Popular events in India during March

1st March - Chapchar Kut - Mizoram

The annual harvest festival of Mizoram is the spring festival celebrated with great fervour and gaiety in in a village called Suaipui. Chapchar Kut is the most joyful festival of the Mizo and most famous among the three Kuts Chapchar Kut, Mim Kut and Pawl Kut.

Chapchar-Kut-Mizoram

10th March - Maha Shivaratri - Haridwar

The Grand Night festival is known as Maha Shivratri and belong to the worship of God of all gods Lord Shiva. Maha Shivaratri is one of the most important and a very sacred festival of Hindu and celebrated as a day of fasting in the honor of great god Lord Shiva. Each and Every Lord Shiva temple is crowded with thousands of devotees during the whole night and day.

Lord-Shiva-rishikesh-haridwar

25th March - Arattupuzha Pooram - Thrissur

The spectacular Arattupuzha Pooram also known as grand-daddy of all Poorams, takes place in front of the famous Sree Sastha Temple in the city of Thrissur. Arattupuzha is known as the meeting place of all the Gods and the temple of Sree Sastha also host the world’s second oldest festival “Devamela”. The well decorated lined up elephants are the grand spectacle of annual Arattupuzha Pooram festival.

Arattupuzha-Pooram-Thrissur

26th March - Elephant Festival - Jaipur

The Elephant Festival of Jaipur held every year during the Holi festival, usually in the month of March. Elephant Festival begins with beautifully decorated elephant along wih camels, horses and folk dancers.

Elephant-festival-Jaipur

27th March - Lath maar Holi - Barsana

The Festivals of color is most popular Indian festival to celebrate in the world. It is also known Phagwah and celebrate for 10 days to 1 month in the Braj region or villages of Mathura, Vrindavan, Nandagaon and Barsana. The Braj region is the most famous and popular tourist destinations during the season of Holi and Lath mar Holi is best one.

Braj-ki-Lathmar-Holi

Other major festival and events to celebrate in month of march are Shigmo festival, Gudi Padwa,Ugadi and Vishu, Parippally Gajamela, Thirunakkara Arattu,International Yoga festival,Shab-e-Miraj and Easter.

Indian Festivals: Festivals in March

As all the harvest festivals recede and the Indian landscape is touched by clearer weather, it’s time for some colour and fun in the month of March. The famous festival of colours, Holi, brings with it wide scale celebrations across the country.

Holi-colors

Here are some of the places that you must keep in mind while planning a trip to India in March. 

Holi 

Almost all North Indian cities burst in colour and celebrations in the month of March, with the ‘festival of colour’, Holi. Dry and wet colours are thrown with the aid of balloons and sprinklers on each other. This joyous festival is a ‘no bar’ day when everyone’s threshold is challenged or rather soaked in colour. ‘Bhaang’, the wet residue of cannabis is used in drinks and foods to add more fun. The Holi of Varanasi, Barsana and Mathura are the most popular.

Holi-Re-Rasiya

Jaipur Elephant Festival 

You can safely spend a fair amount of time in Rajasthan in the month of March. Around the same time as Holi, Jaipur also hosts a grand festival which displays its royal heritage in the form of an ‘elephant festival’. Splendid parades with elaborately decorated elephants and even tug of war games make for quite an entertaining spectacle for visitors.

Rangilo-Hathi-in-Jaipur

Paripally Gajmela 

A month for elephants, this festival is held at the Paripally Kodimootil Sree Bhadrakaali Temple around an hour’s drive from Trivandrum in Kerala. 50 elephants are richly decorated and then paraded to make offerings at the temple. A photographer’s delight, it is one of the lesser known festivals to capture. It is likely to have more local participation over the well advertised festivals of Kerala which attract more tourists.

Elephants-decoration-Kerala

Thirunakkara Arattu 

Another elephant oriented festival in the month of March is celebrated in Kottayam district of Kerala. The 10 day Thirunakkara Arattu is held in the honour of the local temple. The procession of elephants is complemented by folk dances such as the Mayilattom (peacock dance) in the temple compound. 

Gajmela-in-Kerala

The International Yoga Festival 

India is the Yoga Mecca of the world and what could be better if you have an international festival which is a congregation of all yoga lovers in one place. The festival is held in the spiritual capital of the India, Rishikesh and has attendance from over 30 countries. Discussions, camps, cooking classes and a charity fundraiser are part of the event apart from classes for all the participants. 

Yoga-at-River-Ganges-Rishikesh

Other festivals not to miss this month …

Some of the other festivals to look out for are the Mewar and Gangaur Festivals of Rajasthan. Another Kabir related festival of Sufi music starts in February but spills into March in the state. You can think of this month as a Rajasthan focused visit to India. 

Camel-Jaipur-Streets