Traditional Festivals

• Nag Panchami
  On the festival of Nag Panchami (Snake worship), clay icons of cobras are established in maharashtrian homes. People offer sweets and milk to the snake deity and the day is celebrated with folk dances and songs, especially in the countryside.
• Narali Pournima
  The full moon day of the month of Shravan is celebrated with typical passion in different parts of Maharashtra and is known variously as Narali Pournima, Shravani Pournima, Rakhi Pournima or Raksha Bandhan. 'Naral' means 'coconut', and Narali Pournmia is thus called because people make offerings of coconuts to the sea-god on this day.
  Raksha Bandhan is also observed on this day. Sisters tie 'rakhis' or beautifully decorated threads on their brothers' wrists. The ritual renews the bond of affection between siblings and signifies the brother's responsibility of protecting his sister all her life.
• Gokul Ashtami
  The birth of Lord Krishna is celebrated on Gokul Ashtami or Janmashtami. Another fun-filled ritual performed on this day is dahi-handi - clay pots filled with curd, kurmura (puffed rice) and milk are strung high up above the streets and groups of enthusiastic young men and women form human pyramids to reach these and break them open, as Lord Krishna and his friends would do, after sneaking into the houses of gopis to steal and eat butter.
• Ganesh Chaturthi
  Lord Ganesh, the guardian idol of Maharashtra, is the God of wisdom. In August-September, maharashtrians celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi with great enthusiasm all over the state. People install beautiful sculptures of Ganesh idols in homes and mandaps (large tents), with colourful decorations. Many cultural events are organized and people participate in them with dedicated interest. After ten exciting days people bid farewell to Ganesh. People immerse the idols in the sea or nearby river or lake. People take the idols in processions, accompanied with music and dance, and chanting 'Ganpati bappa moraya, pudhachya varshi lavkar ya' (Lord Ganpati, come back soon next year).
• Pola
  Farmers all over Maharashtra celebrate the harvest festival. On this day bullocks, which are an essential part of the agricultural tasks and therefore the village economy, are honoured. They are bathed, colourfully decorated and taken out in processions across the village, accompanied by the music of dhols (drums) and lezim (a local musical instrument made of a wooden rod and an iron chain full of metallic pieces). Pola brings out an important side of Hindu culture that people do not look upon cattle as mere beasts of burden but treats them with respect and gratitude.
• Dassehra (Dasara)
  According to the great Hindu epic Ramayan, Dussehra is the day on which Lord Ram killed Ravan, the king of Lanka. People decorate the entrances of their homes with torans (flower studded strings), and worship the tools of trade, vehicles, machinery, weapons and books. In the evening, the villagers cross the border, known as Simollanghan, and worship the Shami tree. The leaves of the Apta tree are collected and exchanged among friends and relatives as gold.
• Diwali
  Diwali is the festival of lights. It is the most beautiful of all Indian festivals, streets light up with rows of clay lamps and homes are decorated with rangoli (coloured powder designs) and aakash kandils (decorative lanterns). People rise at dawn, massage their bodies and hair with scented oil and take a holy bath. Diwali is celebrated along with new clothes, breathtaking firecrackers and a variety of sweets in the company of family and friends. Dhanatrayodashi; Narakchaturdashi, Laxmi poojan, Balipratipada and Bhaubeej are the five days which consist of Diwali, and each day has a particular religious significance. This festive celebration is, symbolic of chasing away the darkness of misery and bringing the light of prosperity and happiness in our life.
• Makar Sankrant
  Sankrant means the passing of the sun from one Zodiac sign to the other. People exchange greeting and good wishes on this day. Sweet and crunchy ladoos made of sesame and jaggery are the favourite treats. The greetings of Sankrant is 'Tilgul Ghya, God God Bola' (Eat Tilgul, sesame and jaggery; and talk sweetly).
• Holi
  Holi is the festival of colours, and to welcome the spring. Holis or bonfires are lit in the night and people gather to worship the fire-god, who is believed to burn away all evil. On the next day, Ranga-panchami, people of all ages come out and play with colours and water balloons. This display of colours symbolizes the arrival of a colourful and prosperous spring.

Modern Festivals

• The Pune Festival
  Every year in August-September, The Pune Festival, a festival of art and culture, song and dance, custom and tradition; is celebrated. The Pune Festival has, over the years, gained national and international stature and evolved into one of India's landmark cultural happenings. It is one of the few festivals that has been consistently and actively promoted abroad by the government of India, as a major tourist attraction.
  Some of the country's internationally renowned artistes have gathered at Pune, and regarded it as a privilege to be invited to perform at the festival. While it has provided a unique platform for exponents of classical music and dance it has, keeping pace with changing times, also helped to promote modern trends in the performing arts, notably the dramatic arts and the traditional art of rangoli. A rare treat, the week-long Pune Festival provides a feast of entertainment for visitors who can participate and revel in traditional and modern sports events, shop for exquisite textiles and handicrafts, relish the delectable cuisine and rejoice in the colourful customs of Maharashtra.
• The Kala Ghoda Festival
  
• The Elephanta Festival
  In February Elephanta, a small island near Mumbai, is a favoured destination for culture lovers. It is the site of the Elephanta Festival, the tranquil abode of Lord Shiva, just one-and-a-half-hour's journey by motor launch from Mumbai. Once known as Puri or Gharapuri, the island was the proud capital of a powerful coastal kingdom. The Portuguese, who took possession of it several centuries later, and found a monolithic stone elephant at the place they first landed, named it Elephanta.
  The Elephanta caves are a display of legends created around Lord Shiva, beautifully presented here in all his splendour in the rock cave temples. Every year, renowned dancers and musicians perform outside the caves, beneath a star-studded sky, to a select and appreciative audience. Special launch services and catering arrangements are provided for visitors.
• The Banganga Festival
  Every year, in January, a cultural extravaganza is organised at Banganga, where top artistes from around the country perform live classical music concerts. Cultural enthusiasts attend the festival and feast the soul as well as the mind as the sun sets.
• The Ellora Festival
  MTDC organises the Ellora Festival here in December, inviting in renowned artistes who display their virtuosity in music and dance. Surrounded by 1,400-year old caves and rock carvings, artistes perform in this magnificent ambience to enchant the gods, goddesses and human lovers of art. The Kailas temple, sculptured out of one huge rock, is one of the most beautiful backdrops for an event such as this.
• The Kalidas Festival at Nagpur
  Kalidas was a great Sanskrit poet and dramatist, famous for his historical drama, Shakuntalam, and for the epic poem, Meghdoot. The Kalidas Festival brings back memories of the golden period of the Vidarbha region. Ramgiri, or Ramtek as it is popularly known today, is the place that inspired Kalidas and its beauty features predominantly in his literary work.

The saying in Marathi 'Anna he poornabrahma' appropriately sums up what Maharashtrians feel about the food. They consider 'anna', food is equal to 'Brahma', the creator of the universe. Food is God, to be worshipped. Little wonders that Maharashtrian cuisine not only fills the stomach, but also fills the soul - with content!

The landscape, the people and the crops grown in various regions largely influence the cuisine of Maharashtra. It is not only memorable for its delicate variety and strong flavours, but also because of the well-known hospitality of Maharashtrians. In prosperous homes, feasts often start at mid-day and end when the sun sets.

The people are known for the artistic presentation of food, which adds extra charm to the feasts. For instance, in formal meals, it is a practice to sing sacred verses to dedicate the meal to God. The guests sit on floor rugs or red wooden seats and eat from silver or metal thalis and bowl placed on a raised 'chowrang', or a short decorative table. Rangolis or auspicious patterns of coloured powder are drawn around the thali or the chowrang. To avoid mixing flavours, each guest is given a bowl of saffron scented water to dip the fingers in before starting on the next course. There is a specific order of serving of savouries and sweets, curries and rice or rotis, and a person who does not know this is not considered to be well trained in the art of hospitality. Agarbattis spread fragrance everywhere and the host believes the satisfaction of his guests to be his true joy.

In traditional Maharashtrian meal, the food is served on 'Keliche Paan' meaning banana leaf. In Maharshtra almost every month of the year has a festival and each festival has its own sweets. Traditionally, five sweets (pancha pakvan) are made on the last day of the month of Shravan. For Ganesh Chaturthi means modaks, Gudi Padwa or the New Year means Sakharbhat (Sweet Rice). Diwali means a big assortment of delicious food such as different kinds of laddoos, karanji, chakli, chivda, anarsa etc. In the month of Shravan, laddoos, shrikhand-puri, kheer-puri are prepared on each of the four Mondays.

In Maharshtra - almost every month of the year has a festival and each festival has its own sweets. For Gudi Padva or the New Year, the rich aroma of Sakharbhat fills the air. One each of the four Mondays of the month of Shravan, ladoos, shrikhand-puri, cashew, mango or banana polis (stuffed chappatis) is prepared. Traditionally, five sweets (pancha pakvan) are made on the last day of the month of Shravan. Ganesh Chaturthi means modaks and as the Ganapti festivities get over, diwali makes its appearance bringing in its wake jalebis, ghevar, karni, ladoor of various kinds and boondi. Til ladoos and chikki enliven sankranti, the festival of kites and Holi means gorging one self on puran poli - the popular saying goes, "Holi-re-holi puranchi poli". And so it goes, food certainly adds flavour to the Maharashtrian way of life.