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OFFTRACK: JODHPUR, RAJASTHAN
Night On The Town
The festival of Dhinga Ganwar lets women get even
with their men
By Rohit Parihar
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FREE TO BE ME: Usually attired in masculine clothing,
the revellers savour their independence
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It's the girls' night
out. Okay, it may not be quite so simple in a conservative place like the
walled city of Jodhpur, but it is still the night when women shed all their
inhibitions, act out their fantasies and, for once, even dominate the men.
This evening of female hedonism is the festival
of Dhinga Ganwar, celebrated about a month after Holi. According to legend,
after a widow's wish to worship Goddess Gangaur was turned down
Lord Shiva appeared in her dreams, asking her to pray to Goddess Ganwar,
his second wife, instead. So while the festival of Gangaur is for married
women, that of Ganwar, who was debarred from going home with Shiva as
punishment for her
lowly status, is for both the married and the unmarried and
always celebrated after dark.
So, imagine this. A sea of women-from six to
60, married, widowed or unmarried-clad in costumes most often seen in
mythological serials on TV and history books. Women wielding lathis swathed
in gold foil and flowers. Women marching through the streets, daring the
50,000 men watching in awe from their rooftops, to arouse their animosity.
For, this evening, the women are as quick with their lathis as the men
are with theirs the rest of the year. Folk singer Tara Purohit, 39, as
Anarkali, hit the streets with a group of six friends-dressed as divergently
as Tirupati Balaji to Shivaji and the Maharaja of Jodhpur. Hours after
drinking in the unaccustomed freedom, Purohit admitted that she would
love to lead "such a life the entire year".
Says make-up artist Hari Om Sen who has been
"disguising" women for Dhinga Ganwar for over 30 years: "Most
women like to dress up as men and sport impressive moustaches". And
they move with the times. In the 1980s, when Amitabh Bachchan's Shahenshah
and Jaadugar heated the box office, Bachchan lookalikes were rampant.
Now, however, women veer towards contemporary royalty. Says Chain Kanwar,
85, who has played dress-up more than a few times: "It's more fun
and informal." A sentiment not always echoed by the city's menfolk.
Locals who organise the festival through public
contribution pamper the women with treats of lemon drinks, fruits and
ice cream. Refreshment after hours of mischief: women punctuate their
long march through the city by attacking male bystanders, daring the 500-strong
police contingent to play spoilsport and ensuring an extra hard whack
to bachelors trawling the streets for fun. Says Ashok Soni, 36: "In
my younger days I was proud of being hit." Perhaps because tradition
has it that a bachelor hit during the evening is ensured matrimony with
the woman of his dreams. Sometimes though, it's not just about playing
tough, it's also about getting even. This year, a hooligan was hit and
kicked by a group of Ganwar superwomen; in a home close by, a bride avenged
her misery by beating up her male in-laws.
Along with the fun, it is also a time for prayers.
After 10 p.m., women offer prayers to Goddess Ganwar. They take three
to four rounds of a four-kilometre stretch alongside which are placed
15 idols. The women adorn the idols with personal offerings of gold jewellery.
Ornaments singled out by a selection committee and retained on the idol
are believed to bring the giver good luck. At about 4 a.m., after the
prasad-bhang mixed with fruit-is consumed, the procession, led by a recent
widow, makes its way to the river to submerge an idol of the goddess.
It is said that in some groups, the widow performs the ritual in the nude.
A fact not verified by any man, for folklore warns that a man who looks
at the woman, even accidentally, will die within a year. Which explains
why the men ensure they stay behind closed doors prior to and after the
procession.
For the majority of Jodhpur's women, whose observance
of purdah has impacted every aspect of their lives, this one night of
the year is as much about having fun as it is about indulging in what
should be theirs through the year-independence and freedom. But instead
of worrying about those 364 days, these women prefer to look at the bright
side. They stick on the beard and take no prisoners.
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