The auspicious festival of lights, ‘Diwali’, is celebrated in the joy of Lord Rama’s return home from his 14-year exile, but Budhi Diwali is specifically celebrated in the Transgiri region of Sirmaur along with other parts of Himachal Pradesh.
Now, a lot of our readers must be wondering that Badi and Chhoti Diwali were just celebrated last month. Then what is this Budhi (old) Diwali?
Well, it is an old tradition and the reason behind this celebration has a logical and practical belief. It is believed that the news of the return of Lord Rama to his kingdom in Ayodhya took about a month to reach the region what is now Himachal Pradesh. Hence, people of the state celebrate it about a month after Diwali in the rest of India. According to the legends passed down by generations, this festival is being celebrated for the past 200 years. The celebrations are carried out in different regions in a vast array of manners.
This centuries-old tradition is celebrated in Chopal (Shimla), Anni and Nirmand (Kullu), Nagheta, Shillai, Sangrah and Rajgarh (Sirmaur). In district Sirmaur, the tradition is praised by the name of Manshaari (in the less progressive zones across the Giri). The story behind it in the Kullu region is that the locals remember and praise the death of Dano and Asur, aka the king of snakes. One may notice that barely any snakes can be spotted the next day.
A small town in district Sirmaur, named Nagheta, which is 5-6 hours away from the state capital ‘Shimla’, also celebrates the festival of Budhi Diwali. Hundreds of people from different towns far and near gather in the middle of the night to begin the festival of Budhi Diwali with dhol and nagadas with great enthusiasm and devotion. Later, during the day time, there are cultural programmes, folk dances and many other events.
People celebrate it by dancing with Virah songs, Bhayuri, Rasa, Natis and Swang. Some villages also have a tradition of dancing Badhechu at this festival. Budiat dances are also performed at midnight in many places. People congratulate each other by distributing dried dishes such as mora, chidwa, shakuli, walnuts.
The Rasa Dance is one of the major attractions during the celebration, since all male and female dancers move in a circle for hours, without a break, in perfect sync while singing folk songs. The whole atmosphere in the village gets filled up with fun and joy.
Symbolically, Budhi Diwali is also a festival of togetherness, of spending time with your family, and meeting your near and dear ones. And people who place their faith in such ideals come together every year and celebrate the festival with positive vibes.
This festival is an example of preserving cultural heritage that has kept alive its distinct identity and flavour since the days of yore. The positive part of this merriment is such that even the effect of modern-day celebrations in other parts of the country couldn’t dampen the customary style of Budhi Diwali, which has been so near the centre of their heart.