More than 300 participants got injured in the famous fair where a traditional war of stones is held to please the deity of Goddess Varah at picturesque Bagwal of Devidhura in Champwat district. The ages old fair is held on the day of Raksha Bandhan every year.
Though the High Court banned stone pelting five years ago, asking people to throw pieces of fruits instead, devotees still resort to hurling stones as mark of respect to the tradition.
The organisers of the fair informed that about 50000 people attended the traditional fair. Heavy rain failed to deter the enthusiasts from participating in the sacred war. The festival was held for exactly eight minutes only; it started at 2.42 pm and ended at 2.50 pm. The district administration had arranged fruits to be used during the festival but some of the participants used stones as it is considered auspicious to shed human blood to appease the deity. The warriors form four groups to take part in the stone pelting festival to please Varahi deity. It is traditional practice that the stone pelting continues until the blood, measuring the quantity in a man’s body, is shed in the war.
The Education Minister of Uttarakhand, Arvind Pandey, MlA Bhimtal Ram Singh Keda, BJP leader Balraj Pasi and former MP K C Singh Bawa was present on the occasion.
located at a distance of 45 kilometers from district headquarters of Champawat the fair attracts large number of devotees from Garhwal and Kumaon regions. local goddess Varahi is worshipped before the start of the main event. On the priest’s signal, the participating groups throw stones at each other, no matter how much injuries take place. It goes up to seven to nine minutes and ends with the priest’s signal again.
locals believe that blood from the injuries appeases the goddess who fulfils their wishes.The major attraction of the goddess Varahi is the traditional stone war, though the war is now played by the fruits some enthusiasts still use stones. It is believed that earlier there was a practice of human sacrifice to appease the deity. The tradition has it that one old lady whose son was to be sacrificed managed to convince the deity that a war of stones between different areas would be staged till blood equaling one person is shed. After this the practice of stone war was initiated. It is also believed that Bhim had also participated in the stone war. The war mongering and slogans by the warriors carrying stones and fruits and protective bamboo shields creates an out of the world scene during the festival. The injured are immediately picked up and provided medical aid. After the war the warriors embrace each other and join in boisterous celebrations.