Festivals and fairs are held for many different reasons as you will read on this page. However, a fair is always an occasion for enjoyment and fun!

• Kumbh Mela- this `mela’ takes place every three years, once at each of these four cities- Nasik (Maharashtra) , Ujjain( Madhya Pradesh), Prayag (Allahabad-Utter Pradesh) or Harddwar (Utter Pradesh).. It is attended by millions of people who take a holy dip in the sacred waters.
• Ladakh festival- this festival of the northernmost state of India, is held every year from the 1st to 15th of September. There are sports competitions (like polo and archery), dance, songs, social events, and craft exhibitions.
• Rath Yatra - this famous festival is held in Puri-Orissa, where the Jagannath temple is situated. Lakhs of pilgrims gather to pull the images of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra which are placed on three huge chariots. The English word `Juggernaut’ comes from this event.
• Sonepur Mela – this huge fair is held in Bihar on the banks of the Ganges. It is the only fair where elephants are sold. Horses and cattle are sold as well. In the olden days, people would come here from as far as central Asia.
• Pushkar Mela- this is the world’s largest camel fair. Of course, horse and cattle trading also takes place. The fair takes place in a temple town in Rajasthan. There are many other events like camel racing and tug war, giant wheels and food stalls-all a welcome break from the tough desert life!
• Urs Ajmer Sharif- this festival is held at the dargah (or tomb) of the Sufi saint, khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, in Ajmer. People of all faith come here, for it is said that the wishes of people who pray here are surely answered. Special prayers are offered during the festival, huge amounts of food are distributed and qawwlais are sung in praise of God.

• Atlas is a giant who revolted against Zeus, the king of the gods. His punishment was to carry the heavens upon his shoulders forever.
• Amaterasu is the great Goddess of Japan. She controls the forces of nature. Rice does not grow without her blessings.
• A centaur is a creature which is half-man and half-horse. The most famous such creature was Chiron. Chiron was put into the sky as the constellation Sagittarius by Zeus.
• A phoenix is a mythical bird which sets fire to its own nest. It also perishes in the fire and from the ashes another bird. It is considered a symbol of immortality.
• Apollo is the Greek sun god. He looks after many areas –music, medicine, prophecy and hunting.
• Mercury is the Roman messenger god. He wears a broad brimmed hat and has wings on his sandals. He looks after merchants and travelers.
• Quetzalcoatl was an important deity in the ancient emperies of Central America. He was known as the `feathered snake’ and was the creator god of the sky, wise and powerful.
• A Baba Yaga, in east Europe myths, is on ugly, cannibalistic with. She lives in a house with a fence. The house stands on chicken legs.
• A jinn is made up a air or fire. It can do good or evil. It is mischievous and likes to punish or reward humans.
• Swarga –according to Hindu Myths it is a temporary heaven where the good people live after death till they are reborn. It is ruled by the god Indhra and its capital is Amaravati.
• Camelot – it was the seat of King Arthur’s power. No one lived here either before or after Arthur. Arthur’s knights were baptized here and they set out for the quest of the Holy Grail from here.
• Valhalla- in Norse mythology this was the place were the warriors who died on the battlefield were brought. It was decorated with spears, shields and breastplates.
• Mount Olympus- the main Greek gods had their places here. All the gods get together here to drink ambrosia- something which reinforces their immortality.

How I celebrated my birth day

People have various views about birthdays. Some people laugh when they see someone celebrating his birthday, because they opine that the birthdays signal that we have lost one more year of our life. But some people celebrate birthdays with all pomp and show. Usually, I invited my friends on my birthday and then we used to have a lot of fun eating and chatting together. But this time inspired by my father I decided to do a `one good work’ on my birthday. I rose early in the morning and went out in the kitchen garden. With me, was the little, nascent plant of tube roses! I dug up a little and planted the tree and watered it. I dug up a little and planted the tree and watered it. My father clapped from behind. I was indeed a new experience. I felt as if I had done something creative. I felt as if day, that I would always plant a tree on my birthday.

The happiest day of my birth day

``we are thrown in this world without any time or reason’’. A French philosopher Sartre based the whole philosophy of existentialism on this thought. People always have been probing into the query why we are in this world which is o full of `the weariness, the fear, the fret.’ But for me, it has been so good to be in this world that I consider 3 rd July 1969, my birthday, the happiest day of my life. On this day with the waking yawn of the dawn, I moaned and signaled my arrival in this world. Of course, like many other babies, I was not happy to leave my mother’s protective womb. So I cried a lot. But thereafter I have always been a jolly natured creature. It’s not that life has been easy for me. No. everyone has to fight his way out in the fray of the `the survival of the fittest’. I have been too. But I like taking up challenges. Life’s battles have always been a pleasure to me. Besides challenges, there is so much beauty, so much love and warmth that I am really thankful to that Almighty power, which made my existence possible in this world. I hold my mother in deep regards since it was she who introduced my little entity into this universe. My birth has been the most wonderful thing both for my parents and myself. I want to enjoy this gift of life to the lees.