SIGNIFICANCE OF CHAITRA AND BAISAKH

SIGNIFICANCE OF MONTHS IN GARHWAL

CHAITRA

Name Chaitra generally means Aries sign or 1st month in Indian calendar or Beginning, is of Indian origin, Name Chaitra is a Feminine (or Girl) name. Person with name Chaitra are mainly Hindu by religion.In the standard Hindu calendar and India's national civil calendar, Chaitra is the first month of the year. It is the last month in the Bengali calendar, where it is called Choitro. Chaitra or Chait is also the last month in the Nepali calendar (the Vikram Samvat), where it commences in mid-March. Chithirai is the first month in the Tamil calendar. In Sindhi calendar, this month is referred to as Chet and is marked by the celebration of the Cheti Chand (birth of Jhulelal, an incarnation of Vishnu). In the Vaishnava calendar, Vishnu governs this month.

In garhwal,in some places,the father or brother goes to their sister or daughter's house [sasural]to meet the girl to see her well being .This used to happen earlier when mobiles didn't existed.Even now also some people go.They go there with kalyo [sweet pooris and namkeen pooris,often reffered as swals], where the girl distributes the kalyo in her neighbourhood.Earlier the girl used to be eager for the arrival of her brother or father and to know the well-being of her family. The girls used to get emotional while waiting for their brother or father to come .

In some places now chait geet and celebrations are still done.The das used to go to the village of the girls to know their families as the mother of the girl won't go to meet the girl.So it was a way of knowing the well-being of their daughters.

One of the famous song sung by the girls is -GHUGHUTI GHURON LAGI MERA MAIT KI

BAISAKH

Vaisakh is a new year's celebration in both the Sikh and the Hindu faiths. Among the Sikhs who live in Malaysia and the region of northwestern India known as the Punjab, where the Sikh religion was founded, the first day of the month of Vaisakha is New Year's Day. Because the date is based on the solar calendar used in this part of the country, it normally coincides with April 13, although once every thirty-six years it falls on April   14.Among Hindus, Vaisakh marks the beginning of the new year. Early in the morning, people bathe in sacred rivers, pools, or wells. They then dress in festive clothes and visit houses of worship for prayers. A pilgrimage to the only shrine of Badrinath, in the Himalayas, begins on this day. Vaisakh is also a harvest festival in northern India, particularly in the Punjab, where most of the country's grain is grown.