If there's one night that seems to resonate right across the country it's the full moon of October that just went by. It's called Sharad Purnima in North India. Orissa celebrates it as Kumhar Purnima and in Manipur it is known as Mera Purnima.

In Gobindji Temple in Imphal women weave the potloi, a dress worn by brides and the dancers of the raas. The dress has to be stitched onto each dancer's body which is an elaborate process that has to be complete before the evening in time for the great Raas-Leela where the dancers will recreate Krishna's dance with the gopis on the moonlit night of Sharad or Mera as it is known there.

It is Manipur's Meitei culture in all its grace and colour, a distinctly Vaishnav tradition that came to Manipur around the 15th century and brought with it all the repertoire of Krishna to the arts.

"What you see here is Manipuri classical dance. The raas is central to this dance form. It was introduced during the reign of Maharaja Bhagyachandra in the seventeenth century. It was is said to have been introduced on the full moon night on the month of October," said a dance teacher.

Away from the classical and religious, the full moon of October is also the time for Merahouchangba, a village festival with a political undercurrent. It's believed that in the first centurty AD King Nongdalairen Pakhangba started the festival to bridge the gap between the hill and the valley.

"Traditionally this festival has been performed by the different kings to forge a solidarity. On the day of the Housang Mela, chiefs of the hill tribes come to meet the people of the valley at the Kangla Palace. The full moon of October for us signifies a time for integration, unity, and love in order to strengthen the unity of the hill tribes with those of the valley people," said Nilbir Salam, Member, Kangla Fort Board.

The festival was actually banned in the early eighteenth century by a very puritanical Hindu king who saw the hill people as untouchables and was against their mingling with the valley. But it's said the power of the moon is so strong that the festival was instantly revived and is today celebrated by all communities across the state.