July
Harela
Ten days before the festival, families sow seven grains in baskets of soil indoors; by Harela the shoots have grown into pale-gold ‘harela,’ cut and blessed and tucked behind the ear — a prayer for growth, rain and a good harvest.
All festivalsHarela
/ ha·re·la /हरेला
the green one — the festival of greenery and new growth that opens the Kumaoni monsoon.
Harela is among the most loved and most Kumaoni of festivals, marking the arrival of the monsoon and the sowing season. Ten days before, seven kinds of grain are sown in small baskets kept in the dark indoors; watered daily, they sprout into tender yellow-green shoots. On the day, the harela is cut, blessed by the elders and placed on the head or behind the ear — ‘Lagi rahe harela’ — a wish for the family to grow and flourish like the shoots.
It's also a festival of trees: people plant saplings, knowing the rains will take them. Greenery, growth and rain, all bound into one day — the green heart of the Kumaoni year.
Sowing the harela
Seven grains sown indoors ten days before, sprouting into pale-gold shoots.
A blessing of growth
The shoots cut, blessed by elders and tucked behind the ear.
Planting trees
Saplings put in while the monsoon will carry them.
