Lalit Gupta
Like every year, a week before the Jhiri mela to be held on Kartik Purnima, falling on coming 25th November, all roads leading to the otherwise clam and quite village of Jhiri in Marh block of Jammu, are teeming with life. In a build up to the nine-day long fair to be held from November 23 to 3 December, 2015, the trickle of devotees is fast turning into constant flow of men, women and children. Riding all kinds and means of public and private transports pilgrims in small and large groups, have started arriving here to worship and pay homage to 16th century Dogra folk hero Bawa Jitto.
After the fair of Pushkar in Rajasthan, the nine-day long Jhiri Mela is one of the most attended fairs in north India, which brings together more than five to seven lakh people every year to Jhiri village near Shamachak, some 22 kilometers from Jammu city on Akhnoor-Poonch road.
Jhiri Mela commemorates the supreme sacrifice of a simple and honest Dogra farmer Jit Mal also called as Baba Jitto who preferred to sacrifice himself in protest than accept the unjust conduct of the local landlord. In this age of rapid urbanization and globalization, the Jhiri fair, a living manifestation of vibrant folk culture and an expression of the common folk in keeping alive the collective memory as against the historical memory espoused by the elite.
Such is importance of this sacred spot of village Jhiri, that it has acquired the status of a thirtha for the local as well as outside communities. The Samadhi of Bawa Jitto at Jhiri, a symbol of his supreme sacrifice which he made some 550 years ago, through passage of time has acquired an aura of sacredness. It stands surrounded by many other religious structures which have been built in phases by devotees including local rajas, dewans, wazirs and rich persons. Today the place and its environs have emerged as a popular pilgrimage destination.
Legend: Like most of the folk heroes who begin life as a normal person but are transformed into an extraordinary personality by significant life events, often in response to social injustice, Baba Jitto, originally Jit Mal, was an honest and truthful farmer. According to folklore preserved by Dogra folk singers, he was a Brahmin and devotee of Mata Vaishno Devi and Raja Mandalik and native of Aghar village near Katra, Vaishno Devi.
Tired of the unfriendly attitude of his aunt Jojan, who even threatened the life of his seven year daughter Bua Kori, Jit Mal decided to leave the village and go to his friend, Iso Megh at Kahnachak There he requested Mehta Bir Singh, a kardar of the Ambgrota, to provide a piece of land for tilling. Mehta Bir Singh gave Jit Mal a piece of barren land after signing an agreement, that he would give him the one-fourth of his produce. Jit Mal’s hard work transformed the barren land which yielded a luxuriant crop. When Bir Singh got the news about the abundant, he arrived at the field along with his men and asked them to lift three fourth of the crop and leave only a quarter with Jit Mal.
Bawa Jitto pleaded Mehta Bir Singh to follow the terms of the agreement but the goons of Mehta forcibly took the lion share of the crop. Infuriated by the injustice, the helpless Jitmal, while uttering last words ‘sukki kanak nain khayaan mehtya, dinna ratt ralayi’ (don’t eat raw wheat, oh Mehta, let me mix my blood in it’), stabbed himself sitting on the heap of crop, leaving all grains drenched red with his blood. His daughter Bua Kori with help of their pet dog Kalu, located her father’s dead body hidden in the Simbal tree trunk by the goons of Mehta.
She then lit the pyre and burnt herself with her father. It is said after that a fierce rain storm raged the area and the blood strained grains were washed away. And all those people, even the birds, who partook those grains along with Mehta Bur Singh and family members now cursed with ‘hatya’ of the Baba and Bua Kori, later suffered from various afflictions, including diseases, untimely deaths and misfortunes. To seek pardon from the wrath of the holy spirit, they not only asked for his forgiveness by worshiping him as a ‘kul devta’—family deity, but also making it mandatory on their future generations to venerate Bawa Jitto and pay annual homage at his shrine.
With the result, the members of local and outside communities, who worship Bawa Jitto as a kuldevta (family/lineage deity) other than making their hazari on Kartik Purnima day, also come here throughout the year to pay obeisance on occasions of important events in their families like marriage, birth of child, mundan (tonsuring ceremony) or simply to thank or entreat the Bawa for his continuing protection and blessings.
One other important site of the sacred landscape of Jhiri is Baba De Talab which is known to have miraculous power of curing skin diseases and also blessing the childless mother with children. Pilgrims not only take a dip in the water of pond but also take back home the earth from the pond as shakkar. It is also believed that if an issueless lady takes bath in the pond she would be blessed with a child.
For the pious minded, there is regular recitation of folk songs by Jogis and Gardis (folk singers) in form of Bawa’s Karaks (devotional ballads) at the main shrine. Many entertaining cultural shows are also organized. Other than the performance of the play Bawa Jitto, an artistic presentation of folk hero’s life and sacrifice, this year’s highlight is screening of Dogri film Reet during the mela days. The Chhinj—wrestling matches, a regular feature of the mela in which wrestlers from far and wide vie for more than 40 maalis (matches), are going to be a treat for the sport enthusiasts among the visitors. Toys shops, sweetmeat stalls, camel rides, merry go-rounds, slides, giant-wheels, and the famous Mout Ka Kuaan—Well of Death (trick motorcycling inside consortium of wood-planks) are special attraction for children and teenagers.
Mela Arrangements: Led by Hitesh Gupta, SDM Marh, the Jhiri Mela Management Team is laying greater emphasis on sanitation and free flow of pilgrims during the nine-day long mela. Talking to Excelsior Hitesh Gupta said that that in order to ensure proper space for ritual bath for ladies a special bathing enclosure has been constructed by using space-framed technology genrally used in airports. Beside 145 makeshift sanitations units which were shabby and unkempt have been repaired and made as permanent structures.
Regarding drinking water facilities for the pilgrims, he said water requirement for drinking and sanitation purposes had been ensured by round the clock pumping station and moreover 450 hand pumps are functioning to meet the water requirements of visitors. Also we have put up five high mast lights besides 6750 CFLs for illuminating the Mela area, he said.
“Looking at the upward trend of pilgrims which as per rough estimate is likely to cross seven lakhs, all out efforts are being made make the mela as a viable platform for the economic development of local communities and also to make visit of devotees and tourists to the mela as comfortable and memorable as possible”, he said.
From the point of view of the dynamics of folkculture, Jhiri Mela which also known as ‘Farmer’s Festival’, continues to play its pivotal role as an extended moment of significant transfer of heritage, when next generation rises to receive, and go forward, to make possible the continuity of culture and tradition.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
