The tradition of celebrating fairs and festivals at revered shrines is very common in the Jammu region, and is considered to be an essential part of the Dogra culture. One such fair is the Jhiri Mela that will be held next in the starting week of November this year, and is one of the most attended annual fairs in Northern India.
The historic mela at Jhiri is held in the memory of Baba Jitto, and his minor daughter, Bua Kauri. Millions of people, hailing from J&K, Punjab, Himachal, Haryana, Delhi and other states participate in this week-long fair to pay tribute to the legendary farmer who fought for the cause of marginalized farmers.
Bawa Jit Mal, now popularly known as Baba Jitto, who lived about 550 years ago, laid down his life fighting against exploitation and injustice which, he said, was his real ‘dharma’. His daughter Bua Kauri also took ‘samadhi’ with him. Their ‘Samadhis’ were then raised at Jhiri in the Shama Chak village, about 18 kms from Jammu on the Jammu-Poonch Highway. And since then, a fair is being organized every year on the occasion of Kartik Purnima for over five centuries. Many people worship the folk hero as their Kul-Devta (folk deity).
Devotees take a holy dip at Baba ka Talab, and are seen in long queues waiting for their turn to pay obeisance at the Shrine. The Talab is believed to have ‘miraculous powers’, particularly when it comes to curing skin diseases. It is also believed that any childless couple, after taking a dip in the Talab, is blessed with a child by the grace of Bawa Jitto and Bua Kori.
The entire town of Jhiri and the adjoining Kalyanpur village wears a festive look during the fair. A large number of stalls and temporary shops are set up all along. Even Government departments like animal husbandry, agriculture, information and broadcasting, sericulture, horticulture, SICOP, floriculture etc. also set up stalls for creating awareness among the people, especially the farmers. The literature for general awareness related to the management, healthcare, genetic improvement of animals, crops, plants and employment opportunities in various sectors is also distributed among the people during the fair.
A series of cultural programmes is also organized, highlighting the cultural and traditional heritage of the Dogras. Some of the major sources of attraction in this fair are the Dogri play ‘Baba Jitto’ performed by the famous Natrang Group under the direction of Balwant Thakur, and the Indian style wrestling competition.
For the convenience of the people, Marh MLA Sukhnandan and various officials from the government have issued orders for arranging and ensuring provisions like food, drinking water, sanitation, power supply, accommodation and regulation of traffic. In view of the tension along borders, the security agencies are asked to take extra precautions for the safety of the people during this time.
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