By Arun Pratap Singh
Garhwal Post Bureau
Uttarkashi, 17 Aug: Amid the towering mountains, Dayara Bugyal today turned into a sea of milk, curd and butter as the villagers and the tourists from India and abroad celebrated the traditional Andhudi, or Butter Festival, at an altitude of around 11,000 feet above sea level. This festival is like Holi but is played with milk, curd and butter in place of colours. The villagers as well as the tourists smeared one another with milk, curd and butter on this occasion creating a unique spectacle of Uttarakhand’s rich folk culture and traditions. This festival is also often compared with Spain’s La Tomatina festival which is played with tomatoes.
The Andhudi festival also called Ghee Sankranti in Uttarakhand is organised by the Dayara Tourism Development Committee and it witnessed the villagers from the Panchgai Patti area, including Raithal, Natin, Bandrani, Kyark and Bhatwari villages, reach Dayara Bugyal along with the ceremonial palanquin of their revered Deity, Lord Someshwar. A large number of villagers and devotees from other parts of the district also reached the high-altitude meadow to participate in the festival.
The festival began with the ceremonial invocation of the five Pandavas through their designated mediums, known locally as pashwas. This was followed by the appearance of the pashwas accompanying the palanquin of Lord Someshwar. According to local belief, Lord Someshwar, through the pashwa, moved among the devotees on Kafuwa and blessed the people participating in the festival.
The villagers then offered milk, curd and butter collected in the traditional temporary shelters or chhanis in the bugyal to the forest Deities and local Gods and Goddesses. The offerings are considered an important part of the religious rituals associated with the festival.
After completion of the religious rituals, the ‘Radha-Krishna’ couple broke a pot filled with butter. As soon as the pot was broken, the atmosphere at the bugyal became even more festive. The villagers began playing their traditional form of Holi by smearing milk, curd and butter on one another. Devotees who had gathered to witness the unique celebration also enthusiastically joined the festivities.
Women dressed in traditional folk attire performed the Rasau-Tandi dance along with the Radha-Krishna pair, while men also participated enthusiastically in the dance. The sound of the dhol and damau, accompanied by traditional folk songs, kept Dayara Bugyal lively for a long time. The Andhudi festival provided a vibrant display of not only religious faith but also Uttarakhand’s rich folk culture, traditions and heritage.
The villagers said that preserving the tradition, which has been passed down through generations, was the responsibility of the younger generation so that the unique cultural heritage could continue to thrive.
Dayara Tourism Development Committee president Manoj Rana said the Andhudi festival is associated with a centuries-old mythological folk tradition. The festival is celebrated when villagers begin bringing their livestock back to their villages after grazing them in the high-altitude bugyals during the summer months. During the festival, milk, curd and butter are offered to the forest deities and local Gods and Goddesses, with the villagers seeking blessings for prosperity, well-being and the safety of their livestock.
Over the years, the festival has also begun attracting tourists from different parts of the country. Visitors are increasingly travelling to Dayara Bugyal to witness and participate in the unusual celebration, while foreign tourists have also started taking an interest in the traditional festival. Its distinctive character has helped the traditional festival of Uttarkashi gain wider recognition beyond Uttarakhand.
The unusual manner in which the festival is celebrated has also led some people to draw a comparison with Spain’s famous La Tomatina festival, in which participants engage in a massive tomato-throwing celebration. The comparison has contributed to the popularisation of the event as Uttarakhand’s own Butter Festival, although the Andhudi tradition has its own distinct religious, pastoral and cultural roots dating back generations.
