Mela (Sanskrit: मेला) is a Sanskrit word meaning "gathering" or "to meet" or a "fair". It is used in the Indian subcontinent for all sizes of gatherings and can be religious, commercial, cultural or sport-related. In rural traditions melas or village fairs were (and in some cases still are) of great importance. This led to their export around the world by South Asian diaspora communities wishing to bring something of that tradition to their new countries.
In recent times "mela" also popularly refers to shows and exhibitions. It can be theme-based, promoting a particular culture, art or skill. Generally at "melas" people can find eateries, entertainment activities, shops and games.
In modern usage outside South Asia it has become a term that shows widespread diversity of interpretation, just as has been the case in South Asia. One can find a Nepalese mela in the USA, or a Bengali mela in London, such as the Boishakhi Mela. The Boishakhi Mela is the largest open-air Asian festival in Europe and the largest Bengali festival outside of Bangladesh. After the Notting Hill Carnival, it is the second-largest street festival in the United Kingdom, attracting over 80,000 visitors from across the country. Many melas are wider intercultural (though mainly Asian) festivals incorporating music, dance, food and other aspects of mainstream culture.
Since the 1980s an increasing number of melas have regularly been held in larger towns outside south Asia, especially in the UK and North America. The larger melas tend to be those with larger ethnic minority populations, but many melas are held in communities with small South Asian diasporas. Community ownership of these melas is important to the South Asian communities, who see them as opportunities to share their cultural heritage with the mainstream. They are opportunities for bridge-building and community-building and can perform a strong socially cohesive function.
More successful outside-of-Asia melas tend to have a strongly diversified funding base with private/public/third sector collaboration. Public money is often spent on the melas. This reflects the mela organisers' and public authorities' joint conviction that, as in the sub-continent, melas are for everyone.
melā, other, uses, mela, disambiguation, mela, sanskrit, sanskrit, word, meaning, gathering, meet, fair, used, indian, subcontinent, sizes, gatherings, religious, commercial, cultural, sport, related, rural, traditions, melas, village, fairs, were, some, cases. For other uses see Mela disambiguation Mela Sanskrit म ल is a Sanskrit word meaning gathering or to meet or a fair It is used in the Indian subcontinent for all sizes of gatherings and can be religious commercial cultural or sport related In rural traditions melas or village fairs were and in some cases still are of great importance This led to their export around the world by South Asian diaspora communities wishing to bring something of that tradition to their new countries A procession of Akharas marching over a temporary bridge over the Ganges river Kumbh Mela at Allahabad 2001 In recent times mela also popularly refers to shows and exhibitions It can be theme based promoting a particular culture art or skill Generally at melas people can find eateries entertainment activities shops and games The Kumbh Mela held every twelve years at Prayagraj Haridwar Nashik and Ujjain is one of the largest fairs in India where over 60 million people gathered in January 2001 making it the largest gathering anywhere in the world 1 2 3 Contents 1 Notable Melas in South Asia 1 1 India 2 Bangladesh 3 Pakistan 4 Usage outside South Asia 5 Notable Melas outside the Asian subcontinent 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksNotable Melas in South Asia EditIndia Edit Gangasagar Mela at Sagar Island Gita Mahotsav Haridwar Kumbh Mela Jhiri Mela 4 Kapal Mochan Mela Haryana 5 6 Kumbh MelaMela Maghi at Muktsar Minjar Mela 7 Perfect Health MelaNashik Trimbakeshwar SimhasthaPrayagraj Kumbh Mela Pushkar Fair Pushkaram the river festivals of Karnataka Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Ratha Yatra Mela Sonepur Cattle Fair Shaheedi Jor MelaUjjain SimhasthaBangladesh EditPohela Boishakh MelaPakistan EditMela ChiraghanUsage outside South Asia EditIn modern usage outside South Asia it has become a term that shows widespread diversity of interpretation just as has been the case in South Asia One can find a Nepalese mela in the USA or a Bengali mela in London such as the Boishakhi Mela The Boishakhi Mela is the largest open air Asian festival in Europe and the largest Bengali festival outside of Bangladesh After the Notting Hill Carnival it is the second largest street festival in the United Kingdom attracting over 80 000 visitors from across the country Many melas are wider intercultural though mainly Asian festivals incorporating music dance food and other aspects of mainstream culture Since the 1980s an increasing number of melas have regularly been held in larger towns outside south Asia especially in the UK and North America The larger melas tend to be those with larger ethnic minority populations but many melas are held in communities with small South Asian diasporas Community ownership of these melas is important to the South Asian communities who see them as opportunities to share their cultural heritage with the mainstream They are opportunities for bridge building and community building and can perform a strong socially cohesive function More successful outside of Asia melas tend to have a strongly diversified funding base with private public third sector collaboration Public money is often spent on the melas This reflects the mela organisers and public authorities joint conviction that as in the sub continent melas are for everyone Notable Melas outside the Asian subcontinent EditMilan The Hague The Netherlands Oslo Mela Festival Norway Belfast Mela UK Birmingham Mela UK Boishakhi Mela UK Bradford Mela UK Cardiff Mela UK Edinburgh Mela UK Glasgow Mela UK London Mela UK Manchester Mega Mela UK Middlesbrough Mela UK Newcastle Mela UK Nottingham Mela UK Preston Mela UK Southampton Mela UK Brooklyn Mela Coney Island Ave New York USA Punjabi Mela Centreville VA USA See also EditParikrama YatraReferences Edit Millions bathe at Hindu festival BBC News January 3 2007 Kumbh Mela pictured from space probably the largest human gathering in history BBC News January 26 2001 Karoki Lewis March 22 2008 Kumbh Mela the largest pilgrimage Pictures Kumbh Mela The Times Jhiri Mela District Administration Jammu Retrieved 30 July 2022 Lakhs throng Kapal Mochan Mela The Hindu November 10 2011 Retrieved 2014 08 21 Tight security for holy dip during Kapal Mochan Mela Zee News November 16 2013 Retrieved 2014 08 21 Minjar Mela NICNET Retrieved 30 July 2022 External links Edithttps www bbc co uk news uk northern ireland 49396598 BBC list of UK Melas in 2010 Makar Mela Panauti Nepal Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mela amp oldid 1126949512, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
