Harela - a festivsl connectwd to the environment

 Currently we are in our native state of Uttrakhand in Haldwani close to Nainital. This is the first time I experienced Harela, first hand,being celebrated with  a lot of celebration and fervour. This is a festival which is celebrated through out Uttrakhand a mountain region filled with forests, rivers and green cover  to reiterate the importance of the environment and the conservation of the green cover. When, I looked into the Chipko movement, I could see the close connect of the people to the environment and this continues even today though there is no  social movement at present around this issue. We take the green environment and it's benefits for granted and this festival is a reminder of this and the need for this ecology. The Government has announced this  as a state festival and it is declared as a holiday and a number of saplings are planted across the state and the local newspapers are filled with these reports. This festival also marks the onset of the fifth Hindu month of Shravan, one of rainy season  when the south west monsoon hits the subcontinent. This is a month starting from mid July to August end, a month that is much celebrated in our literature, sculpture and films with a lot of stories and songs dedicated to the rains. This is supposed to be Lord Shiva's favourite month. Ten days before the festival nine kinds of seeds are sowed in an earthern pot and in ten days the seeds germinate. These green sprouts are then plucked on the day of the festival and sent to friends and relatives along with savouries as a mark of best wishes and a prayers for prosperity. There is a festive atmosphere all around with the same kind of festive food being prepared in the homes. I was happy to see Geetakshi, my  new daughter in law plant the Harela in Hyderabad and she sent me pictures of the pot. Indeed, a beautiful way to show the importance of environment especially in a hilly region. I had a first hand experience of this and could see what is meant to the common population. What a beautiful message this festival conveys. When, I got news of this being celebrated by my relatives abroad, I felt that one  can take a person out of the mountains but you cannot take the mountain out of the person.