Many Shades of Shravan

Shravan.. a month of festivals….. month of happiness, month of celebration

The meaning of ‘Shravana’ ‘listening to the names of God’. It is considered the ‘birth star’ of Saraswati

Shravan Mahina, or Sawan Mas, in the Hindi calendar is dedicated to Lord Shiva. Special prayers and rituals are performed in Lord Shiva temples and in sacred places associated with Siva.

There are so many festivals celebrated in the month of shravan in the whole India. Eg- Naag panchmi Raksha Bandhan Gopalkala Onam Jhulan jatra and many more…….

Nag-Panchami is an important all-India festival and is celebrated on the fifth day of the moonlit-fortnight in the month of Shravan.Hindus deify snakes and regard them with veneration. This may be due to their association with the Gods. Shesha or Ananta, the thousand hooded king of serpents forms the couch for Lord Vishnu. The King of serpents Vasuki adorns the neck of Lord Shiva forming a crest over the Lord. This is the time when serpents invariably come out of their holes that get inundated with rain-water to seek shelter in gardens and many times in houses.People offer sweets and milk to the snake deity and the day is celebrated with folk dances and songs, especially in the countryside.

NAAG PANCHMI

RAKSHA BANDHAN• "Raksha" means protection, "bandhan" means bound or binding.• Rakshabandhan or Rakhi which is celebrated on a full moon day in

the month of Shravan (August) is a day when brothers and sisters reaffirm their bonds of affection.

• Sisters tie colorful threads or rakhis on their brother's wrists. The brothers in turn promise to protect their sisters and give them gifts. Around mid-August, on Shravan Purnima, Hindus all over celebrate Raksha Bandhan. "Raksha" means protection, "bandhan" means bound or binding.

• Rakshabandhan if taken in true sense has a much broader perspective; the festival encompasses true sense of peace and brotherhood. The values propagated by the occasion if inculcated by all human beings can bring the much-needed

relief from the ongoing violence and mistrust.

DAHI KALA• Krishna Janmashtami falls on the eighth day of Shravana. It

is the birth (Janma) anniversary of Lord Krishna and an important festival for followers of Vishnu.

• On Janmashtami, devotees keep a strict fast. This is broken only at midnight, the time of Krishna’s birth.

• . Krishna was very fond of curds and homemade butter; hence, this day is also called Dahi-Kala.

• On this day, in some parts of India, especially Maharashtra, youth celebrate it by breaking clay pots called `Dahi-Handi`.

• These pots are filled with curd and butter and rice flakes and are suspended high above the ground. Young men and children form human pyramid to reach the pot and break it. At some places, the pots contain silver coins, which are then equally distributed.

Onam is one of the most significant harvest festivals of Kerala and is an attraction for thousands of people outside and within the state. All the activities during this season are centered on worshipping, music, dance, sports, boat races and good food.

Onam is a harvest festival and celebrates the reward of nature after a year of hard work. The merry making of the festival includes an elaborate procession of Trichur and amusing boat races on River Pampa. Women dress up in heavy jewelry and new saris and make complx and detailed designs of “rangolis” and “pookkalam”(with flowers) in front of their homes.

The people in Kerala arrange for this festival by cleaning up their houses and decorating them. On the occasion of Onam, everybody in the family wears new clothes. Delicious sweets and dishes are prepared and served on the banana leaf“Vallamkali” or a great boat race is an attractive feature of this festival. In this game hundreds of men row the boats to the beat of drums and cymbals. An interesting thing to note is that above each boat there is a scarlet silk umbrella and gold coins are hung from the umbrella. This event is extremely popular with various boats competing with each other in order to win the race. Onam is celebrated not only by Hindus but also by Christians and Muslims. It is one such festival that unites all the people regardless of race and religion

Media relevance

Now a days, celebrating festivals is also a fashion and way of publicity.

Since last few years media has given so much importance to these festivals, that celebrating the festivals has become a fashion.

Through media, we come to know about the details about the festivals, which in thses days youth doesn’t know.

Now a days, media is encouraging people to celebrate festivals. Through electronic as well as other forms of media are catching the interest of the people and using it for marketing.

Examples-

Marathi newspaper- Maharashtra times, they are celebrating Shravan through letting people know about the different festivals celebrated in the month, at the same time, they are giving information about the nature, atmosphere and encouraging people to know their culture and values.

They have their special article and section named as “celebrating Shravan” where they conduct different competitions, by calling some celebrity as a judge.

Their games and events are related to the festivals and events celebrated in the month of shravan, such as, manglagaur- for a newly married girl. In this event, all the women get along on any of the Tuesday i.e. mangalvar at the night, and play different games and enjoy themselves, the whole night.

Now by catching this very interesting game, Maharashtra times has started this game on a larger scale in an organized manner.this is a smart way to catch a popularity and use it properly

GROUP MEMBERS.

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