Mela
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the Roman geographer, see Pomponius Mela.
- For Mela Festivals today, see Mela Festival.
Mela is a Sanskrit word meaning get together. In Hindu and Urdu it refers to a rural or a village fair. It is fairly common in rural India.
In modern usage in the United Kingdom it has become a term for a multicultural (though mainly Asian) festival incorporating music, dance, food and other aspects of British Asian culture in the UK.
Melas regularly are held in larger towns in the UK, especially in areas with large ethnic minority populations. They are often considered important as a way of improving relations between the "indigenous" (white) UK population and the Asian population. The Melas began in the nineteen nineties.
Public money is sometimes available for these festivals. They have also been seen as a way of ensuring that festivals are available for the whole population. (The Arts Council produced a study on this examining eleven festivals in the Leicester region).
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Mela is derived from Sanskrit, meaning coming together. The term is used for gatherings organised in Indian towns and villages.
