Mela Festival
Mela (Sanskrit: मेला) is a Sanskrit word meaning 'gathering' or 'to meet' or a fair. It is used in the Indian subcontinent for all sizes of gatherings and can be religious, commercial, cultural or sport-related. In rural traditions melas or village fairs were (and in some cases still are) of great importance. This led to their export around the world by south Asian diaspora communities wishing to bring something of that tradition to their new countries.
In recent times "Mela" also popularly refers to shows and exhibitions. It can be theme-based, promoting a particular culture, art or skill. Generally in "melas" people can find eateries, entertainment activities, shops and games.
The Kumbh Mela, held every twelve years, at Allahabad, Haridwar, Nashik and Ujjain is one of the largest fairs in India, where over 60 million people gathered in January 2001, making it the largest gathering anywhere in the world.
Read more about Mela Festival: Notable Melas in South Asia, Usage Outside South Asia, Notable Melas Outside The Asian Subcontinent
Famous quotes containing the word festival:
“Don’t you know there are 200 temperance women in this county who control 200 votes. Why does a woman work for temperance? Because she’s tired of liftin’ that besotted mate of hers off the floor every Saturday night and puttin’ him on the sofa so he won’t catch cold. Tonight we’re for temperance. Help yourself to them cloves and chew them, chew them hard. We’re goin’ to that festival tonight smelling like a hot mince pie.”
—Laurence Stallings (1894–1968)