Dadri Mela, Ballia Town, Uttar Pradesh

Dadri Mela: India is a land of innumerable festivals, in pace with the cycle of the seasons. These proceed with sowings and harvesting and around them have grown legends, most of them portraying the victory of good over evil. These fairs and festivals impart color and gaiety to life of the Indians.

Dadri Mela, Ballia Town, Uttar Pradesh

The Indian calendar is marked by superfluity of such big and small occasions. Some festivals are mainly of religious nature, and others are related more to, change of season and harvesting. They have a long past and many have gone through major alterations. Some festivals and fasts are specific protocols of religion which aims towards communication with the Almighty. The vivacity of the people is reflected in the colorful liveliness of the fairs and festivals. Processions, prayers, new attires, dance, music etc. are essentials related to any of such celebration. Though, the enthusiasm for some of the festivals also seems to be vanishing, yet they are capable of bringing about a change in the lifestyle of the people.

Dadri Mela is the second largest cattle fair of India, which is held 5 km (3.1 mi) from Ballia town, near NH 31 and 3 km (1.9 mi) from the bus station of Ballia city. The fair starts with people taking a holy dip in the river Ganges on the full moon of Kartik Poornima (October–November). This fair is held annually in the honor of Dardar Muni, the disciple of Maharishi Bhrigu.

This one-month-long fair is organized in two phases. The first phase starts ten days before the onset of Kartik Poornima, during which traders bring some excellent breeds of cattle from across India for sale / purchase. On or after Kartik Poornima, various cultural programs are organized and one can find here a large number of makeshift shops of various items during the next fortnight.

How to Reach Dadri Mela:

By Air:

The nearest airport to Ballia is Patna and Varanasi. Patna airport is about one hundred and forty kilometers from Ballia and Varanasi airport is about one hundred and thirty kilometers from Ballia. It takes almost two hours via road from each of the airports to reach Ballia.

By Train:

Ballia city is one of the major railway stations of Ballia. However, other railway station include Belthara road, Rasra and Suraimanpur. Some of the trains like Dadra express, Chauri Chaura express and Gorakhnath express pass through Ballia.

By Road:

Ballia is well connected by road with major cities like Varanasi, Patna and Gorakhpur. You can reach Ballia via road from any of these routes.