Pangi/Shimla, Feb 10,
The 12th day of the Jukaru festival in Pangi, a tribal belt of Chamba district, saw a grand celebration of the Baharalu fair in Purthi Panchayat. Organized collectively by the Praja Mandals of Rei, Purthi, Shour, and Thandal, the fair symbolizes the end of a twelve-day period during which people from these villages traditionally do not visit each other. On this special day, they reunite in Purthi to celebrate their bond, embracing one another and offering prayers.
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Rath Yatra and Sacred Rituals
The highlight of the event was the Rath Yatra, which started from Rei and Shour and made its way to Purthi. The yatra was led by the Guru of Mata, with a massive turnout of devotees accompanying the procession. The atmosphere was charged with devotion as locals chanted prayers and played traditional instruments.
In the early hours of Monday, at 6:00 AM, residents of Thandal and Purthi gathered at the Malasani Mata temple to begin decorating the wooden Kukdi, a sacred object central to the festival. By 9:00 AM, the Kukdi was adorned with jewellery, marking its readiness for the procession. A special lamp was lit on the rooftop of the house where the fair took place, symbolizing spiritual continuity, while rituals were performed in honour of Balidan Raja, a revered local deity.
Historically, a sacrifice was offered before removing the jewellery from the Kukdi at the end of the fair. However, with changing times, this practice has been replaced with a coconut offering as a symbolic gesture. On Tuesday morning, the Kukdi will be ceremoniously brought back from the fair site, marking the conclusion of the celebrations.
Despite the freezing temperatures of Pangi, the enthusiasm of the people remained undeterred. As the festival concluded, locals expressed their joy and devotion, looking forward to preserving this age-old tradition for generations to come.
Pangi is a tehsil located in the Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh, India. According to the 2011 Census, the valley has a population of 18,868. It is an administrative subdivision situated at the northernmost edge of the state, enclosed by two formidable mountain ranges—the Zanskar Range to the north and the Pir Panjal Range to the south. This remote valley shares its southern boundary with Lahaul and Spiti, while to the east, it borders Jammu and Kashmir. The Chandrabhaga River carves its way through the rugged terrain, forming a deep, narrow gorge before flowing into the Doda region of Jammu and Kashmir.
Until recently, Pangi was considered the most remote tribal region of Himachal Pradesh, with road connectivity to the rest of the state only established in the mid-1990s. During the era of princely rule, the valley was so treacherous that government officials assigned to Pangi were granted a special allowance under the category of “funeral expenses,” as their safe return—alive or otherwise—was far from guaranteed.
