Dr. Banarsi Lal
Fairs and festivals add colour and vibrancy in our lives. Besides religious significance, these events have social and economic importance and help to break the monotony in life and invigorate our lives. Fairs and festivals are an integral part of the lives of inhabitants of Union Territory of J&K and have been organized in different parts of J&K since ancient times. Many fairs and festivals such as Jhiri Mela, Bahu Mela, Dera Baba Baisakhi Mela, Sankari Mela, Sudh Mahadev Mela etc. are celebrated in the Union Territory of J&K which bear the testimony of the proud and rich cultural heritage of J&K. Fairs and festivals signify the rich culture of the Dogras which have been bequeathed by our forefathers. In such types of events people from different areas and communities get chance to meet together and increase the brotherhood. These events also provide opportunity for the budding artists to showcase the talent and transmit the cultural heritage such as folksongs, folk dance etc.
It is a kind of feast to our eyes and ears to watch Dogra culture in a live way. One such event is Jhiri Mela which is celebrated at Jhiri village in Jammu province of Union Territory of J&K. Every year Jhiri Mela is held at Jhiri village on Kartik Poornima (late autumn full moon) in October or November. Jhiri village is situated around 20 Kms away from Jammu at Jammu-Akhnoor Highway. This year this event will be commenced from 26th of November. This Mela signifies the courage, honesty, innocence, humility, culture and truthfulness of a revolutionary farmer. This event is attended by lakhs of devotees across the nation and abroad. Pilgrims come in this village to pay tribute to the 16th century Dogra hero, Baba Jitto who is also known as the revolutionary farmer. The fair is celebrated to salute the courage of Baba Jit Mal who is popularly known as Baba Jitto. The whole Jhiri village is magnificently decorated by the local inhabitants during the event. This Mela is associated with the supreme sacrifice of an honest farmer and a great devotee of Vaishno Devi who fought against injustice and laid down his life after he was cheated by the Kardar of the area. He sacrificed his life for the justice and rightiousness. He is greatly known for his fearless character. During the event various exhibitions stalls depicting various technologies are set by the different departments. Awareness on various agricultural and allied sectors schemes is also created among the visiting farmers. Various articles such as pots, books, toys etc. are also sold which are based on Baba Jitto life.
Baba Jitto was a sincere, honest and truthful farmer. He was from Aghar Jitto village in Reasi Distt. of Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir which is about 24 km from Reasi town. His real name was Jit Mal. Like many other folk heroes who begin their life as an ordinary person but are transformed into someone exceptional personality by performing significant life events in their lives. Baba Jitto was a Brahmin and great devotee of Mata Vaishno Devi. His aunt Jojan was having hostile behaviour towards him and finally he decided to leave the village along with his daughter Bua Kouri. He went to his friend, Iso Megh at Kahnachak. There he requested Mehta Bir Singh, a feudal lord of the Ambgrota for a part of land. Mehta Bir Singh gave Jit Mal a part of barren and unfertile land after signing an agreement that he would give him the one-fourth of his farm produce. Jit Mal worked hard and he transformed the unfertile and barren land into productive fertile land which finally produced a bumper crop. When Bir Singh came to know about the high crop yield, he arrived at the fields along with his men and instructed them to lift three fourth of the crop yield and leave only a quarter for Jit Mal. Baba Jitto urged Mehta Bir Singh to follow the terms and conditions of the agreement but Mehta forcibly took the major produce of the crop. Injustice done by Mehta compelled Jit Mal to stab himself after sitting on the heap of grains which got wet by his blood. He uttered his last words “Sukki kanak nain khayaan mehetya, dinna ratt ralayi” (don’t eat raw wheat, Mehta; let me mix my blood in it).His seven year old daughter Bua Kouri with the help of their pet dog Kalu, found the dead body of her father which was hidden in the Simbal tree trunk by the goons of Mehta. Ultimately she lit the pyre and burnt herself with her father. After that a fierce rain storm raged the area, the blood strained grains were washed away and all those people, even the birds, who ate those grains later suffered from various diseases, untimely deaths, misfortunes etc. In order to seek pardon from the wrath of the holy great spirit, they not only asked for his forgiveness by worshiping him as a ‘Kuldevta'(family deity) but also making it mandatory for their future generations to venerate Baba Jitto and pay annual homage to him. The Samadhi of Baba Jitto and his daughter were raised at Jhiri in Shama Chak village which is about 18 Kms from Jammu and 5 Kms. from Misriwala on Jammu-Poonch Highway. A temple was built at the site of martyrdom of father and the daughter. Since then every year the Mela is organised at this place. Baba Jitto sacrificed his life to get his due share of agricultural crop from landlord Bir Singh who denied him to give the committed share. After that Baba Jitto became very famous and he has a great regard among the farmers’ community.
The pilgrims have a great faith over this spot. They take a holy dip in the pond known as Babe-da-Talab which is known to have miraculous powers for curing the skin ailments. People take the holy dip and offer prayers of regret. It is said that if a childless lady takes bath in the pond, she is blessed with a child by the blessings of Baba Jitto and Bua Kouri. The pilgrims take the mud of the pond to their homes as they consider it as Shakker which is believed to cure various diseases. Even during the marriages and mundun ceremonies people pay homage to Baba Jitto. There are also ancient temples of Sui and Buri which are 5 Km. away from Jhiri village and are famous for the wall paintings and metal idols of Shri Ram and Sita. During the event the various departments organises various camps and establish various exhibition stalls to create awareness among the farmers on agriculture and allied sectors. Cultural programmes depicting the Dogra culture and heritage are also organized. Sports events like Kabaddi, volleyball, wrestling tug of war etc. are also organised during the Mela. Sweet stalls, merry- go- rounds, giant wheels etc. add charm to the Mela.
The Jhiri Mela is an important annual congregation of farmers and other pilgrims who gather at Jhiri village to pay homage to Dogra folk hero Baba Jitto. It is a source of attraction for the devotees from across India and abroad. The fair is held every year to pay tribute to the 16th century folk hero Baba Jitto, who laid down his life to defend the values of honesty and justice. The Jhiri Mela witnesses’ great hustle and bustle during the Mela as pilgrims’ families and various groups belonging to different communities and hailing from different parts of the country congregate there to pay obeisance at the Baba Jitto and seek his blessings and the blessings of his daughter Bua Kouri. People from different nook and corners of the country have also visit this spot throughout the year and enjoy the unique place of spirituality. Especially the members of local and outside communities, who worship Baba Jitto as a Kuldevta (family deity) come here 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 Baba for his continuing protection and blessings. Apart from large number of kiosks of eatables and traders displaying their wares for sale, which include from trinkets to new popular electronics gadgets, the fair presents hosts of entertainments and education for every age group of people.
This fair promotes unity, honesty, truthfulness, courage and innocence in the society and signifies our rich culture. The young generation of today remains glued to mobile phones, laptops, TVs etc. rather being a part of such socio-religious events. We all must be proud of our diverse and rich culture and we must spare our time from our hectic schedule to take part in such events. Parents should encourage their children to attend such events to realize the significance of such events and learn to respect, preserve and transmit our rich culture.
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