In American literature, the term realism encompasses the period of time from the Civil War to the turn of the century during which William Dean Howells, Rebecca Harding Davis, Henry James, Mark Twain, and others wrote fiction devoted to accurate representation and an exploration of American lives in various contexts.
Pongal is the first day of Uttarayana and coincides with the beginning of the Tamil month of Thai. Pongal is one of the most popular harvest festivals of southern India, mainly Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
Navratri Fast-Navratri festival is dedicated to the nine forms of Goddess Durga. The puranas and texts like 'Navratri vrat katha' stress on the importance of 'nirjal' (sans water) and 'nirahar' (sans food) 'vrat' or fasting during Chaitra and Ashwin months, through which a devotee can elevate his body and mind.