The Nauchandi Mela is an annual fair held at Nauchandi Ground in

Meerut Meerut (, IAST: ''Meraṭh'') is a city in Meerut district of the western part of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city lies northeast of the national capital New Delhi, within the National Capital Region and west of the state capital ...

. The fair stretches for about a month and is organized by the Municipal Corporation of Meerut. It generally starts from the second Sunday after

Holi Holi (), also known as the Festival of Colours, the Festival of Spring, and the Festival of Love,The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) p. 874 "Holi /'həʊli:/ noun a Hindu spring festival ...". is an ancient Hindu religious festival ...

. The main exhibits are the artistic and religious rituals followed in rustic Uttar Pradesh. The fair witness more than 50,000 visitors every year. The

Indian Railways Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tota ...

Nauchandi Express The 14511/14512 Nauchandi Express is an express train belonging to Indian Railways that runs between Prayagraj Sangam railway station and Saharanpur Junction railway station, Saharanpur Junction in India. It operates as train number 14511 from ...

train is named after this fair from Meerut to the state capital

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

History

The fair has a prominent history dating back several hundred years. It started in the year 1672 AD as a one-day cattle trading fair. The fair has been held every year, excluding 1858, the year after

1857 revolt The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against Company rule in India, the rule of the East India Company, British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the The Crown, British ...

, which started from Meerut. Since then cattle trading has been replaced by a number of other activities. The fair was postponed in 2020 due to the

Coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifie ...

Fair

The fair feature shops for

's Chikan work,

Moradabad Moradabad () is a city, commissionary and municipal corporation in Moradabad district of Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Moradabad is situated on the banks of the Ramganga river, at a distance of from the national capital, New Delhi and 344 ...

's brassware,

Varanasi Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic t ...

's carpets, rugs and silk sarees,

Agra Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra i ...

's footwear,

's leather items, etc. Meerut's own products like sports goods, scissors,

gajak Gajak (also ''gachak'') is a dessert or confection originating in north-central India. It is a dry sweet made of sesame seeds (''til'') or peanuts and jaggery. The ''til'' is cooked in the raw sugar syrup and set in thin layers, which can be st ...

s, nan-khatai are also sold. Giant

rides Amusement rides, sometimes called carnival rides, are mechanical devices or structures that move people especially kids to create fun and enjoyment. Rides are often perceived by many as being scary or more dangerous than they actually are. This ...

wheels A wheel is a circular component that is intended to rotate on an axle bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the six simple machines. Wheels, in conjunction with axles, allow heavy objects to b ...

, circus and various other recreational arenas where artists perform stunts, remains a big attraction of the fair.

Gallery

File:14511 Nauchandi Express trainboard.JPG,

runs a train named

from Meerut to

after the name of the Goddess. File:Nauchandi Mela.jpg, A photo of Nauchandi Mela annually organised in meerut city. File:Nav Chandi Mandir.jpg, Nav Chandi Mata Mandir File:Nauchandi Mela 2.jpg, Nauchandi Mela in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh

References

External links

{{Meerut division topics Meerut Hinduism in Uttar Pradesh Culture of Uttar Pradesh Fairs in India Tourist attractions in Meerut district