Festival · Almora and Kasar Devi, Kumaon
Harela
Harela, the day of green, marks the start of the monsoon and the sowing season in Kumaon. Families sow five or seven kinds of seed ten days earlier, then cut the young shoots on the day and place them on their heads as a blessing. Today it is also a tree-planting day.
Photo: peganum from Small Dole, England · CC BY-SA 2.0 · CommonsHarela is celebrated across Uttarakhand but has its strongest roots in Kumaon. It falls on the first day of the month of Shravan in the solar calendar, Kark Sankranti, usually around 16 or 17 July. The name means the day of green, and the festival welcomes the monsoon and the start of the sowing cycle for farming families.
About ten days before the festival, the head of each household sows five or seven kinds of seed, such as wheat, barley, maize and pulses, in small baskets or pots of soil and waters them daily. On Harela the yellow-green seedlings, also called harela, are cut, offered to the household deities, and placed on the heads and behind the ears of family members with blessings. Children sometimes play gedi, walking on bamboo stilts.
In recent years Harela has become closely tied to the environment, and schools, villages and government offices plant saplings on the day. Kumaon also observes smaller Harela-linked rituals during the Chaitra and Ashwin Navratris. For visitors, the festival is a home ritual rather than a public show, so the best way to see it is through a homestay.
Tips for the day
- Stay in a village homestay in mid-July if you want to see the household ritual.
- Join a local tree-planting event if one is organised where you stay.
- Remember it is monsoon: plan short, flexible drives around the date.
Where it happens
Almora and Kasar Devi
Almora, at about 1,604 m, was the Chand kings' capital from the 1560s and is still Kumaon's cultural centre. Walk the stone-paved Lal Bazaar for bal mithai, visit the Nanda Devi temple, then stay 8 km up at Kasar Devi on the pine ridge once called Crank's Ridge. Plan two to four nights.
Stay nearby
Questions
About Harela
When is Harela celebrated?
Harela falls on Kark Sankranti, the first day of Shravan in the solar calendar, usually around 16 or 17 July. Seeds are sown about ten days earlier.
What is the meaning of Harela?
Harela means the day of green. It celebrates the monsoon and the start of sowing, with prayers for a good harvest and prosperity.
How is Harela celebrated in Kumaon?
Families sow five or seven kinds of seed ten days before. On the day the seedlings are cut, offered to the deities and placed on family members' heads with blessings. Tree planting has become part of the day.
Can tourists take part in Harela?
Harela is mostly a household festival, so tourists see it best by staying with a family in a village homestay. Many towns also hold public tree-planting events that visitors can join.