'Harela', a festival of greenery and planting trees, is celebrated in which state?

Harela is a festival of Uttarakhand, celebrated especially in the Kumaon region. Its main celebration is held on the first day of the month of Shravana in the solar calendar, which usually falls around 16 July, at the beginning of the monsoon. The name "Harela" means "day of green" ("hara" means green).

Harela is a festival of the monsoon, of greenery, of fertility and of new harvests. About ten days before the festival, families sow seeds of five or seven kinds of grain, such as wheat, barley, maize, gram, mustard and urad, in small baskets or pots filled with soil, and keep them in a dark place in the house, usually the temple corner. The seeds are watered every day and grow into yellow-green sprouts, called "harela". On the day of the festival, the sprouts are cut and offered to the gods, especially Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, and then placed on the heads or behind the ears of family members by the elders, with blessings for a long and prosperous life. The size and health of the sprouts are believed to predict the harvest of the coming season. In some places, clay images of Shiva, Parvati and Ganesha, called "dikare", are made and worshipped.

Harela has also become a festival of environmental protection. The Government of Uttarakhand has declared it a state festival and organises large tree-planting campaigns on this day, in which lakhs of saplings are planted across the state. The tradition encourages people to care for the environment, forests and water.

Other festivals of Uttarakhand include Phool Dei (spring, in Chaitra), Ghee Sankranti (Olgia), Uttarayani (with the fair at Bageshwar), Nanda Devi Raj Jat and the Kumbh Mela at Haridwar.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Himachal Pradesh celebrates festivals such as Phulaich and the Kullu Dussehra.
• ✗Jammu and Kashmir celebrates festivals such as Navreh.
• ✗Sikkim celebrates Buddhist festivals such as Saga Dawa.