Fagli Festival - The Masked Men of Sharchi

The richness and depth of celebrations express a culture accurately and how true it is to find in the villages even today. Every celebration or festivity has a reason of its own and it is deeply rooted in the community they live. It is well said that...

The greatness of a culture can be found in its festivals

-----------Siddharth Kathragudda ------

It makes a wonderful combination of a cultural tour with religious fervor. With diverse landscapes, the onset of winter marks rituals and festivity in the Himalayan region.

This year, we were blessed to be part of one such cultural extravaganza in the remote village of Sharchi in Himachal.

               Sharchi Village located at Altitude 7284 Ft,

Himachal, synonymous with snow-clad peaks, needs no introduction. Whereas Sharchi came into the limelight when our planning started to visit the Fagli Festival in the Himachal region.Though the  Fagli festival is celebrated across the villages in and around Gushani, Banjar, Beni, Jibhi, Malana, and Tirthan Valley in winter every year.

Being very remote and not so publicized, it was very difficult to get confirmation on the exact dates. Later during a discussion with a homestay owner, I came to know that it is scheduled to happen in a hamlet called Sharchi on 13 Feb and 14 Feb tentatively during the month of Phalgun or Falgun.

We had only 2 days to witness the event and relying on the words of Thakur, we traveled from Chandigarh and reached Aut, in the night. A quick jeep transfer from here brought us to the village of Gushaini. It was very cold, we checked into the rock and river cottage located next to the turbulent river. After a quick dinner, we quickly retired for the day.

The next day morning, we woke to the call of Rose finch in the bushes and other avian life such as Brown dipper, and Himalayan Kingfisher kept us engaged until we had breakfast. As scheduled we, had to reach Sharchi Village by 11:oo before the commencement of the festival, which was scheduled to start in the afternoon. In these remote locations, relying on the bus is a wise decision, so we hired a taxi by paying Rs 600/- and moved to Sharchi located 13 km away.

Our night stay was planned at a Homestay, overlooking the valley and mountains. It was strategically located before the sharchi village. 

About a km walk from the stay brought us to the offbeat Sharchi Village - translating to the land of truth, colorful houses, surrounded by snowclad mountains. We could see the temple of Village devata and the village looked self-sustained in all forms clean and simple.

We small eatery called Little Cafe drew our attention and we were served hot maggie with chai and it tasted yummy.It served as an ideal place to interact with the village folk.

I could see men, getting ready for the festival and drummers moving around the temple. Few are already in the festival mood and rehearsing for the event. For women, it’s a leisurely fun time to enjoy the ceremony,

We took a stroll around the village to witness the way of life. Women were busy knitting and village folk engaged in discussion. Children gathered on hilltops watching us. It looked like everything was frozen in time. In the heart of the village is.....

Jagdamba Temple dedicated to Jagdamba Rishi the presiding deity of Sharchi village. The temple holds a great religious importance for the people. A pond too which holds holy the residents of the village.

Finally, the sound of the drums indicated the beginning of the festival. The villagers thronged near the pond and temple. The whole village got a festive look. I could see men, wearing colorful local attire, decorating hear with floral hear gear of yellow flowers, a hand-knitted robe made from dry grass, sporting colorful wooden masks, hiding their faces, holding a stick carved in shape resembling a phallus as a symbol of fertility and potency, in their hands approaching the temple, and dancing to the tune of drums.

The festival is organized by villagers to observe the “victory of good over evil”. This festival is celebrated to mark the end of winter or the beginning of spring. It is celebrated in the entire valley on the moonless night or Amavasya. 

Men embrace each other and join the troop one by one, rhythmic dancing in tune with the music of trumpets and drums. They swirl to the beats, and who troop in the backdrop of snow peaks look elegant. They go around the village in procession, to the temple to receive blessings from deota ( Local deity ) for the upcoming season.

About Masks and Festival

There are many stories associated with the mask. Some say that people call names behind these masks to scare away evil powers. The festival is incomplete without wearing these wooden masks. Men wear them while they dance to psychedelic tunes. When dancing with the masks, some simply hold them up to their faces while some hold them up in the air, at times bringing them down to their faces to dance. Usually, the performances are not organized in most places, but let’s say it’s more like a carnival where the men gather together wearing tribal attires with their masks to celebrate. 

The mask come in two types, one known as Haduman, which is the main mask, and along with it, there are other big masks which are called the Tantrik and the Demons.

 As the festivity begins, the procession starts in full swing. Local men perform Nati, one of the folk dances of Himachal, during the day, and the ones wearing those dresses dance and swirl constantly on the folk numbers holding the rare masks. The Music reaches a crescendo, and with immense joy and high energy, locals follow the troop. The whole village which looked devastated reverberated with activity. Women not participating in the event, stand aloof and peep through windows in curiosity and witness the event.

There’s nothing individualistic about the festival, it’s all about the bonding that brings them together to celebrate After receiving a blessing from the chief of the ceremony the procession is taken to the temple, adjoining to the lake where they encircle the Deity dancing and swirling to the drum beats When they reap the new crop, it is offered to God. Well, this tradition is prevalent in different parts of the country differently. 

We were also. fortunate to be blessed by the devatas for good fortune. This is also one of the significances of this festival. On top of that, the cool environs, the dance, the music, the food, and the natural beauty are enough to enthrall your mind. 

The fabulous sunset made the evening more colorful. We stayed overnight at Durga Homestay and were blessed to have authentic Siddu with Walnut Chutney and ghee on request by  Abhinav .one of the member of our group.

The morning was well spent in birdwatching, we were greeted by a family of the great hill barbets, yellow-billed magpies, and plumbeous redstart Though there are a lot of things that this little village can offer you like Lambri top Trek, Sakirn Rishi Temple, Chhoie Waterfalls, Jalori Pass, Buddukkial lake and many more. Though the village world insisted to stay for the festival finale which was scheduled to happen on 14th Feb too, thanking them, we continued our journey toward Rampur, for yet another memorable weeklong tour in Spiti Valley.

As we know the attire, rituals, and traditions of this festival are centuries old and nothing can be more beautiful than following our ancestors by keeping their values alive for the next generation.

The mythology and mysteries of the land, are still waiting to unfold. So, to see the true soul of this valley make sure you don’t miss out on this festival next year.

Click the link. If you want to know about the MASKS of Srikanka.