Buddhi Diwali begins in Kullu

Dipender Manta

Tribune News Service

Mandi, December 7

Buddhi Diwali, a three-day festival of lights, began in Nirmand village of Kullu district on Friday.

Across India, Diwali was celebrated on November 7 this year, while residents of Nirmand are set to celebrate this age-old tradition after one month of Diwali.

The festival marks merrymaking, singing folk songs and invoking gods by offering coconuts amid the beating of drums and blowing of trumpets.

According to the tradition, the Buddhi or “dark Diwali” celebrations begin on the first “amavasya” (new moon lunar phase) after the regular Diwali every year.

During the festival, people dance and sing folklore through the night in front of bonfire.

Ramesh Kumar, a native of Nirmand village, said the festival was celebrated to commemorate the killing of demons who resided there in the form of snakes.

Earlier, there was a prevalent custom that villagers took animals to a nearby temple where the sacrificial ceremony was performed on ‘amavasya’. The severed head of the animal was offered to the deities and the meat was taken home for cooking. But after the directions of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, villagers shunned the animal sacrifice and offered coconut to appease the deity.

Mohinder, another resident of the village, said, “According to the ritual, people dance during the daytime forming a long chain with a huge rope. Outsiders are not allowed to take part in the dance activity”.

Based on a local mythology, Diwali was celebrated in some remote areas of Himachal Pradesh almost a month after the rest of the country had its festival of lights.

It is mainly celebrated at Nirmand village in Kullu district, at Shillai, Sangrah and Rajgarh area in Sirmaur district and the Chopal area in Shimla district of the state.

The legend has it that the news of Lord Ram’s return to Ayodhya after killing Ravana reached late in these pockets of the region and thus Diwali celebrations were held later than in the rest of the country.

The Buddhi Diwali festival is the symbol of onset of harsh winter season in these areas.

Since germination stops, there is no work in the fields for the next three months. It is time to relax and make merry. During the festival, the villagers make ‘pahadi’ cuisines along with ‘mooda’ (mixture of wheat grains and cannabis).