Gouhri Devta’s advent marks start of Pipal Jatra

Abhinav Vashisht

Kullu, April 28

Kullu Municipal Council (MC) office-bearers today performed traditional rituals to welcome Gouhri Devta, the local deity, marking the commencement of the three-day spring festival, locally known as Pipal Jatra.

MC Executive Officer Anubhav Sharma said traditional fairs and festivals played an important role in preserving ancient traditions and customs and passing these to the future generations.

Dates back to 15th century

• The origins of the Pipal Jatra fair date back to the 15th century. It was previously known as the Rai Ri Jaach (Fair of the King) and witnessed the participation of 16 local deities from around the valley
• The erstwhile rulers of Kullu used to listen to the grievances of people and enjoy songs and folk dances during these fairs
• In the past, Laldi dance was performed by lighting a fire in Dhalpur in the evening
• ‘Festival’s charm diminishing’
• Om Prakash, an elderly local, said, “Deities like Veer Nath, Brahma Devta, Jwani Mahadev, Tripura Sundari, Chamunda Mata, Shailvari Mata and Devta Nar Singh used to be present at the fair. Kullu’s chief deity, Lord Raghunath, also used to grace the fair. However, the deity has not been spotted at the fair for many years now”
• The nature of this fair has changed and now only one deity, Gouhri Devta, comes to the fair, he noted
• Earlier, hundreds of cows, bulls, horses and mules were brought from far and wide to be sold.
• The cattle fair is still organised at the fair, although at a much smaller scale. The volume of trade of bullocks and cows had almost diminished, he said

“Star-studded nights will witness performances by ‘Natti King’ Thakur Dass Rathi, Gopal Sharma and Ramesh Thakur on April 28, 29 and 30, respectively. The Spring Queen beauty pageant will be the main attraction of the festival. Cultural presentations will be held at the Kala Kendra with performances from various artistes. Local artistes will get the opportunity to present their skill during the festival,” he added.

The origins of the Pipal Jatra fair date back to the 15th century. Earlier, it was known as the Rai Ri Jaach (Fair of the King) and witnessed the participation of 16 local deities from around the valley. The erstwhile rulers of Kullu used to listen to the grievances of people and enjoy local songs and folk dances during the fairs.

In the past, Laldi dance was performed by lighting a fire in Dhalpur in the evening.

Om Prakash, an elderly local, said, “Deities like Veer Nath, Brahma Devta, Jwani Mahadev, Tripura Sundari, Chamunda Mata, Shailvari Mata and Devta Nar Singh used to be present at the fair. Kullu’s chief deity, Lord Raghunath, also used to grace the fair. However, the deity has not been spotted at the fair for many years now.”

The nature of this fair has changed and now only one deity, Gouhri Devta, comes to the fair, he noted.

Earlier, hundreds of cows, bulls, horses and mules were brought from far and wide to be sold.

The cattle fair is still organised at the fair, although at a much smaller scale. The volume of trade of bullocks and cows has almost diminished, he said

Kullu resident Vishal rued, “Amid the hustle and bustle of life today, the festival is losing its charm. Now, the cattle fair, once a major attraction, has also almost disappeared. The trade fair seems to be expanding at a snail’s pace.”

Apart from classical and semi-classical dance and singing performances during in the fair, the Qawwali performances were a big hit, he said, adding that the performances gradually disappeared.

Another resident of the area, Devender, said, “The traditions and rituals have become a mere formality now. The number of participating deities has also decreased.”

The festival is a

crowd-puller and hotels of the area generally remain packed during the festival. Varun, a resident of the town, said, “The duration of the festival should be increased to five days and efforts should be made to increase the grandeur of the festival.”

The fair had still not been notified as a state-level festival, though activities like the world-famous international Kullu Dussehra festival are held during the fair. The government does not provide any funds for the festival, leaving the Kullu MC to organise the entire fair themselves. Saddened over the state of the once-grand fair, residents have called for the government and the MC to promote the festival.

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