The Durga Puja is the most important Hindu Festival of West Bengal in India. This audio slideshow features the three main aspects of the festival. The making of the Idols, the adoration and the eventual destruction, known as “Immersion” just four days after the festival starts. Currently being redirected from YouTube you may need to drop the quality if you experience a slow broadband. I will correct this shortly.
For centuries people have gathered at Stonehenge to see in the longest day of the year, the Summer Solstice. Once the pursuit of Druids and Pagans it now has far wider appeal. Since English Heritage, the custodians of the stones, relaxed access up to 25,000 revellers now spend the night partying there. The Druids and Pagans are still there together with the Buddhists, Hari Krishna’s, new age travellers, local youths and visitors from around the world. For me the thrill of the Solstice are the wonderful people.
Every three years the Hindu people of India flock in their millions to participate in the Kumbh Mela and to bathe in one of the sacred rivers at four holy locations. It is said that a dip during the Kumbh Mela takes humans out of the circle of life and death and into a state known as Mosksha. 2010 was the turn of Haridwar, in Uttar Pradesh state (220 kilometers from Delhi), where the River Ganges rushes from the foothills of the Himalayas onto the plains and the first opportunity for mass bathing! This year an estimated 70 million souls took part during the 3 months of the festival, with 15-17 million bathing in and around Haridwar on the holiest day, Shahi Shan, Wednesday 14th April.
Corpus Christi, the Body of Christ, is a Catholic celebration held in May or June every year. A “moveable” feast, the exact date is determined by when Easter falls in that year.
On a beautiful early Summer day we drove to the whitewashed mountain village of Zahara de la Sierra. a compact little place of originaly Moorish houses sitting beneath the old Nasrid’s castle on the hill above. After Holy mass in the 18c village church, the Sacred Host, secured in a silver monstrance and carried by the parish priest, is processed through the streets proceeded by young girls in their white communion dresses scattering rose petals on the grass covered streets.
The annual Feria and Fiesta in Marbella starts on a serious note with the Romeria de San Bernabe. It’s not the greatest show on earth but typical of many such events held throughout Spain.
This one day event is held twice a year in the normally tranquil town of Stow-on-the-Wold in the Gloucestershire Cotswold’s, attracting gypsies and travellers from throughout the UK with a few travelling from Ireland. History has it that an abbot petitioned for the fairs in 1476, The charters were granted for May 12th and October 24th – the fest days of Saints Philip and James and Edward the Confessor and these dates are still used today. I spent the day there met some very interesting folk and learnt a bit more about Gypsy culture and traditions. Enjoy the photographs.
Sunday is always Children and Family Day at the Notting Hill Festival. The kids are just beautiful and everyone is so happy, it’s a pleasure to be there. The effort that goes into preparing the kids, the music and the costumes is legendary – and more proud mums in one place would be hard to find.
When June comes around the Summer Solstice is never far from my thoughts. This year was my fourth visit and I must say, unfortunately, the least enjoyable. Too many people, over 30,000 they say, overly aggressive security guards and an unmanned police drone flying around and annoying everyone. You would think the police had better…
© 2012 Tony Smith’s Festival and Travel Photography
