Capricorn. It is mainly a harvest festival, which marks the onset of spring in India. The arrival of spring is symbolic of a period of enlightenment, peace, prosperity and happiness after a long period of darkness and sorrow.
Although Makar Sankranti is observed in most parts of the country where agriculture is the primary occupation, in Maharashtra the celebrations have a special dimension. According to one legend, a demon named Sankarasur was torturing and killing people. In order to free mankind of this menace, Goddess Sankranti came down to earth and killed the demon. Thus Sankranti is also the celebration of victory of good over evil.
People fly kites on Makar Sankranti and women, especially, are given gifts such as utensils and clothes. This three-day festival is treated as an opportunity to forget past hostilities and mend relationships. Since the festival technically takes place during a winter month, the food prepared for this occasion is high in calories. Tilgud laddoo (sweetmeats made from sesame seeds and jaggery) and puran poli (flat bread stuffed with mixture of jaggery and toasted, ground white sesame seeds) are the most popular preparations during Sankranti.
Shivaji Jayanti
The founder of the Maratha Kingdom that was formed in 1674, Shivaji, was born on 19 February, 1627 in Shivneri Fort near Pune. His birthday is celebrated on a massive scale, across the state. Shivaji was a brilliant military tactician and it was under his leadership that the Marathas successfully repelled the advances of the Mughal Empire and other sultanate kingdoms.
On Shivaji Jayanti people take to streets to join the merrymaking and atmosphere of celebration that marks this day. Hundreds of performers clad in saffron outfits, some playing dhol tashe (drums and cymbals) and some dancing, flood the roads and encourage everyone to join in and beat the drums.
Statues of Shivaji across the state are decorated with flowers and vermilion and many roads and buildings are also illuminated on the occasion.
Gudi Padwa
Believed to be the day when the universe was created, Gudi Padwa is celebrated by Maharashtrians and Konkani Hindus. It falls on the first day of the Hindu lunar calendar during the month of Chaitra (March–April). This day marks the beginning of a new year and is considered one of the most auspicious days to start a new venture. Gudi Padwa is also a harvest festival, which marks the end of the season for the rabi crop and the time when mangoes start ripening.
On this day Maharastrians worship gudi, an orange-yellow cloth, which flies like a flag of victory, to celebrate Chhatrapati Shivaji’s victory. Traditionally, people draw rangolis in front of their houses, offer prayers to Lord Bramha, Vishnu and Ganesh to mark new beginnings and make shrikhand (a delicious dessert made from hung curd).
Janmashtami
Janmashtami or Gokulashtami is an annual celebration that marks the birth of Lord Krishna. It falls on the eighth day of the Bhadrapad (August–September) month of the Hindu lunar calendar. In Pune and Mumbai, it is popularly known as Dahi Handi. The event celebrates the legend of Krishna stealing butter as a child. The main festivities feature people making a human pyramid in order to reach a buttermilk-filled handi (earthen pot), which is tied at a considerable height. The topmost person on the pyramid breaks the pot, the contents of which spill out on to the people in the pyramid.
Govindas, or the people who participate in these human pyramids, form groups and go from one area to another, in an attempt to break handis. The event gained a lot of popularity after the early 2000s when politicians and local leaders started bestowing vast sums of prize money on the group that broke the highest number of handis.
The most popular handis in Maharashtra are at Dadar, Lower Parel, Worli, Mazgaon and Lalbaug in Mumbai and Babu Genu handi in Pune.
Ganesh Chaturthi
The ten-day long festival of Ganesh Chaturthi starts on the fourth day of the Bhadrapada month (August–September) of the Hindu lunar calendar. Although it is celebrated in a couple of other states (Telangana and Goa) as well, Maharashtra is where it becomes a rather frenzied affair.
Ganesh Chaturthi was first celebrated on a large scale in Maharashtra after the famous freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak saw in it an opportunity to unite people from different social and religious backgrounds; and thereby declared that it was a public festival.
The first day of Ganesh Chaturthi is believed to be the birthday of Lord Ganesha, the son of Lord Shiva. Clay idols of Ganesha, in varied sizes, are installed in pandals (temporary shrines) across the state. Prayers and prasad (food) are offered to the idol everyday amid a public gathering. This is followed by a celebration involving loud music and dance.
The prasad is then distributed amongst the devotees and poor. On Anant Chaturdashi, which is the final day of the festival, Ganesha idols are immersed in water bodies. Cultural activities like singing and theatre performances are also organised during this period. The most famous pandals in Maharashtra are Dagdushet Ganpati in Pune and Lalbaugcha Raja in Mumbai.