Basant festival ( Vasanta )in India and Pakistan corresponding to spring ( Jashn-e-Baharaan)
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| A kite shop selling kites in India. |
It is also short for Vasanta Panchami an Indian festival celebrated every year on the fifth day (Panchami) of the Hindu month Magh (JanuaryFebruary), the first day of spring.
In Ferozepur(Punjab, India), Vasant is celebrated as most auspicious festival than any other.People from all over India gathered here to feel the purity of this spring season.Vasant Panchami has its own joy and pleasure. Every year Kite Festival is celebrated in many states of India. But the border city(Ferozepur) marks the occasion on huge level of its seasonal significance.
Some of the Indian festivals have cultural significance, in addition to a religious significance (which can vary depend on the specific tradition), and are thus often celebrated by non-Hindus also in some form. These include Holi and Diwali in addition to Basant. Amir Khusro (1253-1325 CE) has composed songs using the word Basant (festival), and Nizamuddin Auliya used to join him in celebrating Basants of Sufis.
Flying kites
A fighter Kite which is invented in India and Pakistan is called a “Patang” “Guda”. These kites were made of tissue paper and two sticks of bamboo and most recently now kites were made of plastic wrap or Mylar (Non-sticky plastic). The kites fly by line or thread. The line is called “Manjha”, a glass coated thread and each flier attempts to cut every other kite out of the sky. They always make competition with each other. The last kite flying is the winner. In many of the states they do large scale of competition. Some of the competitions are last standing kite, some competitions are beautiful kites and some competitions are related to biggest kites.
Origin
In sanskrit Vasanta means spring and Panchami is the fifth day of the fortnight of waxing moon (Shukla Paksha) in the Hindu month of Magh, January–February of English calendar.
In the Vedas the day of Vasanta Panchami is dedicated to Goddess Sarasvati. It is not a national holiday in India but the schools are closed and the students participate in decoration and arrangement of the worship place. A few weeks before the celebration, schools become active in organizing various annual competitions of music, debate, sports and other activities. Prizes are distributed on the day of Vasanta Panchami. Many schools organize cultural activities in the evening of the Saraswati Puja day when parents and other community members attend the functions to encourage the children. Sarasvati is the goddess of learning. Sarasvati bestows the greatest wealth to humanity, the wealth of knowledge.
In the Vedas the prayer for Sarasvati depicts her as a white lady in white dress bedecked with white flowers and white pearls, sitting on a white lotus, which is blooming in a wide stretch of water. She holds Veena, a string-instrument, like Sitar, for playing music. The prayer finally concludes, "Oh Mother Sarasvati remove the darkness (ignorance) of my mind and bless me with the eternal knowledge." The Vedas describe Sarasvati as a water deity, goddess of a river of the same name. According to popular belief Sarasvati, originating from the Himalayas, flowed southeast, ultimately meeting the Ganges at Prayag, near the confluence of Yamuna. Hence the place is called Triveni. In due time this course of water petered away.
The mythological history of Sarasvati associates her with the holy rituals performed on the banks of the river Sarasvati. She is worshipped as a goddess of speech, attributed to the formation of Vach (words), invention of Sanskrit language and composition of hymns.
Basant in India
Vasant is known as Basant Panchami in Punjab and Haryana.It is being celebrated in border city of Ferozepur as Kite Festival.It heralds the advent of spring. The festival is celebrated with full vivacity and festivity to mark the end of the winters. It is one of the first festivals of the Year and is celebrated all over India. On Vasant Pachami day all get up early in the morning, take bath and worship the sun, Mother Ganga, the Deity of the sacred river Ganges, and the earth. Men, women and girls wear yellow clothes. The yellow colour is a sign of auspiciousness and spirituality. It represents the ripening of the spring crops. Even the food is coloured yellow by using saffron. All the folk get together and sing songs connected with spring. Indeed, yellow colour is given special importance on this day. The goddess Saraswati is dressed in yellow garments and worshipped by men and women attired in yellow. In some traditional homes sweetmeats of yellowish hues are exchanged with relatives and friends, people wear yellow clothes, offer yellow flowers in worship and put a yellow, turmeric tilak on their forehead. They visit temples and offer prayers to various gods. At home, kesar halva, also yellow in color, is prepared. The yellow flowers of mustard crop covers the entire field in such a way that it seems as if gold is spread over the land glittering with the rays of the sun. Fields of mustard present a colourful sight all over rural Punjab. The Basant fair is held in many villages of the India. People put on yellow costumes appropriate to the season and eat boiled rice dyed in saffron. Symbolizing greenery and reproduction, the event signifies sprouting of tender leaves and also filled-up granary with the recently-harvested crops. It is traditional to fly kites on Basant. The phrase "Ayi Basant Pala Udant" (with the onset of spring season, winter bids adieu) holds true at this time of the year. In Punjab the festival is called Basant Panchami. Kite flying is popular on this day in North India. The days leading to the festival represent busy times for Kite makers for the usually clear blue skies tend to be filled with kites of all colors.
The Goddess of Knowledge, Saraswati, is especially worshipped in Orissa, Bengal and Bihar. In Orissa with the onset of spring Capital city Bhubaneswar gear itself for celebration of the Vasant Panchami. The festival is celebrated with great fervor in the Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Rourkela, Berhampur, and other major cities of the state.
Similarly in West Bengal Saraswati Puja is celebrated on a large scale. Throughout the state, Saraswati Puja is performed in schools, colleges as well as in homes. In all educational institutions, especially in music, arts and crafts institutions, Saraswati Puja is observed with devotion and reverence.
Basant and Sufi Culture
Sufis are credited for bringing the festival into the Muslim pantheon in the Indian subcontinent. By the Mughal period, Basant was a popular festival at the major Sufi shrines. We have, for example, mentions of Nizam Auliya ki Basant, Khwaja Bakhtiar Kaki ki Basant, Khusrau ki Basant; festivals arranged around the shrines of these various sufi saints. Khusrau, the famous sufi-poet of the thirteenth century, even composed verses on Basant:
Aaj basant manaalay, suhaagan,
Aaj basant manaalay
Anjan manjan kar piya mori, lambay neher lagaalay
Tu kya sovay neend ki maasi,
So jaagay teray bhaag, suhaagun,
Aaj basant manaalay.
Oonchi naar kay oonchay chitvan,
Ayso diyo hai banaaye
Shah Amir tuhay dekhan ko,
nainon say naina milaaye,
Suhaagun, aaj basant manaalay.
Translation:
Celebrate basant today,
O bride, Celebrate Basant today
Apply kajal to your eyes, and decorate your long hair
Oh why are you the servant of sleep?
Even your fate is wide awake,
Celebrate Basant today,
O high lady with high looks,
That is how you were made,
When the king looks at you, your eyes meet his eyes,
O Bride, Celebrate Basant today.
Another historic account is given in the book Punjab Under the Later Mughals. According to this book, when Zakariya Khan (1707–1759) was the governor of Punjab, a Hindu of Sialkot, by the name of Haqeeqat Rai Bakhmal Puri spoke words of disrespect for the Prophet Muhammad and his daughter Fatima due to teasing by Muslim boys. He was arrested and sent to Lahore to await trial. The court, gave him capital punishment. The Hindu population was stirred to request Zakariya Khan to lift the death sentence given to Haqeeqat Rai but he did not accede to their request. Eventually the death penalty was carried out and the entire Hindu population went into mourning.
As a tribute to the memory of this child, a prosperous Hindu, Kalu Ram initiated the Basant 'mela' in (Marrhi) Kot Khwaja Saeed (Khoje Shahi) in Lahore. (This place is now known as Baway di marrhi.) It is the last stop on the route of Wagon no. 60 from Bhati Gate. Dr. B.S. Nijjar states on Page no. 279 of his book that the Basant 'mela' is celebrated in memory of Hakeekat Rai.
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| A kite shop selling kites in paksitan |
The festival is limited in its celebrations in Pakistan. Instead, the celebrations of spring known as 'Jashn-e-baharaan' in Urdu, are carried on in the entire country for almost a month. Basant, in particular, is celebrated in eastern Punjab especially Lahore. Lahore being the historic capital of Punjab celebrates Basant with a lot of vigour and enthusiasm. Although traditionally it was a festival confined to the old-walled city it has spread throughout the city. Other cities in which Basant is mainly celebrated are Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Karachi, Jhelum, Kasur, Sialkot and Rawalpindi/Islamabad.
Basant is celebrated with great joy in Lahore, as Daily Times, a Pakistani Newspaper states:
"There a lot of rush at kite shops, especially in old Lahore as children and middle-aged men gathered to purchase their favourite coloured kites and string. Rehan, an intermediate student said ...the festival was part of the city’s culture, adding that a number of special dishes were also prepared for the occasion. He said this year, however, people would only be flying kites. Arsalan, a resident of the Walled City, said Basant was the event of colours and lights, adding that a number of people in his area had installed lights at their residences. He said “the dance of kites in lights” would be visible to everyone who would look up at the sky".
It was for many years officially backed by the government and sponsored by multinational corporations. Although Basant is celebrated throughout Pakistani Punjab, it is Lahore which made it popular not only in Pakistan but all over the world as the largest kite festival. Over the years, the Basant festival has drawn thousands of revellers to Lahore from all over the world. Even Indian movie stars had started participating in the festival which peaks with an all-night flood-lit kite flying marathon on the eve of the festival. However, there are accidents and even deaths during the festival each year because of the public's ignorance towards the use of banned strings and also gunfire.
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