___________

The top ten according to Gap Adventures, as mentioned in a Travel Bite, UK, article, is:

• The Indian state of Orissa holds a Chariot festival in July and sees hundreds of thousands of devotees of Jagannath – the lord of the universe – gather to perform a colourful and noisy ritual.

  In the town of Puri gigantic chariots hauled through the main street and the air is filled with the rhythmic clang of metal gongs, the blowing of conch shells and trumpets, and the chanting of holy men.

• A combination of livestock trading and religious festivities provides a truly spectacular experience at the Pushkar camel festival in the Indian state of Rajasthan each November.

  Around 50,000 camels are sold, decorated, shaved and raced during the festival, followed by religious rituals which culminate in thousands of devotees bathing in the holy lake on the full moon.

• Across the border in Pakistan, thousands travel to Shandur in the far north of the country for the world’s highest polo tournament.

  These polo games are not like the modern variety, applying 800-year-old rules that are cut-throat to say the least.

• In Guatemala every March the Semana Santa festival draws thousands to celebrate the rebirth of Christ in a typically Central American combination of Catholic symbolism and Mayan tradition.

  For a whole week the people eat, drink and dance for a fruitful harvest, culminating in a sleepless three-day march of holy statues through the streets.

• One of Mexico’s most macabre and memorable festivals takes place in the beautiful colonial city of Oaxaca – the Day of the Dead.

  This joyful honouring of the lives of deceased family members is on All Hallow’s Eve, when people decorate the graves of their loved ones with flowers, candles and even food.

  The whole community gathers with food, music and mescal (think tequila with a nasty kick) all part of the fun.

• Inti Raymi, or the Festival of the Sun, is Peru’s most famous festival and the week-long event sees huge crowds watching ceremonial processions through the flower-draped streets of Cuzco.

  The ceremony itself takes place on June 24th, when a person representing the Sapa Inca (the emperor) calls for blessings from the sun amid a heady mix of music, prayers and dancing.

• One of the most important festivals in Tibet is the new year celebration of Losar, held over three days in February.

  This colourful, traditional and exotic Buddhist festival features symbolic rituals performed by the yellow-hatted Tibetan lamas, followed by massive parades and fireworks meant to chase off the devils of the old year.

• Mongolia’s Naadam festival echoes the country’s warrior past and the ‘manly games’ involve displays of the three major traditional sports in Mongolia: wrestling, horse racing and archery.

  The festival begins with a big parade down the main street of Ulaan Baatar and travellers can take the opportunity to compete in the events and stay with the nomadic herders in their tent-like ‘gers’.

• Thousands of people gather in Kyoto each May in the hope of witnessing a rarely-seen performance of the geisha dancers of the Pontocho district.

  The Kama-gawa Odori festival has been held since 1872 on the banks of the Kamo-gawa river and is one of Japan’s most celebrated spring geisha dances.

• For something completely different attend the world famous Calgary Stempede in Canada in July, celebrating rhinestone, country music and wide-open spaces.

  The rodeo competition, stage shows, concerts, chuckwagon races and pancake breakfasts held all over the city during Stampede Week offer fun for all.

Following is from http://www.byofilmfestival.com/index.htm:

Bring Your Own Film Festival (BYOFF) is an annual event held during February every year on Puri beach. To call it just a film festival is to limit its unique magical quality. It’s a festival without hierarchy, competition, juries and awards where not only filmmakers but also artists from other fields like music, theatre, painting, sculpture, dance, literature and photography are encouraged to participate and show their work.

In short, BYOFF can be best described as an informal and intimate gathering of artists with films in the backdrop where screenings go on early into the morning hours- first, inside makeshift tents and then in the open air after sun down.

For filmmakers, it has been an alternative platform ever since its first edition in the year 2004. The idea is to have a festival away from the oppressive atmosphere of bureaucratic control of big cities and where just about anybody – with or without films – could participate. The participants of BYOFF themselves are the volunteers and the organizers of its future editions. And the mood of the festival is that of a no holds barred carnival where the sea and its sand provide the right ambience to lift the spirits of every one present. Yeah, for five days and five nights.

The following is from http://orissa.gov.in/ekamra/utsav.html.

Bhubaneswar, the capital of modern Orissa, is a happy combination of old world charms and new world comforts. The scriptures refer to the ancient Bhubaneswar as the Ekamra Kshetra, literally meaning ‘mango orchards’ which remind us the union of Lord Shiva with Goddess Parvati. The blending of modernity with tradition here is impeccable. While the ancient city is 2600 years old, the modern city came into existence in 1948 as the new capital of Orissa, designed by the German Architect O.H. Koeingsberges. It is said that there were about seven thousand temples here, which earned it the coveted title of the ‘Temple City of India’. Even today from the hundreds of temples that still stand majestically as mute witness of a glorious past, one can study the chronological development of temple architecture from the beginning in the 7th Century AD to its culmination in the 13th Century AD. It is a centre of art and craft, manifest in the dazzling array of products like stone sculptures, pata paintings, palm-leaf etching, silver filigree, papier mache, etc. which is a shoppers’ delight. The classical Odissi Dance and Music have a solid foundation here fondly nourished by illustrious Gurus. The city has also distinguished itself as an important IT Centre and Software Technology Park as well as an ideal Venue for Conference and Conventions to do business with pleasure.

Around Bhubaneswar lies Dhauli in the South which witnessed the great battle of Kalinga in 261 BC after which Emperor Ashok embraced Buddhism and spread the message of peace to the world. Closeby are the remains of Sisupalgarh believed to be the earlier capital of Kalinga. On the west are the twin hills of Khandagiri-Udayagiri honeycombed with rock-cut caves built for the Jain ascetics during the illustrious emperor Kharavela in the 2nd century BC.

Bhubaneswar has, however, been mostly popular as the city of temples among the tourists. But the cultural efflorescence of the city goes beyond the temples. To familiarize the tourists with the larger canvas of the place covering Art & Crafts, Dance & Music, Handicrafts & Handlooms, etc., a Mega Festival titled Ekamra- The Temple City festival has been conceived. This 14-day event will also feature a Food Festival and a Mini Marathon will add spice to this year’s Utsav. The festival of promises to be an experience of a lifetime.

The highlights, as listed in http://orissa.gov.in/ekamra/highlights.html, are:

Additional Details:

Toshali National Crafts Mela

The Toshali National Crafts Mela has been setup in a rural ambience and is having over 150 National & State award winning handicraft and handloom artisans from all over India. Rural Tourism, Live Demonstration and Workshops will feature the main theme of the Mela.

Cuisines, representing the flavours of India combined with a strong component of day performance and evening cultural programmes have become a major draw in the Mela. The highlight of the cultural evenings will be the scintillating programmes to be presented by exponents of Indian Classical and Folk Dance & Music, Gahzal, etc.

Mini Marathon

Orissa Mining Corporation ltd. is going to organise the 2nd Mini Marathon in Bhubaneswar on 17th February 2008 on the occasion of Ekamra – The Temple City Festival. The Marathon shall be flagged off from Kalinga Stadium by Hon’ble Chief Minister, Orissa and it shall traverse through the important inter sections of Bhubaneswar City covering about 15 km and shall terminate in Kalinga Stadium. The Marathon, besides being a run for fun, aims at propagating the message Run for a Green Orissa. The registration of participation shall be enrolled from 12th to 15th February 2008 in the Office of PRO, OMC Head Office, Bhubaneswar from 3.00 PM to 5.00 PM and on 16th February registration will be made at Kalinga Stadium from 11.00 AM to 5.00 PM.

Mukteswar Dance Festival

The small and elegant Mukteswar Temple with its famous stone arch at the entrance is the gem of Orissan Architecture. The temple is also important as a transition point between the early and later phases of Kalinga School of Architecture for which this dance festival is named after the said temple. The sprawling green lawn in between Mukteswar-Parsurameswar Temple Complexes will host the event.

Kalinga Mahotsav

When people celebrate their heritage and ways of life, the spirit of revelry crosses languages, continents and cultures. And the Kalinga Mahotsav at Dhauli, a festival of Martial Dances, is celebrated very much in that spirit.

For the people of Orissa Dhauli hill at the outskirts of Bhubaneswar is more a living experience than a memory. Twenty three hundred years ago, their fore-fathers fought one of the fiercest battles in human history against Emperor Ashok. They suffered loss of a hundred thousand men, lost the war, but gained immortality, because they metamorphosed a warring monarch into an apostle of non-violence and peace. The festival is a fitting tribute to the victory of Peace over War where renowned dancers of India perform harmonising the vigour of martial art with sublime dance forms.

The calm and solemn statue of Buddha overlooking the entire stage from the top of the stupa and the tranquil expanse of the countryside populated by paddy fields and cashew plantations provides the peaceful background to the outburst of movements and sounds which accompany the performance of the martial artists. The aim of the organisers is to harmonise the vigour of martial tradition with the sublimity of peace through the art of dance.

Rajarani Music Festival

Celestial music, sublime surroundings and soothing climes of late winter—soul traverses to an elevated sphere leaving you utterly relaxed. Holidays are made with this kind of experience that creates a lasting mark in your mind.

Rajarani Music Festival held against the backdrop of the 11th century Rajarani Temple in Bhubaneswar is such an evening of concerts: it’s relaxing, entertaining and uplifting. The city has a large assemblage of celebrated temples of which the Rajarani Temple is one of the most conspicuous. It’s remarkable for the absence any presiding deity in it. The temple is famous for its ornate deul or compass and the statues of eight Dikpals guarding the eight cardinal directions of the temple.

To show case the glorious tradition of Indian classical music, the Rajarani Music Festival was conceived to be organized by the Department of Tourism in association with Bhubaneswar Music Circle.

The musical evenings are resplendent with excellent performances by the great maestros of Indian classical music creating an allegory of darbari gayans (musical performances in an Indian king’s court) of age old histories.

Eminent instrumentalists and vocalists of India have rendered scintillating performance in this festival over the years.

Following is an excerpt from a news report in the Statesman.

The Film Society of Bhubaneswar (FSB) is organising Airtel Bhubaneswar Film Festival’07 (BFF’07), which will begin from tomorrow. The five-day event will bring together a selection of contemporary and critically acclaimed films, which would offer meaningful and entertaining exposure to social issues, cultural conventions and artistic excellence from all over the world. In total, 16 highly acclaimed feature films and six documentary  films will be screened.

The most important feature of this film festival is the showcasing of contemporary African and Asian films, whose style and aesthetics have been critically appreciated in various echelons. In the African category, movies from South Africa, West Africa, Angola, Senegal and Morocco would be exhibited. They include films of award winning film-makers like Maria Joa Ganga, Ousmane Sembene, Nabil Ayouch, Abderrahmane Sissako, and Gavin Wood.

In the Asian category, films of Hirokazu Koreeda, Tsai Ming-liang, Bahman Farmanara and Nir Bergman would be screened. Apart from these, path-breaking classics of four great directors-Ugetsu Monogatari (Kenji Mizoguchi), Wild Strawberries (Ingmar Bergman), Mouchette (Robert Bresson) and Titas-Ekti Nadir Naam (Ritwik Ghatak) would be shown. Himanshu Khatua’s Sunya Swarupa, in Oriya would also be screened at the event.

See also http://www.orissatourism.gov.in/new/kon_festival.htm. Following are some excerpts:

The annual Konark Festival, which is held in an open air auditorium with the temple as the backdrop, showcases a magical parade of India’s classical and traditional dance forms. Eminent dancers and their troupe delight visitors in the wintry evening of early December with dramatic choreographies.

Besides, the dance performances the visitors will be treated, in an Artist Camp, to an exhibition of Orissan temple sculptures which are often described as poetry transcribed on stone. Sand Art exhibition will be yet another attraction for tourists.

PROGRAMMES
Date	1st Session (6.00 PM – 7.00 PM)	2nd Session (7.00 PM – 8.00 PM)
01-12-07	ODISSI GKCM Odissi Research Centre, Bhubaneswar	KATHAK Bireshwar Gautam, Mumbai
02-12-07	KATHAKALI Dr. Venkit & Troupe, Kerala	ODISSI Kaisiki (Dakshya Mashruwalla & Group), Mumbai
03-12-07	ODISSI Banshi Bilas, Bhubaneswar	BHARATNATYAM Geeta Chandran, New Delhi
04-12-07	MOHINIATTAM Shyamala Sundaran, Kerala	ODISSI Madhavi Mudgal & Group, New Delhi
05-12-07	ODISSI Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalay, Bhubaneswar	MANIPURI Performing Art Centre, Imphal, Manipur

It is a festival of classical dances of India performed at the backdrop of the Sun Temple, Konark.

Konark Festival was organised for the first time in 1989 in the Open Air Auditorium at Konark constructed with the financial assistance of Government of India.

Conceived as a festival of Classical Dances of India, the objective of Konark Festival was to promote Konark as well as Orissa as place of tourist destination.

Initially during the year 1989 and 1990, the festival was being organised for a period of 3 days. Subsequently increased to 7 days during 1991 and 1992 in different dates. Since 1993 the festival is being organised for a period of 5 days from December 1-5 every year. The festival was however not organised during 1999 due to the Super Cyclone.

This is a very interesting set of training programs and presentations in traditional performance arts such as:

• Ghanta Mardala
• Shankirtan
• Gotipua dance
• Chhau dance
• Odissi mardala
• Odissi dance
• Odissi Vocal
• Shankhi Nata
• Shabda Nrutya
• Pala
• Danda Nata
• Dhudki Nata
• Ghoda nata
• Daskathia

Following is from a report in Odisha.in.

1st Day – 23.11.2007 (Friday)
Ø       Lighting the lamp at the lotus feet of “Sri Sri Jagannath Mahaprabhu” & declare the festival open – 5.30 p.m.

Ø       Veda Patha – by Students of Veda Karmakanda Vidyalaya,Puri

Ø       Sankh Dhwani – Subhashree Sankha Dhwani Kalakendra, Ganjam

Ø       Odissi Group Dance by Guru Naba Kishore Mishra & Troupe, Abartta, Bhubaneswar

Ø       Chadeiya Folk Dance – Subhashree Sankha Dhwani Kalakendra, Ganjam

Ø       Sambalpuri Dance – by Kala Vikas Kendra, Cuttack

Ø       Ranappa Folk Dance – Subhashree Sankha Dhwani Kalakendra, Ganjam

Ø       Chhow Dance by Mayur Art Centre, BBSR

Ø       Tribal Dance by Dist. Council , Boudh

Ø       Creative Dance Ballet by – Shri Krishna Cultural Academy, Puri

Ø       Inauguration by Shri Muralidhar Chandrakant Bhandare, His Excellency Governor of Orissa

Ø       Shri Maheswar Mohanty, Hon’ble Speaker OLA (Chief Guest)

Ø       Shri Deviprasad Mishra, Hon’ble Minister – Excise & Tourism (Guest of Honour)

Ø       Shri Debasis Nayak, Hon’ble Minister – I&PR & Sports & Y.S (Guest of Honour)

Ø       Shri Asit Tripathy, IAS, Commissioner-cum-Secy. Tourism (Guest of Honour)

Ø       Shri Gourahari Pradhan, Chairman Puri Municipality (Guest of Honour)

Ø       Dr. Mrs. Vaijanitmala Bali, Noted Actress (Guest of Honour)

2nd Day – 24.11.2007 (Saturday)
Dignitaries & Guests for the Evening
Ø       Odissi Dance Ballet – Kabita Dwibedi & Troupe, New Delhi

Ø       Kathak Dance Ballet – Keya Chand & Troupe, Kolkata

Ø       Folk & Creative Dances by Song & Drama Division, Kolkata

Ø       Sambalpuri Dance – Sanskrutika, Padmapur, Bargarh

Ø       Gotipua Dance by Konark Natya Manda

Ø       Danda Dance by Khedu Sahu & Troupe, Athamallik sponsored by Sankarcharya Pradhan, Angul

Ø       Creative Dances by Keya Chand & Group, Kolkata

Ø       Creative Dance Ballet – Swagatika Sanskrutika Sansad, BBSR
Ø       Sports Activities sponsored by Dept. of Sports & Youth Services, Govt. of Orissa

Ø       Country Boat Race among local Nolias(3.30pm), Flag off by Sri Pyari Mohan Mohapatra, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) & Sri Debashish Nayak, Minister, Sports & I&PR, Govt. of Orissa

Ø       Beach Volley ball -(Women) – 4pm & Beach Cricket (Girl) – 3.45pm

Special Attraction Para-Sailing (11.00 am to 5.00 pm).

MEGA NITE:
(Mrs. Hema Malini with Daughters Eesha & Ahana Deol)

Ø       Shri Pyari Mohan Mohapatra, Hon’ble Member Rajayasabha (Chief Guest)

Ø       Shri Prafulla Chandra Ghadei, Hon’ble Minister Finance (Guest of Honour)

Ø       Dr. Prasanna Patsani, Hon’ble MP- Loksabha (Guest of Honour)

Ø       Shri Tathagat Satpathy Hon’ble MP Loksabha (Guest of Honour)

Ø       Shri C R Pradhan, Chairman (NALCO) (Guest of Honour)

Ø       Shri Srimay Kar, Chief of Bureau – Indian Express (Guest of Honour)

Ø       Shri S C Patnaik, Secy, Sports – 3.30 pm & 6.00 pm (Guest of Honour)

3rd Day – 25.11.2007 (Sunday)

Ø       Odissi Dance Ballet  &  Braja Leela by Kunja Lata & Troupe, Venunad Kalakendra,Brundaban (U.P.)

Ø       Bharat Natyam group dance by – Kashmira Samanta & Group, Kolkata

Ø       Purulia Chhow, of West Bengal by EZCC, Kolkata,

Ø       Siddi Dhamal of Gujrat by WZCC, Udaipur

Ø       Bhangra Dance of Punjab by NZCC, Patiala

Ø       Folk & Creative Dances by – Song & Drama Division, Kolkata

Ø       Contemporary Dances by Kashmira Samanta & Group, Kolkata

Ø       Creative Dances by – Ritz & Amit Dance Academy, Angul

Ø       Sports Activities sponsored by Dept. of Sports & Youth Services, Govt. of Orissa

Ø       Women Beach Kabadi – 4pm. , Banati (Hoola) – 6pm.

Special Attraction Para-Sailing (11.00 am to 5.00 pm).
Ø       Shri Chandrasekhar Sahu, Hon’ble Union Minister of State – RD (Chief Guest)

Ø       Shri Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, Hon’ble Minister UD&PE (Guest of Honour)

Ø       Shri Baijant Panda, Hon’ble MP – Rajyasabha (Guest of Honour)

Ø       Shri Gopal Chandra Nanda, IPS, DG Police (Guest of Honour)

Ø       Shri Padmanabha Behera, Hon’ble Minister, Steel & Mines (Guest of Honour)

Ø       Shri Ravi Narayan Nanda, Director, Tourism (Guest of Honour)

Ø       Shri L N Pattnaik, Chairman Pollution Control Board (Guest of Honour)

Ø       Head of ETV – Oriya, (Guest of Honour)

4th Day – 26.11.2007 (Monday)

Dignitaries & Guests for the Evening

Ø       Orissa Dance Ballet  – by Guru Gajendra Panda & Troupe, Tridhara, Bhubaneswar

Ø       “Breath of life” in Odissi Style by Guru Chita Ranjan Acharya & Troupe, Bhubaneswar

Ø       Purulia Chhow of West Bengal by EZCC, Kolkata,

Ø       Siddi Dhamal of Gujarat by WZCC, Udaipur

Ø       Bhangra Dance of Punjab by NZCC, Patiala
Ø       Sports Activities sponsored by Dept. of Sports & Youth Services, Govt. of Orissa

Ø       Wrestling – 4pm., Body Building – 6pm.

Special Attraction Para-Sailing (11.00 am to 5.00 pm).

MEGA MUMBAI NITE
Amit Paul & Ankita Mishra – Indian Idol (3)

Ø       Shri Surya Narayan Patra, Hon’ble Minister, Energy, IT & Culture (Chief Guest)

Ø       Shri Manmohan Samal, Hon’ble Minister, Revenue (Guest of Honour)

Ø       Shri Suresh Chandra Mohapatra, IAS, RDC Central Zone (Guest of Honour)

Ø       Shri Sanjay Pattnaik, Chief Resident Executive, TISCO (Guest of Honour)

Ø       Director – Door Darshan, Orissa (Guest of Honour)

CLOSING CEREMONY
5th Day – 27.11.2007 (Tuesday) Dignitaries & Guests for the Evening

Ø       Odissi Dance Ballet “Sarad Rasa” by – Leena Mohanty & Group, Banshi Bilasha , Bhubaneswar

Ø       Purulia Chhow, West Bengal by EZCC, Kolkata,

Ø       Siddi Dhamal of Gujarat by WZCC, Udaipur

Ø       Bhangra Dance of Punjab by NZCC, Patiala

Ø       Nritya Vahar – A Dhiman Sankar Ballet Presentation, Kolkata

Ø       Creative Dances – by Habiba Dance Group, BBSR, Direction by Sarat Malia

Ø       Sports Activities sponsored by Dept. of Sports & Youth Services, Govt. of Orissa

Ø       Mal Khamb – 5pm., Rugby (KIITS – 4pm.

Special Attraction Para-Sailing (11.00 am to 5.00 pm).

Ø       Shri Maheswar Mohanty, Hon’ble Speaker OLA (Chief Guest)

Ø       Shri Biswa Bhusan Harichandan, Hon’ble Minister RD, Law, Industries (Guest of Honour)

Ø       Shri Ajit Tripathy, IAS, Chief Secretary, Govt. of Orissa

Ø       Shri Rashmi Ranjan Pattnaik, Collector, Puri (Guest of Honour)

Ø       Shri Asit Panigrahi, SP, Puri (Guest of Honour)

Ø       Shri S R Upadhya, Chairman-cum-MD, MCL (Guest of Honour)

Ø       Shri Indrajeet Mohanty, Hon’ble Justice-Orissa High Court (Guest of Honour)

Ø       Smt. Jagi Mangat Panda, MD- Ortel Communication (Guest of Honour)

Ø       Shri Sanak Mishra, Chief of Mittal Steel India Chaptger, New Delhi (Guest of Honour)

N. B.

||  Exhibition timing from 11.00 am to 10.00 pm  ||

||  Cultural Programmes daily starts at 6.00 pm  ||

||  Sports items as per timing mentioned each day  ||

Following is extracted from a Kalinga Times report.

• Nov 16-18: Parab festival at Koraput.
• Nov 23-27: Shreekshetra-Beach Festival, Puri.
• December 1-5: Konark Festival.
• Jan 3-17: Toshali-Ekamra Festival in Bhubaneswar. The festival will be include a 10-day Toshali Crafts Fair and the following:
  • Mukteswar Dance evening from January 3 to 5
  • Rajarani Music Evening from January 5 to 7
  • Kalinga Martial Dance Evening at Dhauli on January 8 and 9
  • Folk dance festival from January 10 to 17
  • International Food Festival from January 3 to 17
  • National Level Handloom and Handicrafts Exhibition-cum-sale from January 3 to 17
  • Walking Tours of Heritage Corridors from January 6 to 13

• Jan 4-6: Folk Dance Festival at Sambalpur.