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The multitudinous vigour of the people of Uttar Pradesh is reflected in the colorful vibrancy of their fairs and festivals. Whether it is the village, still steeped in tradition, or the town, tentatively modern, an awareness of one's roots is deeply ingrained in each. And is outwardly manifested through festivities the year round.

Fairs and festivals are celebrated with traditional gaiety and fervor to invoke divine blessings as well as for the sheer joy of living. A celebration of life at its best.

Holi heralds the beginning of spring and is celebrated with great enthusiasm all over India. According to a legend, Hiranya Kashyap, the demon who ruled over 'Sapta Deep' believed himself to be more powerful than God. He contemplated killing his youngest son Prahlad, an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu after he refused to worship him as God.

Holika, the demon's sister who possessed a divine, garment to protect her from fire, agreed to enter the burning pyre with Prahlad in her lap but got burnt herself. 

Holi thus signifies the triumph of good over evil and is marked by grand festivities all over India and particularly in the Braj area where it is celebrated with great gaiety and fervour.

It is believed that Lord Krishna, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, in human form played holi with the Gopi's (cowherd maids) in the ancient past. Keeping this tradition alive in Braj, Holi celebrations last for more than a week and are marked by people sprinkling colored water & smearing colored powder on each other.

The playful teasing of the Gopis by the Gopas (cowherd boys) is enacted by groups of men and women through special Holi songs and dances, called Rasiya. 

48 km. from Mathura at Barsana, is celebrated the famous "Latthmaar Holi" of Braj. Tradition has it that Krishna from Nandgaon use to come to Barsana to play Holi with Radha alongwith his Gopi friends. The Gopis after merriment chased away the Gopas of Nandgaon by beating them with "lathis". So it came to be known as the 'Latthmar Holi' of Barsana.

To this day, the village women have the freedom to literally take up cudgels against their menfolk, a right they exercise with all enthusiasm and shower colored water as an expression of joy.

The main celebrations at Barsana, take place at the Ladliji temple, dedicated to Sri Radha Rani, (the beloved of Sri Krishna). 

The day after Barsana Holi, it's the turn of Nandgaon to get soaked with the myriad hues of holi. The men and women of Barsana go to Nandgaon (7 km.) to play Latthmar Holi with each other.

20 km. from Mathura, the town is named after Balram the elder brother of Sri Krishna. A temple dedicated to Baldeo stands in the centre of the town.

The Holi festival celebrated here is famous as Daujee Ka Huranga. Men & women collect here in large numbers to play holi.

Falen, a village 15 km. from Kosi, celebrates Holi in a very special way and has great significance. A "Panda" (Holyman) walks bare feet over holy pyres without getting burnt, symbolising Prahlad's emergence from the burning pyre unharmed.

Janmashthami & Krishna Leela
Janmashtami, the birth of Lord Krishna is celebrated with great devotion in the August/September months, on the Ashtami of Krishna Paksh or the 8th day of the dark fortnight in the month of Bhadon, in the whole of north India.

Temples and homes are beautifully decorated and lit. An attractive feature of the celebrations are cribs & other decorations depicting stories of Lord Krishna's childhood. There are five main "jhankis" of Janmashtami which depict the entire sequence of events from Lord Krishna's birth to his being discovered in Gokul. The "jhankis" include the birth of Krishna in jail, Vasudev carrying Krishna to safety across the river Yamuna amidst thunder and lightning, Vasudev's return to the jail, Kansa killing Yashoda's daughter and finally the little Krishna in the cradle in Gokul. "Jhankis" are created out of dolls dressed up as kids, men and women with lehangas, chunnis, dhotis & kurtas.

Raslila of every type are also performed - Janmalila, Shankarlila, Putnalila and Naglila. In the evening bhajans are sung which end at midnight, the auspicious moment when Lord Krishna was born. Thereafter arti is done, prasad distributed and flowers showered on the idol.

Mathura, the birthplace of Lord Krishna, where his parents lived in captivity of the evil Kansa and he as a young boy came and vanquished his maternal uncle Kansa to ascend the throne and free his parents, celebrates Janmashtami with great enthusiasm. The main celebrations are performed at the Dwarkadhish temple, Mathura in the form of Jhulanotsava and the Ghatas during the entire month of Shravan. The ghatas are a unique feature of the month long celebrations. During the ghata of a particular colour the whole temple is covered with decoration in the same colour. Even the Lord dresses up in the same colour. The twin cities of Mathura- Vrindavan deities are brought back to temples. The Mela lasts till the end of the month of Shravan.

The Rangaji temple, Vrindavan, is also the venue for the annual Rath Mela, celebrated in March-April. The chariot of Lord Rangaji is taken out from the temple with great enthusiasm by thousands of devotees.

The Tulsi Ghat at Varanasi is die venue for the 20 day long Krishna Leela celebration, of which Nag- Nathaiya Leela, one of the episodes is extremely famous. Lord Krishna enacted by an artist, jumps into the river as the play reaches climax and emerges on the serpent hood of Shesh Nag. Lakhs of people gather on the ghats of Ganga to witness this special enactment.

Ramlila, the enactment of the story of Lord Rama is believed to have been started by great Saint Tulsidas. The Ramcharitmanas, written by him till today forms the basis of Ramlila performances. In some places, Ramlila is associated with the Vijayadashmi celebrations in late Sept. & early Oct. and also with Ramnavami, the birthday of Lord Rama.

Ramlila, basically an enactment of a myth, is presented as a. cycle-play with the story varying from 7 to 31 days. The Ramlila performance evokes a festive atmosphere & enables observance of religious rites. It is also rich in performance crafts such as costume jewellery, masks, headgear, make-up and decoration.

The four main Ramlila styles are the pantomimic style with a predominance of jhankis - tableaux pageants; the dialogue - based style with multi - local staging; the operatic style which draws its musical elements from the folk operas of the region and the stage - Ramlila of the professional troupes called "mandalis"

Celebrated for five days every year in the last week of February at Chitrakoot beginning from the Maha Shivratri day. It is believed that during the Bharat-Milap, an important lila, Rama himself manifests in the swaroop playing Rama. Thousands of people watch this enactment with tears of joy.

The Ramlila Festival (October- November), is celebrated with great fervor at Varanasi. Jhankis and pageants depicting scenes from the life of Lord Rama are taken out. Some of the episodes of the Varanasi Ramlila are witnessed with great interest.

Bharat- Milap-Leela of Nati-Emli and the Nakkataiya of Chetganj are extremely famous.

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