The rains seem to be finally over and the festival season is now in full swing, bringing a lot of activity, colour and joy to people in the Doon valley. Just till two days ago, the monsoon was still making its presence felt in the valley.
Today, the day of Dussehra, dawned nice and bright indicating that autumn is here in all its glory. Durga Puja has been creating a lot of excitement in the valley .
Diwali, though just 20 days away, is already in the air. Shopping fests for the festival of lights are underway at many places in the town. October has always been the harbinger of celebrations in the forms of fairs and autumn festivals in the Doon valley, along with the founder’s day festivities of schools like Doon and Welham. These celebrations carry on till Christmas and the new year.
During this time, cultural fairs, trade fairs, Diwali Melas, Sharadotsavs and Founder’s day fetes keep people entertained and happy. Preparations are on for various fairs at the Parade Ground which bring in Angora wool shawls and sweaters from Kumaon and a wide range of Herbal products, handicrafts and clay items .
“Sharadotsavs” (Autumn Festivals ) are held in Nainital, Mussoorie and Pithoragarh in October-November. These festivities attract a large number of tourists. Most melas, which used to be earlier held in the Rangers’ College grounds, are now held at Parade Ground which is now to Doon what the Pragati Maidan is to Delhi. People look forward to the Diwali Mela as it gives them a variety of items to select from during their Diwali shopping. Diyas made of clay and ornamental lamps and a range of buntings are very popular in this mela besides colourful and perfumed candles from Nainital.
While the melas will carry on, the Doon School, Welham Girls’ School, Welham Boys’ and Riverdale High School in the valley get busy preparing for their founder’s day events which will be held soon. Doon School will begin its founders celebrations on October 22.
Schoolchildren from various schools gather at the “fetes’ and “theatre performances’ which are part of the founders’ celebrations and enjoy themselves thoroughly before getting down to serious studies in November. Intermingling among children from all schools creates an atmosphere of gaiety and joy which is enhanced by the air of festivity brought by Diwali.
Mussoorie’s grand annual “Autumn Fest” (Sharadotsav) sees a “Shobha Yatra’ passing through landour, Picture Palace , Kulri Bazaar and reaches Gandhi Chowk via the Mall Road. Cultural troupes from various parts of the country participate in the yatra. Sports events, a fashion show, qawaali night, folk songs of Garhwal and Kumaon and Punjabi Pop music are usual highlights of the fest.
“Virasat”, held at the ONGC grounds, has been enchanting Doonites as well as tourists for the past two decades and has grown into a “Mecca” of art and culture for artistes , scholars, craftspersons ,poets and art lovers. In fact, a large number of people from other parts of the state visit Doon specially during the fourteen day fest every year.
It is heartening to see that in these days when people prefer technology as a source of entertainment and one would have thought that melas were outdated, huge crowds arrive at all these events mentioned above. Since the seventies, these events have been extremely popular. The Diwali mela and Basant Mela were two events that were the most popular at Ranger’s College grounds in the seventies and eighties.
Such fairs and fests showcase the local hill products and encourage craftspersons from various parts of the country to participate on a large scale .They provide the much -needed outdoor fun to the people and create a platform for social interaction