5 Harvest Festivals of India

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images

Collage of Indian harvest festivals: women dance around a bonfire for Lohri, a man tackles a bull at Jallikattu, a farmer prays in a paddy field for Bihu, dancers in tiger body paint perform Pulikali, and a Sikh devotee lights candles for Baisakhi.

A large crowd of Sikh devotees wearing colorful head coverings bows in prayer inside the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India, during the Baisakhi Festival.

A Sikh woman in traditional attire lights candles along the edge of a pool at night, with the illuminated Golden Temple reflected in the water in Amritsar.

Artists in colorful traditional Punjabi attire perform the Bhangra folk dance in a wheat field, with drummers kneeling in front and dancers holding decorated scarves behind them.

Women in traditional Assamese attire perform the Bihu dance in a row, while a man in front plays a pepa, a buffalo horn, during the Rongali Bihu Festival in Guwahati, Assam.

A farmer stands in a green paddy field with hands folded in prayer beside a lit candle and incense, marking the Kati Bihu festival near Guwahati, India.

Large group of villagers standing in shallow water using traditional bamboo fishing nets during the Magh Bihu festival in Panbari village, Assam, India.

People in colorful traditional clothing kneel and sit around a tall, burning bamboo and straw structure called a Meji during Bhogali Bihu celebrations in Assam, India.

Punjabi dancers in colorful traditional attire perform near a large bonfire, with a drummer playing dhol, during Lohri celebrations at Great India Place Mall in Noida, India.

5 Harvest Festivals of India: Media

Images

Collage of Indian harvest festivals: women dance around a bonfire for Lohri, a man tackles a bull at Jallikattu, a farmer prays in a paddy field for Bihu, dancers in tiger body paint perform Pulikali, and a Sikh devotee lights candles for Baisakhi.

India Harvest Festivals Collage: Lohri, Pongal, Kati Bihu, Onam and Baisakhi Celebrations

A vibrant collage of India's harvest festivals showing Lohri, Pongal, Kati Bihu,...

© Narinder Nanu—AFP, Abhishek Chinnappa, Anuwar Hazarika—NurPhoto/Getty Images, © AJP/Shutterstock.com; Photo composite Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

A large crowd of Sikh devotees wearing colorful head coverings bows in prayer inside the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India, during the Baisakhi Festival.

Golden Temple, Amritsar, India

Sikh devotees paying obeisance at the Golden Temple on the occasion of Baisakhi on...

© Sameer Sehgal—Hindustan Times/Getty Images

A Sikh woman in traditional attire lights candles along the edge of a pool at night, with the illuminated Golden Temple reflected in the water in Amritsar.

Baisakhi 2024

A Sikh devotee lighting candles as part of Baisakhi festivities at the Golden Temple,...

© Narinder Nanu—AFP/Getty Images

Artists in colorful traditional Punjabi attire perform the Bhangra folk dance in a wheat field, with drummers kneeling in front and dancers holding decorated scarves behind them.

Bhangra performance

Artists performing bhangra in a wheat field at a village in Punjab, India, during...

© Rajesh Sachar/Pacific Press—LightRocket via Getty Images

Women in traditional Assamese attire perform the Bihu dance in a row, while a man in front plays a pepa, a buffalo horn, during the Rongali Bihu Festival in Guwahati, Assam.

Bohag Bihu celebrations in Guwahati, Assam

Women clad in muga silk mekhela sadors dance Bihu as a man plays...

© Xinhua News Agency/Getty Images

A farmer stands in a green paddy field with hands folded in prayer beside a lit candle and incense, marking the Kati Bihu festival near Guwahati, India.

Kati Bihu

A farmer lights a saki (small earthenware lamp) in his paddy field on Kati...

© Anuwar Hazarika—NurPhoto/Getty Images

Large group of villagers standing in shallow water using traditional bamboo fishing nets during the Magh Bihu festival in Panbari village, Assam, India.

A traditional community fishing event during Magh Bihu

Magh Bihu, or Bhogali Bihu, marks the end of the harvest season and is celebrated...

© David Talukdar—Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

People in colorful traditional clothing kneel and sit around a tall, burning bamboo and straw structure called a Meji during Bhogali Bihu celebrations in Assam, India.

A meji (fire) on Magh Bihu

People light a meji and seek blessings on the main day of Magh Bihu.

© Anuwar Hazarika—NurPhoto/Getty Images

Lohri

Lohri

Celebrants gathering around a bonfire during Lohri celebrations at Dilli Haat in...

© Burhaan Kinu—Hindustan Times/Getty Images

Punjabi dancers in colorful traditional attire perform near a large bonfire, with a drummer playing dhol, during Lohri celebrations at Great India Place Mall in Noida, India.

Celebrations

A group of Punjabi dancers performing during Lohri celebrations in India on January...

© Sunil Ghosh—Hindustan Times/Getty Images

Giddha

Giddha

Students performing the Punjabi folk dance giddha around a bonfire during...

© Narinder Nanu—AFP/Getty Images

Traditional food items

Traditional food items

A close-up view of traditional sweets and snacks—such as peanuts, popcorn, laddoo,...

© Uma Shankar Sharma—Moment/Getty Images

Women assembling the pookalam flower mat

Women assembling the pookalam flower mat

As Onam progresses, more concentric layers are added to the pookalam, creating...

© Idrees Mohammed—EPA-EFE/Shutterstock.com

Long, narrow snake boats with teams of rowers participate in a traditional Vallam Kali boat race on a river in Kerala, India, with spectators lining the opposite bank.

Vallamkali boat races in the Keralam backwaters

Vallamkali boat races (also called snake boat races) occur along rivers and lakes...

© Krishvhari007/Dreamstime.com

Group of performers with bodies painted as tigers and wearing tiger masks dance in a crowded Pulikali Tiger Dance procession during the Onam festival in Thrissur, Kerala, India.

The Puli Kali or “Tiger Dance” performance in Thrisur, Keralam

Performers are painted in bright colors to perform on the streets of Keralam.

© AJP/Shutterstock.com

Pongal

Pongal

Celebration of Pongal in Tamil Nadu, India.

Thiagupillai

A girl in a pink dress sits on the ground creating a colorful rangoli pattern with powders to celebrate the Pongal festival in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, India.

A colorful beginning

A girl making a colorful kolam (rangoli) as part of the Pongal...

© Eye Ubiquitous—Universal Images Group/Getty Images

A man in a yellow shirt clings to a decorated bull during the Jallikattu bull-taming festival, surrounded by onlookers in yellow and green uniforms near Madurai, India.

Jallikattu

A man tackling a bull as he participates in the annual bull-taming sport, Jallikattu,...

© Abhishek Chinnappa/Getty Images

Aerial view of two green harvester machines reaping finger millet in a large field near Bangalore, India, with trees and buildings in the distant background.

Deccan farm

Farmers working in their fields near Bengaluru in Karnataka state. The city is in...

Manjunath Kiran—AFP/Getty Images