Do you get keyed up when you hear any celebration coming, especially one with lots of delicious food!? Well, Himachal Pradesh has a festival that’s perfect for foodies! Come on, let’s dive in!
Himachal Pradesh is a place known for divine beings where every celebration is commended with incredible delight and satisfaction. If you need to get a sneak peek of Himachali Customs and Culture, then you should attend some significant Himachal Pradesh celebrations. One such is Sair, a festival celebrated in mid-September in the state to mark the finish of the yield collection. While the festival’s roots lie deep in the traditions of Shimla, Mandi, Kullu, Kangra, and Solan, its spirit has spread far and wide.
This year (2024) Sair Festival will be celebrated on 16th September.
What makes it even more fascinating is the way of celebration. Each mentioned region infuses its unique charm into the Sair celebrations. In Kullu, Mandi, Kangra and Bilaspur the festival is celebrated among friends and family while in Shimla and Solan, it is commended in much excellent scale as a fair with enthusiasm and spirit of enjoyment.
What People do in Sair?
During Sair, local people beat drums and furthermore blow trumpets while offering their gathered yields to the Gods. It is believed that one could summon the energies of the Gods and look for endowments of mega crops in the following season. Additionally, local people have prophet meetings wherein they evade fiendish spirits to guarantee the flourishing of their respective families alongside the assurance of animals and yields from any sort of regular fiasco.
Let’s explore what celebrations and beliefs make the stories different in the upper and lower areas of Himachal.
Sair in Kangra, Hamirpur, and Bilaspur
Here, the arrangements for the morning puja are initiated from the prior night. People often include their harvest offerings in the puja, which typically includes items like corn, guava, lemon, and wheat. The wheat is spread on the plate and each organic product is set on top of it. The next morning, a barber from the town visits each house conveying the symbol of Sair Devi, and is given some of the season’s collection and some money as ‘chadawa’. Some even give their ‘Rakhi’ and ‘Suhaagi’. Later in the morning 6-7 dishes are prepared, of which Pakodu, Patrodu, and Bhutoru are an unquestionable prerequisite and the rest might fluctuate.
A standard plate with six dishes includes Dahi Bhalla, Aloo Ki Sabji, Meethi Roti, Gulgule (singed sweet balls), Bhutoru (Seared Yeasted Bread), Kabuli Channe and Pakodu in focus. Kheer is likewise made in many houses. These dishes are then circulated among family members and they consequently oblige by giving the same dishes they have cooked for the festival. The next day the lemons are tossed in the rice fields with the hope of a better harvest in the coming year.
In certain areas of Kangra, it is said during this celebration a local bird comes which is either dim or light yellow shaded. A dull shaded bird is an awful sign and convincingly a light yellow-hued one means success for the family.
Sair in Mandi
In Mandi individuals celebrate with purchasing and giving walnuts to their friends and family, one can see the street sides brimming with merchants selling walnuts in huge sacks. The traditions of playing with walnuts continue in the rural areas to this day. This game is played on the corner of the street square or the courtyard of the house. To begin with, the players aim at the scattered walnuts on the floor. If the target hits right, the nut belongs to the person who hit the walnuts. Apart from this dishes like Siddu, Kachori, Childu, and Gulgule are made. Also, there is a tradition of taking blessings from elders, it is called ‘’Drub dena’’ in a local dialect. Drub is a green plant, more like grass. For this, the person giving drub takes five or seven walnuts in their hands and touches elder’s feet and then pass the drub to them. To the same elders give blessings by putting the Drub behind their ears.
Sajja in Kullu
In Kullu, that very day, individuals celebrate what they call as ‘Sairi-Sajja‘, A night prior, lamb and rice feast is ready for supper and the following very day of celebration begins with exceptional cleaning and pooja of ‘Kul’ Deity and preparation of halwa, which is then shared among the relatives. For individuals of Kullu it is a period of festivity at the beginning of Shravan month. It is a celebration of meeting and seeing family members who are welcomed with ‘Joob’- a green plant again, more like grass. Individuals take blessings from the elders while they exchange ‘joob’. People believe that on this day the Deities come to earth from heaven and people welcome them by beating drums. Nonetheless, in Himachal every village has its own Deity, so people worship and welcome them on this day.
Sair Fair in Solan and Shimla
On this day fairs are held at different places and people participate in them enthusiastically. Drums are played and folk dances are performed. In Solan’s Arki, and Shimla’s Mashobra an exceptional occasion of bull battling happens (currently banned). On an average 50 bulls are gathered for the bubbly event. Prior to these battles, the bulls are additionally made to drink liquor. Unlike Athens, here even the ordinary men are permitted to see the battle. The bull battle in Sair is effectively affordable for any average person as the section expense is insignificant. Apart from this, various stalls and brief shops are orchestrated which offer handiworks, earthenware, garments, embellishments, utensils and so on.
However, in the present day most of the people are moving away from customs. Remember the Barber Culture which we mentioned in ‘’Sair in Kangra’’ is slowly fading away, today you’ll find a few barbers who visit the house to collect the coins, grains and walnuts. All thanks to modernization! The most broadly perceived belief of get-together or gathering after long generous deluges, a reason to meet your family and relatives particularly your sisters who have been married off. Besides that it marks the start of the winter season. Keeping up with traditions, it is yet celebrated with the same excitement in families and towns which have not yet been graced by the enrichments of modernization. Likewise, fairs are the idyllic chance for folks to come close, purchase presents and witness culture and traditional art forms and considerably more. Hope this Sair/Sajja brings a ton of happiness while you share your Sair thali and taste every single dish one by one.
Wish you and your Family an Exceptionally Prosperous Sair/Sajja!
