chitra-vichitra: a fascinating fair of the tribal hinterland in gujarat, india

7/30/2019 Chitra-Vichitra: A fascinating Fair of the tribal hinterland in Gujarat, India

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Travelogue

INDIAN CURRENTS 29 April - 05 May 20133838

Acareful check of thetimings of the startand conclusion of all

Indian fairs and festivals will bean amazing revelation as it hasbeen so perfected by traditionsthat the people understand itwithout even consulting thecalendar or an invite. Withouta call, people in large numbers

turn up at every such occasionas it enables them to eitherperforming certain rituals orfestivities relating to respectivereligious practices or merry-making or a warm welcome tothe change of season.

The Moon-governed Indiancalendar or the Almanac is agood indicator to the number ofevents that are held and peopleparticipate in them. Recently,during the Navaratras or anine-day observance of fast forspiritual cleansing that was heldfrom April 10 to 18 this yearI decided to travel to certainremote corners located in the areatouching the boundaries of bothGujarat and Rajasthan. The area

consists of places in the districtsof Palanpur, Sabarkantha andBanaskantha in northeasternGujarat and Udaipur, Sirohi andPali in Rajasthan. The whole

area is interspersed by high tolow hills of the Aravalli in whichthere are plateaus and fertileplains suitable for cultivation.The hills are a boon as manyrainy streams originate in theme.g. Sabarmati and Sookari,some of which meet and othersow direct towards the ArabianSea.

The most aractive eventthat takes place on a smallisland at the conuence of threerivers Sabarmati, Akul andVyakul -- is a fair called Chitra-Vichitra in which Adivasis of theneighboring villages annuallyparticipate in thousands. It isheld on the early hours of the rstday of the Chaitra Pratipada on

which the new Vikarami Samvatalso starts. People start comingto the venue from the eveningand stay on the dry bed of therivers, particularly Sabarmati

and Akul, the whole night. Thesite has a strange footprint ofChitrangada and Vichitraveerya,the two incapacitated sons ofRaja Shantanu who had marriedthe beautiful Satyavati akaMatsyagandha, the daughter ofa local sherman who plied hisboat on the Jamuna.

Due to over indulgence inwomen and all sorts of vicestheir health had deterioratedand they and became incapableof becoming progenitors. Itmay be recalled that BheeshmPitamah had abducted thethree daughters of the kingof Kashi (present Benaras orVaranasi) for marrying to thetwo brothers. Both the brothers

BY RanbiR Singh The Chit ra-Vichit ra Fair held in a vil lage at

the conuence of three rivers Sabarma,

Akul and Vyakul in North-Eastern Gujarat

in which Adivasis parcipate in thousands is

a unique one >>>

hue ssemle of people for perform lst rtes ofte deprted souls dur Ctr-Vctr Fr


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Travelogue

39INDIAN CURRENTS 29 April - 05 May 2013 39

wasted their bodies and livesand died soon aer they wereforcibly betrothed to Ambikaand Ambalika whereas Amba,the eldest, asked to be relieved,and became a sage. She diedat Ambala named aer her --aer aaining salvation.

Legend has it that bothChitrangada and Vichitraveeryahad visited exactly the placewhere the rivers meet, installeda Shivalingam and performedseveral rituals in repentance oftheir deeds and le for heavenlyabode. It may be surmised thatthe Adivasis of the neighboring

villages had got themselvesacquainted with the brothersand their servants and providednecessary amenities for theirmundane comforts as long as itwere desired. As per the belief,the Shivalingam is still reveredby the local inhabitants who aremostly peasants. The Adivasisbuilt a small, inconsequentialroof over the deity.

As far as one could see fromthe island a straight elevationof at least 10-metre height fromthe boulder-laden and pebble-lled dry river bed, one can seethe range of Vindhyachal hillsthat rise to 200 metres at places.The valley and hill slopes aredoed with numerous type oforal wealth: principal speciesare date-palm, mahua, acacia,garmalo (Cassia stula L.), amla(Emblica ocinalis Gaertn),Moto arduso (Atlanthus excels),Jangli Saragavo (Moringaconcanensis Nimmo), Palashor Dhak (Beutia monosperma),Neem (Azadiracta indica) andTamarind/Imlee (Tamarindusindica). An occasion tree ofVarun (Creteva nervula) also

came to be noticed besides over200 other species of shrubs, bushand plants. Some of them arepoisonous but many are used inthe traditional remedies by the

tribal people.

Poshina is a small villagein the area inhabited by 8,000people mostly peasants,artisans, dalits, traders, Rajputs,Brahmins and the tribes. TheQasbah, now falls in Aravalidistrict carved out from areastaken from both Sabarkanthaand Banaskantha districts anddesignated as Taluka, is locatedon the right arm of a mediumsized rainy stream amidst theplains formed by erosion ofsoil from the surrounding hillranges. The fertile plains yield

good crops and the groundwateris sweet and available in plenty.There are no industries but theLohars, carpenters and poerfamilies that live here also dontnd enough work as the peopleprefer industrially manufactured

products over handcraedarticles. The ambience of thetown becomes more picturesqueduring the rainy season with anannual rainfall exceeding 1200mm.

By prior booking I stayed atDarbargarh owned and managed

Offers y devotees t Svlm t Ctr-Vctr fr veue

17t Cetruy Drrr plce t Pos


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Travelogue

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by Kunwar HarendrapalSingh Waghela whose familyestate and grand old palace atRajpipla, 50 km away, is anotherrecluse for heritage lovers. Theruler of this small principalityhaving about 300 villages underthem is said to have descendedfrom the western Chalukyas ofSaurashtra. Darbargarh Palace atPoshina is a 17th century fort-likehaveli, modied and renovatedfor mundane comforts with careby retaining all the essentialfeatures of the traditional Indianarchitecture. He lodged me in anold suite, which was comfortable

even without switching onceiling fan in mid-April whenoutside temperature couldrise above 35 degrees Celsius,though a split AC was installedin it. The food oered from hiskitchen is simply traditionalIndian cuisine and, of course,nourishing. Darbargarh Poshinacan be accessed at www.poshina.com for further information.There are about 12 rooms inthe Darbargarh, well furnishedwith ACs and aached modernbaths in which foreigners whoarrive here via Ahmedabad onconducted tours from Octoberend to mid-March prefer to stay.

A visit inside the narrow andwinding alleys of Poshina villagecould be a visual comfort and as

we reach the other end towardsthe east and the river bank, theShikhara of an old Shiva templecatches our aention. As oneapproaches the dilapidatedentrance of the temple premise,one notices several cenotaphsof the forefathers of KunwarSaheb that were probably builtin granite stone about 100-250

years ago. The 14th centuryMahadev temple built by anunknown ruler of the area is ane work of artistic carving instone with gures in tribhanga

mudra and siing postures.

However, despite the fact thatit is a protected monument, careis inadequate. The Circle Ocerof the ASI at Ahmedabad seemsto have forgoen this ancientmonument. Its Mandapamhad fallen o long ago and itsfragments lay scaered in thepremises. No conservation orrestoration work was ever doneon the temple. A local priestwho lives in the premises alsolooks aer the deity and twiceperforms daily pooja. Womenare routine visitors but peoplecome in large numbers on theday of the Mahashivratri. I feltdisgusted to see the fecal lth inthe rear side of the temple with

a view of agricultural elds. In

olden days the view would havebeen clear as the riverfront wasvisible from the temple locatedon a height of two metres fromthe nearby ground.

Reverting to the Chitra-Vichitra story, I may say thatthe Adivasis have a strangeconnection with the legend asit is mainly associated with thedisposal of ashes of the dead inthe family on this auspiciousoccasion on the rst day of themoonlit fortnight of Chaitra.Not only the Adivasis butpeople of all castes among theHindus arrive here from as faras 150 km or beyond includingthose that have migrated longago in search of beer work

14t Cetury nlkt Mdev temple t Pos

Trl wome trdtol costume t Ctr-vctr fr


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41INDIAN CURRENTS 29 April - 05 May 2013 41

opportunities elsewhere. Theoccasion is mainly associatedwith performance of last ritesand observance of the ritualsas prescribed in the Hindutreatises. All acts are performedin the wee hours and by the timethe Sun rises on the horizon frombehind the hill range, peoplewrap up the bag and baggageand leave the venue.

Despite the fact the mainpurpose of the arrival of thepeople is disposal of ashes andperforming last rites, the occasionis not at all dull. The presence ofhundreds of Adivasi lads and

lasses ll the venue with charmand pageantry, particularly theyoung women who come herein strikingly colorful costumeswearing heavy ornaments madeof silver metal. They roam hereand there in groups whereas theboys loiter aimlessly lookingfor articles in the local mart orappreciating the young women.As the Sun rises on the horizonand the temperatures rise froma comfortable 16-18 in themorning to 26-29 by noon, thedust overlaps the venue butunder the shade of large treesthe youngsters assemble for adance performance in a uniqueway.

They form groups of men andwomen. While clingingly closely

to each other the forward as wellas the backward steps are closelyregulated. For onlookers, it is aspectacle and everyone patientlywait for such a performance tooccur. It is spontaneous as noneasks the youngsters to do it. Thecrowd becomes thin or thickas outsiders go away by latemorning hours and give way to

locals who start congregatingthe venue and ll in the void bynoon here. The place is visitedby many young and veteranphotographers from western

India, particularly Ahmedabad,

Baroda and Bharuch.Occasionally, academic

people also visit the fair forphoto-documenting the events.They feel extremely satised tocapture the colorful pageantry.Foreign tourists are cautionednot to visit the fair venue at nightto save from embarrassmentif an untoward incident or amishap occurs. The whole ofthe venue is illuminated withincandescent electric bulbs.Water tankers are parked atconvenient places in addition tomaking adequate arrangementfor transportation of visitors. Irst came to know about the fairsometime in February 2011 andvisited it soon thereaer. Thiswas my second visit. Earlier, it

was the public/private transportthat came as rescue to reach thesite of the fair located 13 kmaway, via Delwara village, fromPoshina.

I succeeded in catching certainactivities including the onein which a local faith healerperformed a ritual on a mentallydisturbed young womanclaiming that he castaway a devilspirit that had overpoweredher for some time. Instead ofseeking proper treatment theOjhas or faith healers are active

in these villages. I watched for

half an hour the dramatic act of

pacifying the Bhoot or the evil

spirit or a vampire, whatever

it was, and photo-documented

it too in addition to making a

recording as video clip.

The history of the Chitra-Vichitra fair is as fascinating

and mysterious as the life of

the Adivasis that inhabit the

Sabarkantha district. It is said

that over 85 per cent population

of the district comprised

Adivasis, mostly Garasiya. Its

topography and physiography

is charming as well. The fair

must have been started by someunknown social process and

custom but its antiquity certainly

dates back to the Mahabharata

era.

Wter e drw from well te felds er Delwr vlle,dst. Srkt

a typcl grsy wom wter cld t gukr

chitra-vichitra: a fascinating fair of the tribal hinterland in gujarat, india

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