Devi Kol Festival of Garhwal:Crying out for govt.Recognition (p4280137.mov)

Original story

Devi kol (Mela) festival, a biannual festival held every year was celebrated with great fun and gaiety on Wednesday. It is a festival organized twice 14th April and beginning of Sawan” in the month of July. It’s a premiere festival of Jaunpur celebrated in honour of “Bhadra kali” the incarnate of Goddess Durga.

After two hours journey from Mussoorie one reaches the end of the road at village Kandi. From here it is trek of 2.5 Kilometers to reach the top where the temple is situated at 5,500 feet above sea level.

The devotees started converging to the Devi kol temple early morning from the surrounding villages to seek blessing of Godess “Bhadra Kali.”

The women wore their traditional attire which is a rare sight nowdays, laden with gold ornaments for this religious occasion. Many had come from as far as <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Delhi especially for this “Mela.”

The festival was inaugurated by the Chief Guest Mr.O.P.Uniyal B.J.P President Nagar Palika Mussoorie accompanied by ward members Mr.Kedar Singh Chauhan and Sushil Aggarwal. Mr.O.P.Uniyal after seeking blessings at the temple said, “It is a Top of the world feeling after an arduous trek of 2.5 Kilometers.” He further added that such “Melas” are important to preserve the social and cultural ethos of Garhwal region. He also reiterated that he will try his level best to get this “Mela” on tourism calendar of Mussoorie so that people can have first hand taste of the tradition and culture prevalent in the area. He merrily joined in the traditional dance of Jaunpur which was organized by the “Devi kol Mandir Mela Samiti in his honour among the beats of the traditional instruments like “Dhol” and “Rana Singha.”

Devi Kol Mandir Mela Samiti president Mr.S.S.Rawat highlighted the fact that this festival was 150 years old and the temple is revered among the villagers of surrounding area.

He said the from temple on a clear day you could see the peaks like Trishul and Bundurpoonch on the north side and doon valley on the south side. The panoramic view witnessed from here is mesmerizing.

 He said, “The temple has been renovated by the “Samiti” and efforts are on to bring water supply in the temple zone as it remains a big problem”.

Mr.Rawat also highlighted the need for recognition by tourism department of the state as it had all possibilities to become important tourism destination and provide employment and earn revenue for the department.

Sushil Aggarwal Member Nagar Palika Mussoorie said, “The place was best suited for Trekking and Eco Tourism as Nag Tibba was just 10 K.M. away from this place.

Kedar Singh Chauhan another Member Nagar Palika Mussoorie said this place also had abundance of shrubs and herbs like“Kingor,Hinsar and Timru” that could be cultivated for medicinal purposes.

For children it was another day of outing and buying toys available for sale at the site. Temple.

Rajendar Rawat the State Vice President “Akhil Bhartiya Panchayat Sangh” said, “Jaunpur has such hidden traditional festivals which need to be promoted and brought in limelight so that world is aware of such pristine culture and tradition of the region and that is possible by efforts of every member of the community.”

Rakesh Rawat the resident of “Kandi” village said the area has lot of potential if right kind of support was provided by the govt.It could become another important Tourist Destination

However such festivals without the help and support from tourism department would be relegated into oblivion to be found only in history books of the area.

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