CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -Uttarakhand CM inaugurates ‘Smriti Van’ on Harela festival, urges people to plant saplings.

Detailed explanation-2: -Harela is a Hindu festival celebrated annually on July 16 in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand-a festival of peace, prosperity, greenery, and environmental protection. It coincides with the religious celebration of the wedding of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati.

Detailed explanation-3: -This festival marks the onset of the Rainy-Season (Monsoon). They pray for a good harvest and prosperity. Harela means “Day of Green", and Agriculture-based communities in the region consider it highly auspicious, as it marks the beginning of the sowing cycle in their fields.

Detailed explanation-4: -Harela is celebrated as a festival of greenery, peace, prosperity and environmental conservation in Uttarakhand. It is celebrated in the month of Shravan. People of the Kumaun region, associate greenery with prosperity. While people of Garhwal link it to the Barahnaza system (12 types of crops).

Detailed explanation-5: -Kheer, puwa, puri, rayata, chhole and other dishes are prepared as the celebratory spread. People make clay statues of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, known as Dikare, and worship them a day before the festival.