Ganga Mahotsav Festival Varanasi

Ganga Mahotsav in Varanasi

Ganga Mahotsav in Varanasi is one of the most important festivals celebrated to worship & please the holy river Ganges for its perennial existence. The city of Varanasi is dotted with more than eighty ghats and each ghat during the Mahotsav remains inundated with colors and light. The sight of the river Ganga is peaceful during the festival as the flowing water reflects the light of the earthen-lamps and presents a magnificent sight to the visitors. Varanasi or Banaras is an age-old city of the Hindu with customs recorded in written history existing since the pre-Buddha era. During the Mahotsav, people join their hands and pray before the holy river and put flowers and light diyas containing ‘ghee’ or oil in the river. This is the main auspicious event of the Mahotsav. Ganga Mahotsav festival is conducted for five days on the banks of the Ganga. The guests on Ganga Mahotsav tour visit historically & culturally prominent ghats and temples, particularly the Kashi Vishwanath Temple. The festival commences from the auspicious day of Probodhani Ekadashi and ends on Poornima. Every year the festival begins five days before Deepawali and tourists enjoy the festival of Deepavali, marking an end to Ganga Mahotsav.

Ganga Mahotsav in Varanasi is celebrated to keep the cultures and traditions of the city intact. Banaras is considered to be the city of Hindu culture and way of life. During Ganga Mahotsav one can understand the values of the place which has been preserved for ages. Many famous artists like Pundit Chhanulal Misra, Girija Devi, Bal Murli Krishnan, Bhimsen Joshi, Birju Maharaj, Bal Murli Krishnan, Sonal Mansingh, Amjad Ali Khan, Zila Khan, Sivamani, Hariharan, Rajan Sajan Mishra, Niladri Kumar etc kept visiting Varanasi to perform during the Mahotsav. Classical & folk performances of vocal, instrumental and dance performances are presented before a vast gathering on the the banks of the Ganga. Further, a crafts fair, held at Gandhi Shilp Bazaar, spans over twenty days and the dates of Ganga Mahotsav coincide with it. Artisans and crafts traders from more than twenty states across India participate in it to showcase their craftsmanship and gloriously rich cultures. Tourists from all over the world come to attend the Mahotsav and enjoy the crafts fair. The Mahotsav also includes games like boating, kite flying, marathon, wrestling etc. Finest display of crafts can be observed. It is believed that taking a bath in the Holy Ganga is auspicious and people flood the ghats, chanting various hymns, to take bath in the holy river. The holy river is believed to be pleased by the prayers and hymns offered by the people and every year the flow of Ganges increases marking the purity and sanctity of the city and its beautiful civilizations.