Festivals and the folks who fashion them

A photo story depicting the vibrant atmosphere of celebration and faith at the annual Vitthal Birdev Yatra, where many from the Dhangar and Kuruba pastoralist communities gather every year around October

The mavli mela is an annual festival in Narayanpur where tribal deities and their followers gather and mingle, is a vibrant, joyous affair, and one that underlies pluralistic traditions in Bastar, Chhattisgarh

A reporter travels through the villages of Kachchh during the time of Eid al-Fitr and gets to share a few moments of love and joy in the desert

A short film on a festival from Bundelkhand and Baghelkhand regions

A documentary film on a nearly 500-year-old folk tradition practised in Sangod village in Hadoti, Rajasthan

Fakirani Jats of the Kachchh region have been followers of Savla Pir, a saint revered by this Muslim community. Every year they organise a two-day fair called Savla Pir no melo at his shrine

In the Tamil month of Maasi, the Irular community gathers on the beaches of Mamallapuram near Chennai to appease their goddess Kanniamma and bring her home to worship. All along the waterfront, priests are solemnising weddings, naming babies and offering blessings

In southern Chhattisgarh, Gangrel madai is a day-long festival celebrated by Gond adivasis who come from all across the state

This vigorous folk dance is performed by young people in coastal Karnataka. Organised and funded locally, they are integral to festivities held around Dussehra and Janmashtami

The annual Ugadi festival in Andhra Pradesh's Medapuram is a grand affair, organised by the Madiga community who brought the idol to their town

This post-harvest dance is performed only by men and is full of colour and the sound of multiple musical instruments

In Thiruvallur district, Dilli anna gives life to Kannisamy – the guardian deity of fishing communities in north Chennai. The idols are made using clay and paddy husk, both of which are becoming increasingly difficult to source in the rapidly urbanising area

In Tamil Nadu’s Bangalamedu village, an Irular community witnesses a slow transition in familiar ways of worshipping and celebrating their beloved goddess

In one of the many syncretic traditions of Karnataka, it is Muslim men who make and throw firecrackers for religious and cultural events across faiths. A film on garnal saibers and this unusual art

Tapan Murmu is a young Santhal Adivasi farmer in Birbhum who also performs with puppets during the harvest festival – an art he worries has few takers among his generation

This annual festival in Assam is a much-anticipated event with performances held across many venues. Migration and fading interest from the younger generation is making it difficult to find performers

In this region of Karnataka that lies on the coast of the Arabian Sea, different communities come together for bhuta worship. A film on the heritage of Syed Nasir and his musical troupe who perform at these rituals

This is an important festival for Tibetan Buddhists here in Hanle River Valley. In the first celebration after the pandemic, six hamlets come together amidst the beating of drums and blowing of trumpets

At the annual Goncha festival in Chhattisgarh, local Adivasi communities have a unique guard of honour

A favourite of children in Andhra's Anantapur town, Vinayaka Chavithi festivities go on for a few more weeks

S. Paradesam has made lakhs of diyas to light up homes celebrating Diwali. The 92-year-old is the last potter in Visakhapatnam’s Kummari Veedhi making lamps for the festival

The rituals of Muharram observed by Shia Muslims go on for days in Tai Suru village of Ladakh’s Kargil district. For the children, especially girls, it is a chance to meet friends and spend long hours together

The harsh lives of the women kite makers of Khambhat and Ahmedabad stand out in stark contrast against the brilliantly coloured skies they light up with their labour

The drums of Agartala’s dhakis are already pounding, with Durga Puja beginning on October 11. At other times, these drummers ply cycle rickshaws, or work as vendors, farmers, plumbers and electricians

At celebrations and commemorations during the winter months, young men and women from Chhattisgarh's Gond community travel together to perform the Hulki Mandri and Kolang dances, and sing Rela songs

The artisans in this AP city earn the most during the festival season – starting with Ganesh Chaturthi this week. But they have not received a single bulk order for Ganesh idols and other products so far this year

The Ganpati festival starting this week, then Durga Puja and Diwali, were peak seasons for potters in Delhi's Uttam Nagar. Now, they are looking at a period of poor sales, as are potters in Kachchh and West Bengal

In this centuries-old ritual event in Karnataka's Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts, impersonators tell stories of forgotten heroes from Dalit communities, solve disputes, and provide catharsis

In Odisha’s Kandhamal district, Adivasi women have preserved indigenous seeds for generations; at an annual festival, they come together to discuss and exchange seeds through rituals and celebration

Tens of thousands of pilgrims come from the villages of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to the Urs of Hazrat Janpak Shaheed – many drawn by an enduring faith in the dargah, some for brisk business at the venue

During the Bonalu festival every year, Posani Ashwin, an auto-parts dealer in Hyderabad, transforms into the Pothuraju, a deity believed to ward off diseases – 'possessed', he blesses and enthralls the crowds

An array of artisans, most of them migrants, come to Hyderabad months before the ongoing Ganesh Chaturthi festival to make idols, but say the work is not regular now due to cheaper items in the market

The historic Azhagar festival in Madurai – its last day is today, April 22 – includes a huge procession where some devotees sport colourful costumes. But who their dressmakers are is even more interesting

Away from the fireworks and city lights, in an Adivasi pada just outside Mumbai, my family celebrated Diwali this year like they do every year, with traditional delicacies, community rituals, reverence of nature, and joy

During the Dussehra month, the ragtag Ramkatha Singing Party dashes off from stage to stage, before returning to their day jobs, even as the retelling of the epic is engulfed by contemporary politics

Migrant artisans from West Bengal blend idol-making styles in Vadodara, where some, like Tapan Mondal, run signature workshops, while many also work as farm labourers, house painters or in other jobs

Every four years, Gond Adivasis bring their clan’s deities to a festival in Semargoan village of Chhattisgarh to make offerings to their ancestors, seek their advice and create a space for the ‘deceased’ to mingle too

At the Niyamgiri plateau in Odisha, the Dongria Kondhs gather for a colourful festival every year. But with ever-present threats of mining, this celebration also speaks of a growing need to protect their homeland

The Koovagam festival in Tamil Nadu, which ends on April 25 this year, draws many transgender persons. They come here to sing, dance, cry and pray – but mostly, to be themselves without fear of ostracism

In the villages of Uttarakhand's Kumaon region, Holi festivities are a time for women to dance and let their songs echo amid the mountains. A photo story for a PARI series on International Women’s Day

During the harvest festival in January, Santal women in Chirchirya hamlet in Bihar sing about their way of life while men play the instruments, and there is a feast and some mahua as well

In Karthikappally and other villages along the backwaters of Alappuzha district in Kerala, children make their own chariots and participate with gusto in an annual ritualistic procession

At the centuries-old potters' colony in Kolkata, artisans work through the night on the clay idols that they will soon send out to the city for Durga Puja

During the 'go-bnadna' festival – a time of earth colours, wall painting, music and games – the Santals of Purulia district in West Bengal offer thanks to their cows

The jungle goddess of the Sundarbans in West Bengal demands that Hindus and Muslims unite in upholding her pact with the animal kingdom

The Gajan ritual in West Bengal inverts caste hierarchies, if only for a fortnight

People of the Sahariya community of Baran district in Rajasthan – among the poorest districts in the state – prepare to celebrate Holi and the harvest

The Purbannapara community of Makardah village in West Bengal holds an annual 'protijogita' for making the brightest and biggest 'tubri' or firework-candle

Goa's 'Hindu carnival' -- a traditional folk festival -- only has men participants