Culture of Uttaranchal, Uttaranchal Culture and Tradition, Tour to Uttaranchal Culture

Uttaranchal Culture The history of modern Garhwal/Kumaon dates back to 7th and 8th Century AD when the Yavans began capturing the plains of India. Most of then Hindu kings from various parts of India migrated to Uttaranchal along with their family, army and the priests. Later on the children of the armymen and the priests contributed to the population of the region. As a result of this migration, the Uttaranchal society consists of 70% Rajputs, 20% Brahamans and the remaining 10% comprises of other castes and communites.
Since kings from various parts of India migrated to Uttaranchal, the Uttaranchal culture reflects the diverse culture of every region. The presence of Rajput majority in the region contributed to the worship of the Godess of Power - "Durga" which is still practised in almost every part of Uttaranchal. The fact gets proven with the presence of various Durga temples across the region. The animal sacrifice was also a part of this worship and still practised in many regions.
Devidhura Festival The antiquity of the sate can be traced back to 2nd century BC when the region was ruled by the Khasias and it was known as Khashdesh. Recent excavations has indicated that the region was under the domain of Kunidas, the central Himalayan tribe, who practiced early form of Shaivism at around 200 AD. There is also an Ashokan edict at Kalsi, in Garhwal region, which indicates that Buddhism also reached these parts of the country. Between the 10th adn 18th centuries, the Chand dynasty dominated the eastern Kumaon. Under the Chands, eastern Kumaon became a centre of learning, and various art forms including Garhwal school of painting was developed. With the decline of the Chand dynasty the region became under the Garhwali kings till the Rohillas took charge of the land in 1744 AD. The area was overtaken by Gurkhas in 1803 and ultimately by the end of 1814, Britishers expelled Gurkhas from Garhwal and Kumaon to take eastern Garhwal as British Garhwal and returned the western part, Tehri Garhwal to the deposed Raja. After 1857, the region became part of British empire. Since independence, the local aspiration steadily grew demanding a separate state of Uttaranchal which finally acquired its dream of statehood on 9th November 2000. The region is presently subsisting on the tourism business. It is also the land of the brave. Its Garhwalis and Kumaonis are reputed to the finest soldiers of our armed forces. Fairs and Festivals The people of Uttaranchal has a great zest for celebrating various forms of fairs and festivals. Throughout the year they have some or the other fair or festival to celebrate. Some of the main festivals of Uttaranchal are Makar Sankranti, Basant Panchami, Harela, Phooldei, Bat Savitri, Ganga Dusshera. Dance and Music Dance and Music can depict the specialty of any state and Uttaranchal has pride in this. Almost all the celebrations in the state are marked with dance and music performances. Arts and Crafts of Uttaranchal Wood Carving Wood carving is an amazing craft work in uttaranchal. Most of the houses in the village have a variety of wood carving designs and the designing is based on the images of Gods, nature and other local things. Temple Architecture Flourished by the kings, the temple architecture is an amazing work of craftsmanship in the uttaranchal region. Most of the temples are built by the heavy and big stones and are placed in a very architectural manner one above the other without any support. All the stones of the temples were erected with highly intricate and ornamental carvings. A few example of the temple architecture can be seen at Kedarnath, Jageshwar, Bageshwar, Panch Kedar etc.