A Film by Raj Bendre, Producer: Pallavi Bendre, Director: Raj Bendre
Writer - Hemant Tailor, Camera: Raj Bendre
Voice Over: Ravi Mahashabde , Subtitle : Sameer Ruat

Bhagoriya FESTIVAL OF LOVE Part 3 II Bhil Tribal Festival in Jhabua

Spring time... A season of youth & vigor a season of new beginnings!!!

For Adivasi (tribal) Bheel its the time for Bhagoria..
The Festival of Love!!!

Vindhya, the mountain range in the western region of Madhya Pradesh, This is home to the majority of the Adivasi (tribal) Bheel population. Mainly Bhagoria is celebrated in the Jhabua district, situated in the western region of Madhya Pradesh.

Bhagoria is an excellent opportunity for a young Bheel to declare his love and to propose to his beloved!

A weekly Haat or bazaar caters to the everyday needs of a village, but a special Haat, which commences seven days prior to the festival of Holi; and is held in a different village everyday, is the most important Haat in the life of a Bheel-Bhilala. It is called Bhagoria Haat or Bhagoria Parv(festival)!

Melas and Parvs are an integral part of Indian culture. While Melas mainly serve as the hubs of business, festivals are religious and spiritual celebrations, with no financial exchanges. But interestingly, Bhagoria is a combination of both, the Mela & the Parv!
While earning a livelihood is the sole purpose of any Haat, the act of finding that special someone, to live ones entire life with, is what makes Bhagoria so different and special!

Finding that special someone, expressing love, then on acceptance feeling on top of the world, or on rejection, trying ones luck with someone else, is what Bhagoria is all about! The Festival of Love!

Bhagoria is not the first time young boys and girls meet. Usually they get ample opportunities and moments together in their villages and in the fields. These meetings gradually culminate in love. If the parents of the lovers do not show any interest in their marriage, Bhagoria presents an excellent opportunity to make their wish come true! Even love-at-first-sight in Bhagoria is an assured way to marriage!

In Bhagoria, when a boy likes a girl, he follows her and at the first opportunity applies Gulaal powder on her cheek or forehead. If the girl does not approve of the boys move, she wipes off the Gulaal and runs away! But our man is not discouraged and tries his luck again! When his repeated attempts are turned down, he heads for a new interest.
If the girl likes the boy, she does not wipe the Gulaal off her face, and chews the betel nut leaf presented by the young Bheel. This is the last time they are seen in the Bhagoria Haat, as they Run-Away together!

After fleeing the Bhagoria Haat, they hide either at a friends or a relatives house. After spending sometime together, they inform their parents. Hearing from them, boys parents pay a Vadhu Moolya or dowry to the parents of the girl, and they are married.

The educated and developed faction of the Bheel-Bhilala tribes do not identify with the tradition of Bhagoria for marriage, as they feel it is not a dignified way of finding a life partner. Eloping with a girl from the Haat might make them the laughing stock amongst the rest of the educated & urban society. The Bhagoria Haat remains for them just an entertainment destination.

Dances are an essential part of the Bheel life style. Drinking and then dancing in a group is their way of celebrating life! Elated with the dance and the spirits, they make an exciting visual experience.

Bhagoria has moved on and never stuck to its traditions, but it has retained its basic hue, the Color of Love.

The influence of urban culture has yet not played complete havoc on this strong, traditional Bheel culture, but if it is not preserved in time, the chances of its survival are very bleak.

In these seven days, the young Bheel will find that special someone, who will not wipe the Gulaal off and will chew on the betel nut leaf if not he will just have to wait for the next Bhagoria!

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