Just to put things in a sociological perspective most festivals in India
(and elsewhere in the world) are celebrated around a few key isues:
Fertility - forest fertility, human fertility, agricultural fertility,
harvest, fruition
Calendar year - typically also agricultural cycle, hunting cycle
Festivals in India follow a pattern which is based on clikmatic variation as
well as cultural variation. Some festivals have retained their origins -
like say Ugaadi, the mango fruition festival of the Telugu people or the
various spring festivals like the Baha / Sarhul of Austric speaking peoples.
Diwali may be artificially propagated as a cosumption occasion but it
probably has ancient origins in a post harvest celebration roughly
coinciding with the Sohrai of the Austric speaking peoples.
Arnab Sen
Flat # 1024 Sector C Pocket 1
Vasant Kunj
New Delhi 110070 INDIA
