About Hareli
Hareli, or Hareli Tihar, is the farming festival that opens Chhattisgarh's festival year, kept on Shravana Amavasya, the new moon of Sawan. In 2027 it falls on Monday, 2 August 2027. Farmers wash and worship their ploughs and hoes, hang neem on the door, make chila, and children climb on gedi, tall bamboo stilts.
The name comes from hariyali, greenery. By Shravana Amavasya the paddy in Chhattisgarh has been sown or transplanted and the seedlings are standing up in the fields. The hardest field work of the season is done for now, so the tools that did it get a wash, a rest and a puja. People call Hareli the state's pratham tihar, its first festival, because the year's run of village festivals starts here and moves on through Pola, Teeja and Navakhai to Diwali.
It falls on the same new moon that much of North India calls Hariyali Amavasya, a few days before Hariyali Teej. In Chhattisgarh, though, the day belongs to the farm, the cattle shed and the village gauthan, not to the temple.
How the date is set
Hareli is kept on the Amavasya, the new moon, of Shravan. Both the amanta and purnimanta calendars give that new moon the name Shravan, so there is no month confusion here. Drik Panchang's calendar for Raipur is the usual reference, and panchangs sometimes differ by a day when the tithi starts late in the morning. Pola comes on the following new moon, about a month later.
Hareli is a general holiday in Chhattisgarh. The state's 2026 list put it on Wednesday, 12 August, and government offices and schools in the state close for it. The holiday is state-only, so a Chhattisgarhi colleague in Pune or Delhi is usually at work that day.
How the day goes
Village customs differ from district to district, and between Chhattisgarhi-speaking plains villages and Adivasi communities in Bastar. This is the broad order most accounts describe.
- Day beforeHerbs for the cattle
Raut families, who traditionally herd the village cattle, gather forest roots and leaves such as shatawar and dashmool, and cook them overnight in a new clay pot.
- Early morningAt the gauthan
The village cattle yard is cleaned. The baiga, the village healer and priest, worships the local deity, and the herb mixture is shared out for people and animals. Households give grain to the herder and the baiga in return.
- MorningCattle and londi
Bullocks and cows are bathed and worshipped. Oxen are fed londi, small balls of wheat dough wrapped in a castor leaf with a pinch of salt, which tradition says keeps disease away.
- Mid-morningThe tool puja
The plough, hoe, spade, pickaxe and axe are scrubbed, laid on a raised bed of red murum soil and worshipped. Chila is offered on them and then shared as prasad.
- DoorwaysNeem and a nail
Raut families go from house to house hanging neem branches over doors. Lohar, or blacksmith, families hammer a nail into the door frame. Both are meant to keep illness and harm out of the house.
- AfternoonGedi and games
Children and young men walk the lanes and fields on gedi. Villages hold gedi races, bull races and coconut-throwing contests.
Neem on the door, a nail in the frame
The protective side of Hareli makes sense against the season. The weeks from Asadh to Sawan are wet, and in the village they are also the weeks of fevers, insects and cattle disease. Many families also believe tona, or witchcraft, is strongest then. Neem and bhelwa branches go over doorways and into the paddy fields. In some villages people draw human figures in cow-dung paste beside the entrance as a guard.
Sahapedia's account adds two quieter customs. In some areas families pray to Kutki Dai, a goddess of crops, and the baiga ties bundles of grain and wild fruit to the roofs. Hareli is also the day a baiga starts teaching disciples about medicinal plants. The lessons run for about two weeks, until Rishi Panchami.
In Bastar the day carries one more meaning. The 75-day Bastar Dussehra opens on Hareli Amavasya with Pat Jatra, when a sal log brought from the forest is worshipped in front of the Danteshwari temple in Jagdalpur.
Gedi, chila and the food on the leaf plate
Gedi are stilts made from two bamboo poles with a foot-rest tied on. Some are taller than the child walking on them. In some Gond villages the foot-rests are hollow pieces filled with pebbles, so the stilts rattle at every step. Tradition says gedi help the crop grow, and they are allowed only from Hareli until Navakhai, the new-rice festival. After that they are put away. The custom was fading, so panchayats now run gedi races to keep it going. In 2026 the Chief Minister's residence in Nava Raipur held one too.
Chila is the dish everyone names. On Hareli it is often gud chila, a sweet rice-flour pancake with jaggery, though salted versions are common too. Other dishes include muthiya, angakar roti and chausela, all made from rice flour, along with green bhaji of the season: chaulai, kanda, bohar and kochai leaves. The food is served on dona pattal, plates and bowls stitched from leaves.
Writing a Hareli wish
A good Hareli message notices the farm. Mention the tools, the cattle, the green fields or the gedi, and wish for a good crop and healthy animals.
Do
- Use "Hareli tihar ke gaada-gaada badhai". Gaada is a bullock cart, so the phrase means cartloads of good wishes.
- For a farming family, pray for steady rain, green fields and healthy bullocks.
- For someone who moved away from Chhattisgarh, ask about home: the chila, the gedi, who washed the plough.
Avoid
- Don't call it a harvest festival. Hareli comes at sowing time; the harvest is months away.
- Don't treat the neem, the nail or the baiga's rites as quaint. For many families they are real protection, and some households keep none of them.
- Don't send a Hareli wish only because someone is from Chhattisgarh. Not every family keeps it, especially in towns.
Happy Hareli, Maa and Baba. I can picture the plough and the kudari drying on the murum and Maa's gud chila on the dona. Give the bullocks an extra handful from me. I'll be home for Pola.
Hareli wishes to all of you. May the rain come on time, the paddy stand green and tall, and the cattle stay strong through the monsoon.
Happy Hareli. Are you still the gedi champion of the mohalla, or has your nephew taken the title this year? Save me some chila.
Happy Hareli. Enjoy the holiday back home and the tool puja with your family. I'll keep the Monday report until you're back.
Hareli wishes from Raipur. Neem is up on our door, the children have been on gedi since morning, and the whole lane smells of chila. We miss you here today.
Hareli tihar ke aap man la gaada-gaada badhai. Khet-khaar hariyar rahay. (Cartloads of good wishes to you all on Hareli. May the fields stay green.)
- Tihar
- Festival, in Chhattisgarhi
- Gedi
- Bamboo stilts walked on from Hareli until Navakhai
- Gauthan
- The village cattle yard, cleaned and worshipped on Hareli
- Baiga
- The village healer and ritual specialist
- Murum
- Red gravelly soil; the farm tools are laid on a raised bed of it
- Londi
- Wheat-dough balls wrapped in castor leaf and fed to oxen
- Chila
- Rice-flour pancake, sweet with jaggery or salted; the Hareli offering
- Dona pattal
- Bowls and plates made from stitched leaves
- Kotha
- Cattle shed
How to wish someone on Hareli
A Hareli wish works when it sounds like the village on that morning: the washed plough on the red earth, neem on the door, chila on the leaf plate, a child wobbling on gedi. Pray for green fields, healthy cattle and a full kothar, not for wealth in general. "Hareli tihar ke gaada-gaada badhai" is the Chhattisgarhi greeting and reads warmly even from someone outside the state. Many people keeping it are farmers in the middle of the paddy season, so keep messages short and practical.
Write a few lines in your own words, pick a design and share it as one link on WhatsApp, Instagram or anywhere else. They open an animated card made just for them, with no app and no sign-up.
Language tip: English, Hindi + Chhattisgarhi.
When is Hareli in each year?
Hareli is set by the Hindu lunisolar calendar, so it falls on a different date each year. In 2027 it falls 10 days earlier than in 2026.
- 2026
- 2027
- 2028may vary by location
Frequently asked questions
When is Hareli in 2027?
Hareli 2027 falls on Monday, 2 August 2027.
Why is Hareli called the first festival of Chhattisgarh?
Hareli is called Chhattisgarh's first festival because the state's traditional year of village festivals begins with it. It falls on Shravana Amavasya, after the paddy is sown, and is followed by Pola, Teeja, Navakhai and Diwali.
Why do farmers worship tools on Hareli?
By Shravana Amavasya the ploughing, sowing and transplanting of paddy are largely finished. Farmers wash their plough, hoe, spade and axe, lay them on red murum soil and offer chila to thank them for the season's work and to ask for a good crop.
What is gedi and why is it made on Hareli?
Gedi are bamboo stilts with a foot-rest tied a little way up each pole. Children and young men walk and race on them from Hareli until Navakhai, and tradition says the custom helps the crop grow.
Why is neem hung on doors on Hareli?
Neem branches are hung on doors on Hareli to keep illness, insects and harm out of the home during the wet months. Raut families traditionally hang them, and in many villages Lohar families also hammer a nail into the door frame for the same protection.
Is Hareli the same as Hariyali Amavasya?
Hareli falls on the same new moon that North India calls Hariyali Amavasya, and both names mean greenery. Hareli, though, is Chhattisgarh's own farm festival, centred on tools, cattle, neem and gedi rather than on temple rituals.
How do you wish Happy Hareli in Chhattisgarhi?
Say "Hareli tihar ke gaada-gaada badhai", which means cartloads of good wishes on Hareli. Adding "khet-khaar hariyar rahay", may the fields stay green, makes it a farmer's blessing.
Last verified by the Kehdoo team on .