mela
mela — noun
- melasingular
- melasplural
1. a large outdoor gathering in South Asia, often held for a religious or seasonal
a large outdoor gathering in South Asia, often held for a religious or seasonal celebration, where crowds come together and traders set up stalls to sell food and goods
Every spring, the village holds a colourful mela beside the river.
collocation: hold a mela
Ravindra bought fried sweets and a clay lamp at the autumn mela.
Thousands of pilgrims gathered at the riverbank for the religious mela.
Rania set up a small stall selling bangles during the town's mela.
The streets filled with music and dancing as the mela began at dusk.
- fair
general English for a public event with stalls and amusements, without the South Asian cultural or religious sense
- festival
broader; any organised celebration, not specifically an outdoor event with market stalls
- carnival
stresses parades, costumes, and entertainment rather than a market or religious gathering
用法筆記
Common in South Asian English (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh); usually appears with a word naming the occasion — trade mela, book mela, or kumbh mela.