Diwali is celebrated on different dates in Uttarakhand

The festival of lights in Tehri district in Garhwal region is celebrated exactly one month after the main Diwali.

Tehri: While the whole country will celebrate the festival of Diwali on 12th of November, the festival of lights is celebrated in different ways even on different dates in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand. The festival of Diwali is celebrated in Tehri, Garhwal in three different ways, while in Jaunsar Babar, the Diwali is celebrated after the main Diwali.

Similarly, in many parts of Kumaon, the festival of Diwali is celebrated on different dates. People of Tehri district in Garhwal region of Uttarakhand celebrate this Diwali in different ways. Here there is a tradition of celebrating this festival exactly one month after the main Diwali. While as in other parts, the Igash festival is celebrated 11 days after the main Diwali festival.

In the Diwali of Mangshir, people celebrate the festival by preparing dishes from the produce of their fields or should we say around Tehri Garhwal and perform traditional dance on the occasion. Diwali is celebrated on the day of Igash festival by lighting a stick in the entire area and gathering at one place to celebrate this festival.

This festival of Diwali is celebrated with great fervour and enthusiasm in Tehri and the surrounding areas. In Uttarkashi of Garhwal, Diwali is celebrated exactly one month after the main Diwali. The story of the local Diwali festival here is very interesting. People here also call Diwali as the festival of Bagwal or Mangsheer.

It is believed that between 1627 and 1628 when the Tibetan robbers were looting everything inside the border of Garhwal, then Raja Naresh along with Madhav Singh Bhandari and Lodhi Rikhola led the combat exactly one month after Diwali. The festival of Diwali was celebrated in the entire village. Since then, the people here celebrate Diwali with joy and happiness exactly one month after Diwali.

Diwali is also very special for the Bhotiya community. Even today, people of the Bhotiya community live in large numbers in the border areas of Uttarakhand. Diwali here is celebrated just one day before Dussehra. The community prepares various dishes in their homes and then take out a procession in the entire area with torches in their hands.

This is called 'Diwali Pav' by the people of Bhotiya community. Every year, when Amavasya falls in the month of Magh, the people here celebrate this festival. It is said that celebrating Diwali in this way brings prosperity to their family and friends. In Kumaon, houses are decorated with offerings on the festival of Diwali and people start celebrating this festival from the day of Sharad Purnima.

They light lamps around their homes and this sequence continues for a month.