INDIA - VILLAGE LIFE
DURING FESTIVAL TIME PART II -
BHETIYARA AND BHERU KU KHEL
The village of Bhetiyara in the foothills of the Indian Himalayas is about an hour’s drive from Manpur Village over windy (and treacherous) roads that on occasion offer glimpses of giant snow capped peaks. The road is too narrow for two cars to pass one another without one diverting to slightly off the road and drivers feel compelled to drive as fast as they possibly can. Many scooters can be seen on the road, often carrying entire families of three or four persons, including young children. The tiny road is quite busy at this time because many people are bound for Bhetiyara to take part in a local festival called Bheru Ku Khel that takes place over two days in mid-November. The festival is held at the village square to celebrate the particular Gods that are local to this region. The celebration will see more than 1,000 people in attendance in the small village whose population is less than 200 on an ordinary day. Families come from all around to take part and locals engage in the tradition of spreading fresh cow manure on their dirt patios to make them holy for the occasion, and to create a more sturdy floor for visitors to relax and hang out on. On the first night there is dancing, singing and performances by people of all ages. On the second day the men of the village dress up as the local gods and dance around to frenetic drumming and chanting, offering villagers the opportunity to give unto them all of the things that they wish to get rid of. This often happens in a one one one interaction, with the large and heavy puppet-like God apparatuses approaching an individual and bowing to him or her again and again as the person speaks aloud. Once a person has made their offering, the gods offer a blessing back.
All around, people are crowded into the village square and sit and stand atop the packed rooftops of adjacent building in order to get a good seat to view the festivities. Circles upon circles of people, packed shoulder to shoulder, surround the dancers and drummers at their center. Old men and women adorn newcomers to the square with rice and a bright red spot of paste at the center of their foreheads. People [literally] jump up out of their seats and begin speaking in tongues, and are then pushed towards the center of the circle to join in. Some of them make their way as best they can to the dancing gods and drummers while others simply fall over onto the ground and continue their incoherent cries. Shouts go up here and there across the square and sometimes applause while the drums and dancing and chanting continue. Outside the square, men smoke chillums all day filled with local charras (fine hashish) and tobacco and drink whiskey and local wine on the front stoops of their houses. Many men are visibly heavily intoxicated and there is a feeling in the air of absolute madness. Like someone opened a secret magical door to another world and now spirits and gods alike are flying about in this world, taking over the occasional body of some intoxicated soul if they like.
