Festivals - Question of Cities

How festival celebrations define, and redefine, public spaces

Diwali celebrations are a public affair, so are celebrations of other festivals across communities. The festivalisation of public spaces -- streets, squares, markets, footpaths – is welcome and binds people in cities but it also lends these spaces political colours…

India darshan through festival foods and culinary traditions

People celebrate Diwali with a smorgasbord of foods unique to the traditions of a community or state, influenced by local climates and geographies, but within the boundaries of caste and gender. Besides Diwali, a number of other festivals across India…

Eco-friendly festivals are still a dream

Most festivals have a long way to go to become genuinely sustainable even as greenwashing -- claiming false or exaggerated environmental benefits -- takes hold. Knee-jerk reactions such as banning or restricting firecrackers only days before Diwali hardly help. Purposeful…

Festive memories rustle up flavours of the season

Festivals rekindle nostalgia about the good old days with family and friends – and food. Festivals across India uphold food traditions and age-old kitchen practices which are gradually getting erased as nuclear families and rushed lifestyles do not support elaborate…

Retelling and celebrating the legend of Madurai Veeran

Every year, towns in Tamil Nadu see a unique celebration from the Tamil month of Thai. The local deity, Madurai Veeran, the warrior of Madurai, is venerated through stories that are retold to devotees, mostly Dalits, who consider him as…

Festivals in cities, beyond celebrations, shape public place and identity

Cities are theatres of celebration of different kinds of festivals, from the traditional and religious to the contemporary and cultural. People congregate and celebrate, but the story of festivals in cities does not end there. Festivals help to shape –…

When celebrations also mean bad air, deafening noise and waste mounds

The glitter and bonhomie of festivals in India bring in unwanted and unhealthy guests in the form of pollution and waste. Every year, in the north of India especially, the winter air which is laden with emissions and is hazardous…

Is there a robust festival economy? You bet, it’s roaring

Festivals spawn their economy as consumption and gifting peaks to coincide with the celebrations. Diwali, Eid, Christmas or any regional or community-specific festival increase footfalls in both the local street markets as well as luxury retail stores, boosting the economy…

How cities subtly changed the flavour of festivals

People in cities celebrate their traditional cultural festivals - with a difference. As city living becomes more demanding and public spaces shrink, festival rituals are adapted. Festival celebrations, altered to suit modern urban living but retaining some rituals that people…