As one of India’s biggest festivals, Holi is celebrated with pomp and fervour throughout the country. People eat gujiyas (a sweet, deep-friend pastry), drink thandai (a spiced, sweet drink), and smear one another with coloured powder. The festival marks the arrival of spring and the renewal of the natural world after winter.
But for one village in Jharkhand, Holi celebrations are a harbinger of misfortune and natural calamities. The residents of Durgapur in Jharkhand’s Bokaro district have not celebrated the “festival of colours” for centuries.
Located 83 km from Ranchi, Durgapur was once ruled by King Durga Prasad, a ruler who loved to celebrate Holi. One year, his son died on the day of the festival. The story goes that whenever the villagers celebrated the festival in subsequent years, a famine or an epidemic would follow, claiming the lives of many people. The legend goes on to say that the king himself was killed on Holi while fighting a battle. Before his death, the king issued orders that his subjects should never celebrate the festival.
There is, however, another legend among a section of Durgapur for not celebrating Holi. Since the entire village is nestled underneath the Badrao Baba Hills, considered sacred by the locals, it is believed that Badrao Baba, the local deity, did not like colours. Only white flowers, white goats, and chickens are offered as sacrifices. Thus, people fear that playing with colours would annoy Badrao Baba, resulting in epidemics and diseases in the village.
On the day of Holi, instead of colours, music, and festivities, the streets of Durgapur look deserted. Villagers say whoever has celebrated Holi in Durgapur either died suddenly or suffered a long run of bad luck.
The fear of the curse is so deep-rooted that even people from neighbouring villages and other settlements do not smear colours on Durgapur residents on Holi. A village priest claims that when some fisherfolk came to Durgapur several years ago and breached the tradition, an epidemic soon broke out in the village.
Some villagers, however, say things have been changing over the years. Youngsters were now allowed to move out of Durgapur and celebrate the festival by visiting another village or town.