A landscape that is full of picturesque and scenic extravaganza, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands glisten like emeralds in the Bay of Bengal. They are a group of charming islands, big as well as small, some inhabited some not, a total of 572 islands, rocks and islets that lie in the South Eastern Part of the Bay of Bengal. The numerous exotic birds and flowers along with the dense forest covering the islands give the islands an amazingly romantic and poetic atmosphere. All the delicate shades of the matchless beauty of these islands create an amazing sense of love and fondness for nature. This splendid tropical island outpost belongs to India, however, is closer to the South East Asia. Formerly known as ‘Kalapani’ (Black Waters), because if the fearful history of the islands during the British regime in India, Andaman and Nicobar Islands have become one of the best tourist destinations in India.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands, until the start of the colonial rule, were inhabited primarily by indigenous tribes. However, now, the bulk of the population that inhabit the islands are mainland settlers. They mainly live in and around Port Blair, which is the capital of South Andaman. The islands have a cosmopolitan culture. Thus, people residing in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands enjoy in all the different kind of occasions of the islands. All the festivals and fairs of the Andaman and Nicobar islands are primarily celebrated in the mainland.
The festivals of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, like many other states of India, are a mix of the cultures of different communities with different religious beliefs. The cultures of these islands display a mixture of the native cultures of the Mongoloid (inhabitants of Nicobar) and Negroid (inhabitants who migrated from Africa years ago) settlers of the island. It also includes the more mainstream culture that has been brought by the descendants of the settlers from the early times from the mainland of India. Not just that, even the migrants are believed to have contributed to the culture of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The occasions enjoyed in the islands count from Durga Puja to Diwali, as well as, from Christmas to Janmashtami. Festivals like Holi, Onam, Pongal are also celebrated with great enthusiasm by the populace of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. However, one of the grand festivals that allure a large number of tourists to the islands every year is the Island Tourist Festival.
Popular Festivals of Andaman And Nicobar Islands
Island Tourist Festival
The Island Tourist festival is celebrated during the winter season, and attracts large number of tourists from all over the world. The celebration that lasts for ten days is a mega event that brings people from various schools at one place where they assemble to give amazing performances. Not just that, the festival also gives scopes to various craftsmen to explore and display their work of art in front of visitors throughout the world.
This festival that is usually arranged by the Andaman and Nicobar Administration and celebrated during the time from December to January, brings forth different performances like drama, dance, music, local handicraft exhibition, and display of collections of Flora and fauna. Other attractions of the Island Tourist Festival include dog shows, magic shows, baby shows, puppet shows, floating restaurants, water sports competition and many more. This festival is also attended by private agencies as well as by the Government.
Beach Festival
A recent addition to the festivals of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, by the tourism department is the Beach Festival – a popular one among beach lovers. This festival involves beach activities like beach volley ball, and various other beach sports such as kabaddi, tug of war and many more. Apart from sports, food courts, fun activities as well as different entertainment programmes are also arranged during the festival.
Music Festival / Monsoon Festival
The monsoon or music festival is organized during the month of May – June. The festival focuses on tourism activities that take place round the year in the Islands. Music, food, kiosks and lot more are the major attractions of this festival.
Food Festival and World Tourism Day
The food festival and the World Tourism Day, held during the month of September, coincide with each other. The food festival is a 4 day long celebration which involves exhibition and sale of various ethnic foods of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Other attractions include different cultural programmes, music and lot more.
Film Festival
The Annual Film Festival is organized in Port Blair by the Information and Publicity Division of the Directorate. This is organized during the month of November where films of different Indian languages are screened for tourists as film lovers, free of cost. The festival is organized in association with the Directorate of Film Festival of the Govt. of India.