ABSTRACT
Parades, processions and festivals have long been studied in the Western world to understand their complex relationships with social identities and cultural change, and often highlight issues of authenticity, staging and their exploitation for tourism (Chambers 1997; Kraft 2007; Picard and Robinson 2006). In the case of Hindu festivals and processions, a majority of the extant studies explore their mysticism and examine aspects related to mythology, cosmology and the socio-cultural milieu while occasionally underlining the political context and content (Lutgendorf 1994; Raj and Morpeth 2007; Shapiro 1987). Scholars from different disciplines such as religious studies, anthropology, ethnography and geography have offered their insights on topics ranging from studies of the colossal gatherings at the pan-Indian Kumbha mela to ethnographic accounts of village-level festivals (Maclean 2003; Shackley 2001). However, many provide snapshots and often tend to reinforce the romanticism associated with Hindu culture (Rinehart 2004). Some emphasise the value of festivals for cultural tourism (Ichaporia 1983; Jaitly 2001) while others raise concerns over increasing visitor flows during festivals and their socio-economic and environmental impacts on the place and the community (Shinde 2010). In this expanding field, however, a systematic analysis of Hindu festivals and processions is wanting. This paucity is felt even more acutely given that festivals are celebrated because they constitute and function as ‘ritual’ for transmitting and maintaining continuity of religious and cultural traditions and have a significant social role.
