According to old Hindu texts, Mahabali was the great great grandson of Kashyapa, a great Brahmin sage and the grandson of Prahlada, who was a Vishnu devotee. Mahabali came to power after defeating the Devas took over the three worlds. He led a prosperous rule and was an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu. Once Vishnu decided to test Mahabali by taking the form of a dwarf boy called Vamana. Mahabali had announced that he would be performing Yajna (home sacrifice) and grant anyone any request. When Vamana approached Mahabali, he was asked what he wanted. Vamana claimed that one should not ask for more than they needed and only asked for 3 footsteps of land and Mahabali agreed. Vamana grew extremely big and covered whatever Mahabali owned in two steps. As for the third step, Mahabali offered himself an act which was accepted as devotion for Vishnu. Hence, Vishnu gave a boon to Mahabali according to which Mahabali could visit his land and people once every year. This visit of Mahabali marks Onam, a reminder of his prosperous rule and his humility in front of the Lord Vishnu.

Another simpler form of this legend is found in the Rigveda, which describes a deity with the powers of Vishnu and Bali is a metaphor for sacrifice, an offering made to the Gods after a bountiful rice harvest.

Onam is a ten days long festival, where there are celebrations on all 10 days. There are various highlights of the celebrations of Onam, where all men, women and children of the family have some work to do and contribute to the beautiful festival of joy and gratitude. The first nine days of Onam are devoted in preparations for the tenth day of Onam which is when the Onasadya takes place. From the very first day of onam, which is the Atham, the women of the house start making a design in front of the gate of their houses. This design is made by using a variety of flowers, with every passing day of Onam, layers of flowers are added to the existing design, by the tenth day, this design is huge and looks grand in front of the house. This art of making a design with flowers is called Pookkalam, this is a practice that is constant on all ten days of Onam. Along with designing verandas with Pookkalam, many college and schools in Kerala have Pookkalam competitions to encourage the art.

On the first day statues of King Mahabali and Vamana are brought to the houses and installed. The second day, i.e. Chithira people start cleaning their houses, while on the next day, the Chodi, the families go out for shopping and buy gifts for close family. The fourth day, the day of Vishakam is when many places start competitions like the Pookkalam and folk dance competitions. The Anizham, is the start of the Vallamkali Boat Races or the snake boat races in most parts of the state. These boat races are country wide famous, with certain boat races have trophies as a prize, like the Nehru Trophy Boat race. These are held in the backwaters of Kerala, where hundreds of boats lines up at the starting line, with hundred to one-fifty men per boat, where 20 of them sing and the rest row the boat in perfect coordination. This is a sight one should not miss at all, the coordination between the men is wonderful to see, especially how they all swiftly row the boat to the finishing line. There are thousands of people standing by the banks to cheer these men, while the men row the boat for which they practice for at least three to four months.

The six day of Onam, i.e. the Thriketa, is when most schools and colleges get a holiday and the whole household is devoted to the preparations and celebration of Onam. The Moola, which is the seventh day of Onam is when most places start preparing for the Onasadya, and the folk dancers and singers start preparing for their performances, the shopping continues. The next day, which is the Pooradam is when the idols of Mahabali and Vamana are cleaned and washed, after which they are placed in the middle of the Pookkalam, diyas and candles are also kept on the edges and sides of the Pookkalam. The Utharadom, i.e. the ninth day of Onam is when the whole household is busy preparing for the big day of Onam, the family starts preparing the meal for the Onasadya, along with packing gifts for the relatives. By the end of the ninth day, most of the preparations are done for the celebrations of the tenth day.

The tenth day is the Thiruonam, which most people identify as the day of Onam, people take bath early in the morning and dress up, there are prayers offered to the god and the Pookkalam is completed by adding the final touches and placing candles and diyas in and around it. The Onasadya, that is the nine-course meal is served on a big banana leaf. There are various types of vegetable dishes served like the yam, ash gourd, avial, cucumber along with rasam, rice, several types of curries, papadam, chutney, curd, buttermilk, pickles, etc. All of this is topped with a variety of sweet dishes with Payasam and its various types finding their way onto every plate. The other sweets are the unniyappam, vattayappam, elaada, pazhampori, etc. The meal has around 30 items, and there are restaurants who offer even more items in a platter on the day of Onam. There are dances performed by many people, some sing folk songs and some dance the folk dances like the Kaikottikali, which is performed by women to praise King Mahabali; the Thumbi is performed by women as they dance round in a circle. Puli Kali is another folk dance performed by men by wearing tiger masks and painting their bodies like that of a tiger. People decorate elephants by making them wear ornaments and jewelry for the procession of elephants which mainly happens in Thrissur and Kochi.

According to old Hindu texts, Mahabali was the great great grandson of Kashyapa, a great Brahmin sage and the grandson of Prahlada, who was a Vishnu devotee. Mahabali came to power after defeating the Devas took over the three worlds. He led a prosperous rule and was an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu. Once Vishnu decided to test Mahabali by taking the form of a dwarf boy called Vamana. Mahabali had announced that he would be performing Yajna (home sacrifice) and grant anyone any request. When Vamana approached Mahabali, he was asked what he wanted. Vamana claimed that one should not ask for more than they needed and only asked for 3 footsteps of land and Mahabali agreed. Vamana grew extremely big and covered whatever Mahabali owned in two steps. As for the third step, Mahabali offered himself an act which was accepted as devotion for Vishnu. Hence, Vishnu gave a boon to Mahabali according to which Mahabali could visit his land and people once every year. This visit of Mahabali marks Onam, a reminder of his prosperous rule and his humility in front of the Lord Vishnu.

Another simpler form of this legend is found in the Rigveda, which describes a deity with the powers of Vishnu and Bali is a metaphor for sacrifice, an offering made to the Gods after a bountiful rice harvest.

According to old Hindu texts, Mahabali was the great great grandson of Kashyapa, a great Brahmin sage and the grandson of Prahlada, who was a Vishnu devotee. Mahabali came to power after defeating the Devas took over the three worlds. He led a prosperous rule and was an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu. Once Vishnu decided to test Mahabali by taking the form of a dwarf boy called Vamana. Mahabali had announced that he would be performing Yajna (home sacrifice) and grant anyone any request. When Vamana approached Mahabali, he was asked what he wanted. Vamana claimed that one should not ask for more than they needed and only asked for 3 footsteps of land and Mahabali agreed. Vamana grew extremely big and covered whatever Mahabali owned in two steps. As for the third step, Mahabali offered himself an act which was accepted as devotion for Vishnu. Hence, Vishnu gave a boon to Mahabali according to which Mahabali could visit his land and people once every year. This visit of Mahabali marks Onam, a reminder of his prosperous rule and his humility in front of the Lord Vishnu.

Another simpler form of this legend is found in the Rigveda, which describes a deity with the powers of Vishnu and Bali is a metaphor for sacrifice, an offering made to the Gods after a bountiful rice harvest.

Baisakhi is a festival celebrated either on 13th or 14th April every year. The festival is celebrated across various religions of Punjab and have a great significance to all Punjabis. For the Hindus of Punjab, it is the start of the solar new year, while for the Sikhs it is the day when Guru Gobind Singh formed the Khalsa Panth in the year 1699, while for the farmers of Punjab it is the day to celebrate and be grateful about the harvest of the year. There is joy and happiness throughout Punjab on the day of Baisakhi as the day celebrates multiple festivals for multiple people of Punjab.

Baisakhi has been celebrated as the harvest festival for a really long time by the Punjabis, but the significance of Baisakhi was established only in the year 1699 for the Sikhs. Guru Gobind Singh commemorated the foundation of the Khalsa Panth on the 30th of March in the year 1699, which was the day of Baisakhi that year. Guru Gobind Singh that day called his followers to Anandpur Sahib, where he took out his sword and asked if there was any brave enough Sikh who was ready to die for his religion and after a lot of hesitation when one went inside the tent, Guru Giving Sing came out with his sword which was now covered in fresh blood. He repeated these four more times and lastly, he came out with all five of those men wearing a turban on their head, these five now were the warriors, they were called the Panj Piare. This commemorated the creation of a new sect of Sikhs who were known to be the pure ones, they followed the Khalsa, these were all baptized in the ceremony of Amrit Sanskar where the Sikhs drink Amrit and there on wear the five Ks of the Sikh religion, namely the Kesh, Kanga, Kara, Kirpan and Kaccha. Since this took place on the day of Baisakhi that year, the Sikhs continue celebrating the day of Baisakhi as the formation of the Khalsa Panth.

Baisakhi for the Hindus is the day when they celebrate the solar new year. As for the farmers it is the day when they celebrate the Harvest of the rabi crops, this day acts as the Thanksgiving Day for the farmers when they pray and thank for the harvest of that year since their lives are dependent on the harvest and it contributes greatly to their livelihood and lifestyle.

Just the way Punjabi weddings are celebrated in a very grand manner, so is the festival of Baisakhi. There are music beats coming out of dhols and nagadas in every gully and corner of Punjab. People go to the Gurdwara in the morning offer their prayers and get blessings. The men and women dress grandly in kurtas and salwar kameez respectively. The colours they wear are very bright. There is a lot of food prepared and many family members gather together to celebrate the festival. Like every other Indian festival, the value of family and togetherness is the main aspect of any festival.

Since the festival revolves around the harvest of the rabi crops, families gather together on their fields and harvest wheat together, this is called the Awat Pauni. The members of the family harvest the crop together with music playing in the background. Bhangra and Giddha are a big part of the festival too, this makes the people more energetic and enthusiastic and keep the folk culture of Punjab alive in the hearts of the people of Punjab. The people chant Jatta aayi Baisakhi and walk around the towns. People eat the Langar together. There are fairs and melas at various places all over the state. At homes, there are delicacies like chole bhature, sarson ka saag and makke ki roti. Achari mutton is made on special occasions only and Baisakhi is one day when you get to eat this achari mutton. Along with that, lassi dominates the household food there are glasses and glasses of lassi made on the day of Baisakhi.

Many Punjabis have settled in foreign countries which makes them celebrate the joy of Baisakhi in countries of UK, Canada, America and more. Punjabi people in these countries gather together in the community and celebrate the festival by making food and wearing traditional clothes. All in all, the festival is a way to celebrate and thank and be grateful for all the things that happened in the previous year. It is an occasion to dance, sing, eat and pray, which gives the farmers a break from their ordinary lives when they are cultivating the crops.

The major attraction of Hampi festival is the famous Light and Sound Show. The remains of Vijayanagar Empire are spread around the whole region. Hampi resides on the banks of Tungabhadra River and the light and sound show is conducted in the area beside the river. The whole area near Tungabhadra River is decorated and presents a parade of horses and elephants which are adorned by ornaments. Along with this procession, there are melodious sounds of pipes and trumpets which are being played during the parade. The whole show is about the struggles that are faced by Hampi, during the rule of various rulers. Along with the light and sound show, there are puppet shows, traditional dances and drama going on and the processions are being carried out in whole region of Hampi and the sky is full of crackers which are considered as the soul of this 3-day event. The festival is an entire package of multiple activities as the 3-day event not only organizes cultural events but includes sports events also such as volleyball, kabaddi, swimming, table tennis, stone lifting and others.

One of the other appealing things about Hampi festival is the path which takes you to the Virupaksha temple. The path is also known as the Raja Marg and, during the festival, the whole walkway is decorated with pretty art and crafts. The major drive in for people is the exclusive Carnatic music which is performed by the eminent musicians and vocalists. Other major attraction for tourists is the King’s balance which is located near the Vittala temple. In the medieval times, the kings used to weigh themselves on one side and keep gold and money and other things, on the other side of the balance. All those items and money was later distributed among the poor people. Thus, Hampi as a region can be called the live and open museum of Vijayanagar empire and people get to relive the moments of Vijayanagar empire by celebrating the Hampi festival every year.

Some of the main attractions at the fair are the availability of a wide variety of rural products such as utensils, colourful scarves and traditional clothes. Just like any fair, the Bateshwar Fair also treats it, visitors, with enormous gourmet delights. The food stalls at the fair have a large variety of mouth-watering edibles. This is the right place for foodies and people with cravings as the fair has a lot to offer. Milk-based items are also a treat sold at the fair. The 'petha' or the gourd preparation which is famous in Agra is seen here in large quantities.
Toys are also sold at this fair, and they take their theme from the animal fair. Many stalls have earthenware, wooden toys and lacquer work as well. The wooden toys can be found in the shape of animals and human figurines as well.

A large number of pilgrims and devotees perform a parikrama - encircling of the Girnar hills before becoming a part of the fair, considering it as a holy ritual. This parikrama is of about thirty-six kilometres and is done by the devotees on the belief that they can obtain blessings of the Lord. It is also a great opportunity for nature fanatics and trekking lovers as the parikrama brings them in direct contact with nature’s hidden treasure at the hills.
Another interesting ritual consisting of an amalgamation of dance and martial arts is performed by the naga sadhus at wrestling grounds known as akhada on the night prior to the puja. They make it a point to take a bath in the sacred Mrigi kund of the Bhavnath Mahadev temple before joining the rituals or the procession.
Approximately around one lac people visit the Bhavnath fair each year. Apart from that, tourists from foreign countries too, visit the fair in a strikingly high number. Amongst such visitors, the Ahir and Mer tribes of Junagadh are quite prominent. The festival brings about an unparalleled gathering of various cultural groups who visit the fair to soak the divine energy and witness the grandeur of ritual and pujas performed for Lord Shiva.
The fair brims with religious and festive vibes on each of the five days as the number of tourists only increases day by day. Various stalls of handicrafts, art and gorgeous accessories are set up for the visitors to indulge in the local heritage and take back a piece of the culture along with themselves.
This advocates the fact that the Bhavnath fair does not focus only on religious matters but also involves cultural matters and brings people closer to both God and Mother Nature. That's exactly what makes it worth visiting and that's exactly why hundreds of thousands of people take part in the fair during the Mahashivratri period.