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Uttarakhand’s famous ‘stone-pelting’ fair in Champawat during which two teams hurl stones or fruits on one another won’t be held this 12 months.
The fair referred to as Bagwal, held in Champawat district, yearly has been cancelled this 12 months due to the Covid epidemic. The choice on this regard was taken in a gathering of the native administration and the temple and fair committee of Devidhura on Thursday, an official stated.
This fair is held yearly on the event of Raksha Bandhan on the premises of temple devoted to Goddess Varahi Devi in Devidhura space, a tiny hamlet round 75 km from the district headquarters. Earlier, it was determined to maintain a symbolic Bagwal to mark the age-outdated custom, however now it is going to be not held in any respect.
“There will be no fair or Bagwal this year. Only prayer will be held by the committee members in the temple, while maintaining social distancing,” stated SN Pandey, district Justice of the Peace, Champawat.
Devidhura’s Bagwal fair is totally different from different conventional festivals in Uttarakhand due to its ritual of hurling stones. Earlier, stones have been used to play Bagwal, however after the intervention of the state High Court in 2013, the fair committee determined to play it with varied variety fruits of like apple, guava peach, lemon and flowers as a substitute of stones to keep away from accidents.
Kriti Bhallav Joshi, chief priest of the temple, stated, “Bagwal is an ancient religious practice of Kumaon. Though there is no document about it, but it is said that Bagwal used to be played in Katturi regime in the Kumaon region in the sixth century. According to folklore, there was a tradition of offering human sacrifice once a year to goddess Varahi. As time passed, it was converted into Bagwal.”
“It is played between Chamyal, Walik, Gaharwal and Lamgariya Khaam (clans) of the seven local villages. They split into two groups at the time of Bagwal and as the chief priest gives a signal by blowing Shankh (conch), they start pelting stones at each other. After a few minutes, the priest again gives a signal to stop Bagwal. Devotees try to offer their blood to Goddess through this practice,” he added
Joshi stated within the current scenario it is rather vital to verify Covid-19 outbreak. “Large gatherings could spread viral infection so we decided to cancel the fair this year. Thousands of devotees and people used to gather to witness the event from across the country”, he stated.
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