Festivals at CIRS

Celebrations We Share

Rangolis, morning prayers and evenings together. Our celebrations bring the school’s many traditions into shared campus life.

Explore our celebrations

CIRS FestivalsFrom the monsoon to the spring

A Year Kept Festival by Festival

Seven festivals mark the CIRS year, and each one draws the whole school in, from the fifth grade to the twelfth.

Explore the year Festivals across India

  1. July–August Raksha Bandhan
  2. August–September Janmashtami
  3. August–September Onam
  4. August–September Ganesh Chaturthi
  5. September–October Dussehra
  6. January Pongal
  7. March Holi

Through the year

The School Comes to Life.

CIRS is a bustling place, with vibrant festivals adorning its pathways through the year — and the school comes to life with melodious paeans and energetic dances for every one of them.

The enthusiasm resonates in each heart long after the event is over, because of the surge of participation from the fifth grade to the twelfth.

These festivities are not limited to the student body. The faculty are the backbone of every festival, lending unwavering support to every last-minute arrangement.

Celebrated at CIRS

Seven Festivals, One School.

In the order the school year meets them, from the monsoon to the spring. Every photograph here was taken at the festival it names, and is dated as closely as its camera allows.

01July–AugustA monsoon morning

Raksha Bandhan

Unfamiliar at first, students develop an unbreakable bond as brothers vow to protect their sisters. The programme begins with Krishnaji being tied the first rakhi. Siblings share their moments of love and mischief with the entire school during the morning pooja.

Then, while rakhis are being knotted, the school resonates with wishes and chocolate requests. As dusk falls, the brothers surprise their sisters with an emotional, relatable and heartfelt programme.

A student's hands knotting a thread rakhi on a classmate's wrist
Raksha Bandhan, 30 August 2023
A leaf plate holding thread rakhis, red roli, yellow rice and chocolates
Raksha Bandhan, 30 August 2023
Hands reaching for chocolates from a plate held out by a student
Raksha Bandhan, 30 August 2023

02August–SeptemberFrom morning into midnight

Janmashtami

The day begins with everyone seated in devotion for the pooja. A culmination of pure devotion and Kanha’s naughtiness radiates from every heart through the day, and students fast to express their bhakti towards the Supreme.

The midnight aarti and performance is packed with energy. Then comes the time to relive Krishna’s childhood, as each grade competes to be the first to break the matki.

One night, in eight photographs

From the pooja to the matki

The school’s cameras followed Janmashtami on 4 September 2026, from the morning pooja to the breaking of the matki after midnight. Each time below is the camera’s own.

Skip the night and go on to Onam

  1. Teachers seated on either side of a flower-decked altar with a white Krishna murti
  2. A student singing at a microphone before a red and gold projected mandala
  3. Students in red and gold costume and headbands dancing close to the audience
  4. A dark hall with a portrait on stage lit only by lamps before it
  5. A student on the shoulders of others reaching up for a clay pot hung from a rope, after dark
  6. Students building a human pyramid under a tree at night, a pot hanging above them
  7. A student at the top of a human pyramid strikes the pot, and its contents burst out in the floodlight
Students crowded on a lawn at night under the trees and lamps

03August–SeptemberFlowers, then the feast

Onam

Hands sorting marigold and rose petals on the floor beside a half-laid pookalam
Onam, 2023
A large flower pookalam on the dining-hall floor between two lit brass lamps
Onam, 2023

Rooted in Kerala, Onam extends its roots all the way to CIRS, and is especially loved by every student — for its powerful symbol of sacrifice, and for the special feast, the sadhya.

After contenting hearts and stomachs, the spirited story of Mahabali, told through a skit, brings goosebumps to every spectator.

A long row of students seated on the floor eating the sadhya from banana leaves
Onam, 2023

04August–SeptemberCloud on the hills

Ganesh Chaturthi

Mornings begin with the sacred worship of Vinayaka, and the joy of the prasad that follows. Evenings are filled with enthusiasm as every grade shows its devotion with renditions, dances and anecdotes for our dear Bappa.

At the core of the festival, the students handcraft their own murtis. As the season ends, everyone is on their toes, movements and voices in unison, as the procession carries the idol to be immersed in the school’s own lake.

A raft carrying the Ganesh murti crossing a lake below cloud-covered hills
Ganesh Chaturthi, 28 September 2023
  1. Girls in saffron kurtas seated close together on the bank, cheering
    17:20Ganesh Chaturthi, 28 September 2023
  2. The Ganesh murti on a raft decorated with banana stems, teachers standing around it
    17:21Ganesh Chaturthi, 28 September 2023
  3. The murti being lowered from the raft into the lake
    17:30Ganesh Chaturthi, 28 September 2023

05September–OctoberTorchlight after dusk

Dussehra

The day begins with the morning pooja, which brings a wave of calm. What truly brings the celebration to life are the mesmerising rangolis crafted by the students.

The school gathers to chant and witness the ultimate triumph of dharma — Ravan Dahan — and the evening sky is spellbound as the fireworks go up.

Students in costume walking in procession by the light of flaming torches
Dussehra, 2 October 2025
The ten-headed Ravan effigy standing on the dark field before it is lit
Dussehra, 2025
The ten-headed Ravan effigy burning against the night sky
Dussehra, 2 October 2025

06JanuaryThe harvest sun

Pongal

Six hundred students, cooking in small groups.

One of the biggest harvest festivals, and the school is decorated in a majestic way. But the campus feels incomplete without the aroma of pongal swirling in the air, as six hundred students come together to prepare the delicacy in small groups.

Everyone goes around relishing the pongals prepared by the other teams — and then the winner of the most scrumptious pongal is declared.

Photographs of the cooking itself are still to be added.

A girl placing an offering on an altar hung with sugarcane, marigold garlands, fruit and a brass lamp
Pongal, 15 January 2026
A teacher lighting lamps at an altar hung with sugarcane and marigolds in a sunlit courtyard
Pongal, 15 January 2026

07MarchColour on the field

Holi

The essence of the bonfire is brought to us through a skit in which Holika’s devious plans burn, and the countdown begins.

To CIRS, Holi brings a festive zeal of colours that soon find their owners. The Dronacharya field buzzes with excitement as colour paints every face.

Students with colour on their faces and clothes crossing the playing field
Holi, 4 March 2026
A hand pressing colour onto a student's cheek, both faces already bright with it
Holi, 2025
A student looking into the camera, face coated in green and pink colour
Holi, 2025
A boy in an orange CIRS shirt covered in colour, grinning, a friend behind him
Holi, 4 March 2026

Beyond the school calendar

Festivals across India

A wider calendar of traditions. Inclusion here does not imply a documented CIRS event.

Most of these follow lunar or regional calendars, so their dates move from year to year; the months given are the usual range.

January–February

  • Lohri

    Around 13 January

    A winter bonfire festival of Punjab and much of north India, with songs, dancing and offerings of peanuts, rewri and popcorn to the fire.

  • Makar Sankranti

    Mid-January

    The sun's passage into Makara, kept across India under many names — kites for Uttarayan in Gujarat, sesame and jaggery in Maharashtra, new-rice sweets in Bengal.

  • Basant Panchami

    January–February

    The fifth day of Magha, welcoming spring. In many homes and schools it is Saraswati's day, the goddess of learning, and a day for yellow.

  • Maha Shivaratri

    February–March

    A night of fasting and vigil for Shiva, kept in temples and homes across the country.

March–May

  • Ugadi and Gudi Padwa

    March–April

    The lunisolar New Year: Ugadi in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, with its chutney of six tastes; Gudi Padwa in Maharashtra and Goa, with a gudi raised at the door.

  • Ram Navami

    March–April

    The birth of Rama, on the ninth day of Chaitra, marked with readings of the Ramayana, temple worship and processions.

  • Mahavir Jayanti

    March–April

    The birth of Vardhamana Mahavira, the twenty-fourth Tirthankara of the Jain tradition, with processions, worship and giving.

  • Baisakhi

    13 or 14 April

    The spring harvest festival of Punjab, when the wheat is ready. For Sikhs it also remembers the founding of the Khalsa in 1699.

  • The New Year in mid-April

    Around 14 April

    The solar New Year, under many names: Tamil Puthandu, Vishu in Kerala, Bohag Bihu in Assam, Pohela Boishakh in Bengal and Maha Vishuva Sankranti in Odisha.

    At CIRSVishu and Tamil Puthandu were kept in the CIRS dorms in April 2025 — see News.

  • Buddha Purnima

    April–May

    The full moon remembering the Buddha's birth, enlightenment and passing, also called Buddha Jayanti.

June–September

  • Rath Yatra

    June–July

    Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra drawn through the streets of Puri on great wooden chariots in the month of Ashadha, with processions in many other cities.

October–December

  • Navaratri and Durga Puja

    September–October

    Nine nights of the Goddess: garba and dandiya in Gujarat, golu in the south, and in Bengal Durga Puja, recognised by UNESCO in 2021 as intangible cultural heritage.

    At CIRSThe school's photo archive holds Navaratri evenings at CIRS from 2023 to 2025; their story is still to be written here.

  • Diwali

    October–November

    The festival of lamps. Hindus mark Rama's return and worship Lakshmi, Jains the nirvana of Mahavira, and Sikhs keep Bandi Chhor Divas on the same day.

  • Chhath

    October–November

    Four days of worship of the Sun in Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh, with offerings at the riverbank to both the setting and the rising sun.

  • Guru Nanak Gurpurab

    October–November

    The birth of Guru Nanak, founder of the Sikh faith, on the full moon of Kartik: a continuous reading of the Guru Granth Sahib, processions and langar.

Summarised from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Incredible India (Ministry of Tourism) and the UNESCO intangible heritage list.

Photo archive

More from the Festival Year.

Photographs from the school’s own collection that do not appear above, each labelled with its festival and the date it was taken.

22 photographs

  • Students in festive clothes tying rakhis on one another in a courtyard

    Raksha Bandhan, 30 August 2023

  • Students standing in pairs, some tying rakhis and some smiling at the camera

    Raksha Bandhan, 30 August 2023

  • Two girls with tilak on their foreheads smiling at the camera

    Raksha Bandhan, 30 August 2023

  • A teacher waving an aarti lamp before a garlanded murti

    Janmashtami, 4 September 2026

  • A student playing a cajon on stage under violet light

    Janmashtami, 4 September 2026

  • Girls in mirrored skirts dancing in the hall under warm light

    Janmashtami, 4 September 2026

  • A group of students seated on stage singing before a blue projected mandala

    Janmashtami, 4 September 2026

  • A crowd of students under a tree at night, looking up at a pot on a rope

    Janmashtami, 5 September 2026

  • Girls seated in a row on the floor with banana leaves before them, the row running into the distance

    Onam, 2023

  • A student in a white mundu eating rice from a banana leaf

    Onam, 2023

  • Teachers in cream and gold kasavu singing together on stage

    Onam, 15 September 2024

  • Students in white mundu and dark tops dancing on a stage hung with painted suns

    Onam, 15 September 2024

  • Boys in saffron kurtas gathered together, smiling at the camera

    Ganesh Chaturthi, 28 September 2023

  • A group of girls in saffron laughing together by the water

    Ganesh Chaturthi, 28 September 2023

  • A small raft far out on a still lake, forested hills and cloud behind it

    Ganesh Chaturthi, 28 September 2023

  • Students in costume as Rama, Lakshmana and Hanuman leaving a building by torchlight

    Dussehra, 2 October 2025

  • A student in costume as Rama holding a bow beside a burning torch

    Dussehra, 2 October 2025

  • Students in saffron dancing on the field at night under floodlights

    Dussehra, 2 October 2025

  • A group of boys in white shirts and veshti posing together in the sun

    Pongal, 15 January 2026

  • Students playing with colour on a dry field, rocky hills behind them

    Holi, 4 March 2026

  • A crowd of students in colour-streaked clothes on the field under trees

    Holi, 4 March 2026

  • Two students standing together, faces streaked with pink and yellow colour

    Holi, 2025

Not yet in the archive: the pongal being cooked in small groups, the Dussehra rangolis, the students’ own Ganesh murtis, the Onam skit of Mahabali, the Holika skit and the Raksha Bandhan evening programme. Where a caption gives only a year, the camera’s clock was wrong and the year comes from the event’s folder.

Art, Culture & Music

More from the stage and the studio.

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