Fair
Nalwari Fair, Bilaspur
When it happens
Held over roughly a week in March, usually the second half of the month, with dates set each year by the district administration.
Nalwari began in the 1880s as a bullock fair — 'nal' refers to the pair of oxen yoked to a plough — organised so that farmers across the old Kahlur state could buy well-matched draught animals before the sowing season. It quickly became the biggest fair in the region.
When the town of Bilaspur was submerged by the Gobind Sagar reservoir in the 1950s the fair moved with the rebuilt town and is now held on the Luhnu ground by the lake. Cattle trading continues alongside a full commercial fair, an exhibition, wrestling ('chhinj') that draws pehlwans from Punjab and Haryana, and cultural nights.
It is the main event of the Bilaspur year and one of the few Himachal fairs whose original agricultural purpose is still visibly intact.
Why it matters
The fair was founded under British encouragement in the 1880s (the raja of Bilaspur and officials such as W. Goldstein are usually credited) to improve the supply of plough cattle. It survived the loss of old Bilaspur to the Bhakra reservoir and remains a working livestock market as well as a cultural gathering.
What to expect
A genuine cattle and livestock market, wrestling bouts, a trade and handicraft exhibition, food stalls and cultural performances on the Luhnu ground beside Gobind Sagar. March weather in Bilaspur is warm and pleasant.
Places nearby
Lunar dates shift every year and local programmes change — confirm the current year's dates with Himachal Pradesh Tourism or the district administration before you book travel.