Educational Media Reviews Online

This film, part of the Daily Life and People in India series, focuses on the many holidays celebrated in India. In fact, Indians have more holidays on their calendar than any other culture in the world. Given that the majority of the Indian population is Hindu, most of the festivals and rituals center around the Hindu gods. In Bombay, for example, there is an extensive 10-day celebration of the Hindu deity Ganesh (the god with the elephant head). Ganesh is the god of trade and business, as well as of the family, and therefore his celebration is especially important for the continued prosperity of Bombay. Family members buy a newly-made statue of Ganesh for this festival, and on the last day of the celebration, everyone in the city sinks his or her Ganesh statue in the river.

In southern India, a running of the bulls festival similar to the one in Spain is conducted, as a male rite-of-passage and as a bloodletting ceremony. In Kerala, there is an ancient tradition of sacred theatrical ritual where males dress up like the gods and perform ceremonies in which they are considered god-like and able to bless or curse individuals. Finally, in Gujerat, a yearly festival/fair provides the only opportunity in all of India where women are allowed to choose their husbands of their own free will.

This film is an interesting look into the Indian culture and the Hindu religion. Highly recommended at the secondary and higher education levels for classes in sociology and religion.