Haryana Travel Guide
Religion & Culture
The People
Haryana constitues about 2% of the total population of India. A major
part of its people live in rural areas and are Hindus.
The Jats are the largest segment of the poulation and are
concentrated in Rohtak, Bhiwani, Hisar, Karnal, Gurgaon and nearby
areas.
The Ahirs, Rajputs, Gujjars, Bania, Khatris and Sikhs make up for the
rest.
The Scheduled Castes are rare, while the artisan castes such as
Sunars (goldsmiths), Lohars (blacksmiths), Telis (oil traders) Nais
(barbers) and dhobis (launderers) are found throughout the state and
especially in villages.
The Schedules castes, normally looked down by the higher castes like
the Brahmins and the Rajputs, but in recent times they have been able
to progress through reservation in jobs although the basic occupation
is agriculture.
Religion
The majority of people in Haryana follow Hinduism and observe
traditional Hindu beliefs. The main gods worshipped are Shiva, Vishnu,
Rama, Krishna, Hanuman and Kali, apart from others.
Most of the temples are built for Vishnu and Shiva, with the former
being more popular as Rama and Narayan.
Muslims make up about 5% of the total population. Although Islam does
not preach casteism, there are three categories of Muslims in Haryana.
The Asharf or Sharaf (noble) form the higher caste, and the Ajlaf
(base or mean) is the middle with Arzal (lowest of all) coming at the
end. There are Muslim Rajputs as well as converted Muslims.
Christians, Jains and Buddhists are few and scattered across the
state, while Sikhs are in large numbers in central and west Haryana.
¤ Rituals
Rituals abound in India, and consequently in Haryana. Simply because
without rituals Hinduism would be a damp squib. Marriages, deaths,
births, anything and everything – they’re all subjected to a
thousand rituals.
¤ Languages
With Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu forming the main languages, there are
numerous dialects which are spoken throughout the length and breadth
of Haryana.
However, almost all of them have their base in Hindi with a
smattering of Urdu and Punjabi thrown in for good measure. In towns
and cities, English is still to be adopted as the household lingo, but
is spoken in a hazy mixture of Hindi.
The most striking feature of Haryana is its language itself; or
rather, the manner in which it is spoken. Popularly known as Haryanavi
(also known as Bangru or Jutu).
Trying to speak Haryanavi can be fairly simple for those who speaks
Hindi.
¤ Festivals & Fairs
Aah, talk about holidays (or festivals, as they are known in India).
In India it seems festivals were invented so that people could stop
working. Haryana follows the same principle.
There are the standard Indian festivals like Holi, Diwali, Id,
Muharram, Baisakhi – and there is plenty of time left to arrange
for fairs and all sorts of events.
Most well attended are the ones which revolve around cattle, or the
cattle fairs. Everyone in rural Haryana seems to love cattle, and
urban Haryana hates it, especially on their roads. Anyway, cattle
fairs are the happening thing here, and if you’re anybody or
nobody, you’ve just got to go to one. Remember to take along a
nicely cologned handkerchief.
There’s entertainment for women and children too – they can
take a ride in a huge circular contraption which goes around in
circles with creaking protests. Or they can buy wooden things which
only they can put to good use.
¤ The Suraj Kund Crafts Mela
This is one of the best in Haryana if you’re looking for local
goodies, ranging from pottery to weaves to stone and wood work.
The standard is rather good, and if you’re here in early
February (when the mela happens), you must buy.
The prices are relatively low compared to emporia, and some of the
stuff can be amazing. The mela offers a huge variety and additional
knowhow can be elicited from the real makers of the goodies instead of
bored shopkeepers. Oh yes, the venue is Suraj Kund.
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