Ghurehi songs mark start of 3-day Suhi Fair

Our Correspondent

Chamba, April 11

The three-day Suhi Fair began today as great zeal and fervour took over Chamba. The fair commenced with the offering of prayers. Women of the Gaddi tribe on Thursday sang Ghurehi folk songs commemorating the sacrifice of Queen Sunayana.

A queen remembered

• Women, adorned in traditional attire, on Thursday sang songs in the memory of Queen Sunayana
• On Friday, a procession would be taken from the Suhi Mata temple to the site where the Queen was believed to be buried alive
• A community lunch would be organised on Saturday

After performing rituals and paying obeisance at the Akhand Chandi Palace in Chamba, the emblem of Suhi Mata was carried in a palanquin to the temple located on a hill overlooking the town.

The ritual of offering prayer was performed by a girl — Bhargavi Bhardwaj. During the fair, the emblem of the goddess would be kept at the temple for the devotees to worship.

Women, adorned in traditional attire, led the procession and sang songs in the memory of Queen Sunayana.

Among the attendees were former Dalhousie MLA Neeraj Nayar and the scion of the Chamba royal family, Asha Kumari. Deputy Commissioner Mukesh Repaswal, Municipal Council President Neelam Nair and Vice-Chairman CM Kashyap, along with other dignitaries, were also present during the event on Thursday. On Friday, a procession would be taken out from the Suhi Mata temple to the site where the Queen was believed to be buried alive, while a community lunch would be held on the last day. According to the folklore, Queen Sunayana of Chamba, in the sixth century, chose to be buried alive to quench the thirst of her subjects amid water shortage in the erstwhile kingdom. Even today, water flows from the canal in Chamba. Every year, a three-day fair is organised as a tribute to the sacrifice of the queen.

A stone idol in the memory of Queen Sunayna is placed at the monument established by King Sahil Varman on the banks of the flowing Kuhal (canal). While the fair is celebrated with grandeur by women and children, men are barred from taking part in the celebrations.

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