SSC
The Nauchandi fair is held every year in which state?
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Answer: Option C — Uttar Pradesh
Detailed Solution
The Nauchandi Mela is held every year in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. It usually begins on the second Sunday after Holi, in the month of Chaitra (March-April), and continues for several weeks.
The fair takes its name from the Nauchandi Devi temple (a temple of Goddess Chandi). Close to the temple is the dargah (shrine) of the Sufi saint Bale Miyan. Because Hindus and Muslims both visit these two shrines during the same fair, the Nauchandi Mela is widely seen as a symbol of communal harmony and of India's composite culture.
The fair is believed to have started in the 17th century, around 1672, as a cattle fair. Over time it grew into a large cultural and commercial event. Today it features:
Stalls selling handicrafts, sports goods, textiles, and Meerut's famous scissors and musical instruments.
Food stalls known for local dishes such as nankhatai and halwa-paratha.
Cultural programmes such as qawwali, mushaira (poetry recitals), kavi sammelan and folk performances.
Meerut is also historically important as the place where the Revolt of 1857 began on 10 May 1857, when sepoys mutinied against the British.
Other important fairs of Uttar Pradesh include the Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj, the Magh Mela, the Dewa Sharif fair at Barabanki, the Kailash fair at Agra, and the Ram Barat at Agra.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Rajasthan is known for the Pushkar and Nagaur fairs.
- ✗Punjab is known for the Hola Mohalla at Anandpur Sahib.
- ✗Haryana is known for the Surajkund crafts fair.
Quick tip
Remember: Nauchandi Mela = Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, after Holi; Nauchandi Devi temple plus Bale Miyan dargah = symbol of Hindu-Muslim unity.
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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.