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| Devotees waiting for the Deity to arrive. |
The Khilla Festival at Shantha and
Devat which lasts for 2 days is celebrated with gaiety and devotion. Each year, the
celebration of this festival is held after the well-known Diwali. The previous
time when I had to chance to see such a colorful festival was 18 years ago, so
I planned to go there and as destination I chose Chopal. The first day of the
festival begins with the veneration of the local deity at Devat. Gracefully
dressed, the devotees come from many areas in large numbers to offer prayings.
After taking the deity's blessings they celebrate. It has a great importance
for the devotees, as they are given the chance to see the deity. In the
evening, the deity is brought to the ground while devotees dance on traditional
chants. The next step is a game played by two groups, called Badhan and Pandit,
who have to pull out a stick which was dug in the ground the previous day and
throw it in the air. Those who succeed in pulling out the stick become the
winners and in the end of the game the deity is carried to the Shantha village.
The next day, the festival ends in the Shatha village which gets crowded with devotees . In the evening, the deity is carried back to its temple in Devat.
This festival is the symbol of celebration without distance, distinction and
any other differences amongst the participants. It brings into the view the
equality of people in front of the deity, immersed in devotion and adoring it
with songs and dances.
Music plays an important role because
it represents a serial of praises and demands raised to the deity and also the
background for the dances. The dances show the feelings the devotees experience
throughout this festival and the intensity of their emotions and feelings
towards the colorful and intensively lived festival.
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| Deity Arrives |
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