Villagers across Uttarakhand celebrated Harela, a festival of greenery, peace, prosperity and environmental conservation.

Harela Festival

• Harela means ‘day of green’ and is celebrated in the month of Shravan (the fifth month of the Hindu lunar calendar) to worship Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati.
• People across Uttarakhand, especially the Kumaun region, associate greenery with prosperity.
• The seeds of five to seven types of crops —  maize, til (sesame), urad (black gram), mustard, oats —  are sown in donas (bowl made of leaves) or ringalare (hill bamboo baskets) nine days before the festival.
• They are harvested on the ninth day and distributed to neighbours, friends and relatives.
• The flourish of the crops symbolizes prosperity in the year ahead.
• People make clay statues of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, known as Dikare, and worship them a day before the festival.
• Harela is also linked to the Barahnaza system (12 types of crops), a crop diversification technique followed in the region.

Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

Q.Consider the following pairs:
Tradition: State
1. Chapchar Kut: festival Mizoram
2. Khongjom Parba ballad: Manipur
3. Thang Ta dance: Sikkim
Which of the pairs given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only
(b) 1 and 2
(c) 3 only
(d) 2 and 3

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