SSC
The Ganga Sagar Mela, held on Makar Sankranti where the Ganga meets the Bay of Bengal, is held every year in which state?
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Answer: Option C — West Bengal
Detailed Solution
The Ganga Sagar Mela is held every year on Makar Sankranti, in mid-January, at Sagar Island (Ganga Sagar), in the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. It is held at the point where the river Ganga (Hooghly) meets the Bay of Bengal, and it is one of the largest religious gatherings in India, after the Kumbh Mela.
On Makar Sankranti, lakhs of pilgrims from across India and Nepal take a holy dip at the confluence of the Ganga and the sea, believing that it washes away their sins and brings salvation (moksha). After the bath, they offer prayers at the Kapil Muni Temple on the island. According to legend, the sage Kapila (Kapil Muni) was meditating at this place when the 60,000 sons of King Sagara accused him of stealing their father's sacrificial horse. Angered, the sage burnt them to ashes with his gaze. Many generations later, King Bhagiratha brought the Ganga down from heaven to the earth, and the river flowed to this spot and washed over the ashes of Sagara's sons, freeing their souls. This is why the place is called Ganga Sagar ("Ganga" and "Sagara" or the sea). A popular saying expresses its importance: "Sab tirth baar baar, Gangasagar ek baar" ("Visit all other holy places again and again, but Gangasagar only once"), reflecting how difficult the journey to the island once was.
The mela includes holy bathing, prayers, the gathering of thousands of sadhus, and fairs. The West Bengal government makes elaborate arrangements for the pilgrims, who travel to the island by ferry and road.
Sagar Island is the largest island in the Sundarbans delta. The Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world, is home to the Royal Bengal tiger and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (1987).
Why not the other options?
- ✗Odisha holds festivals such as the Bali Jatra.
- ✗Bihar holds the Sonepur cattle fair.
- ✗Jharkhand holds tribal festivals such as Tusu on Makar Sankranti.
Quick tip
Remember: The Ganga Sagar Mela = Sagar Island (West Bengal), Makar Sankranti, the confluence of the Ganga and the Bay of Bengal and the Kapil Muni Temple.
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Festivals & Fairs of India — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Festivals & Fairs of India, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers the religious, harvest, tribal and cultural festivals of India, the fairs (melas) held across the country, and the states, communities and seasons linked to them. It also includes festivals listed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage, such as Kumbh Mela and Durga Puja in Kolkata. Most questions ask which state celebrates a festival, which tribe it belongs to, or what event it marks. Harvest festivals are especially common: Pongal (Tamil Nadu), Onam (Kerala), Bihu (Assam), Lohri and Baisakhi (Punjab) and Nuakhai (Odisha). Fairs such as the Pushkar camel fair (Rajasthan) and the Sonepur cattle fair (Bihar) are also frequently tested. Revise festivals state by state. Practise the festivals and fairs questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.