Raade festival begins at Udhampur campus, JU
Jun 18, 2023
UDHAMPUR: The Udhampur Campus of the University of Jammu organised the festival of "Raade" celebrating traditional "Tamdeh" on the occasion of Aashad Sankranti, which is believed to have been observed in Duggar since time immemorial.
Bringing 'Back the Tradition' of such celebrations, these events are put on to maintain and promote Dogra culture, revive the rich heritage, and familiarize the younger generation with the same.
The month-long festival commenced with an inauguration ceremony graced by Vikram Singh, Sarpanch, Garnai Lotta along with Naib Sarpanch Dina Nath.
He began the event by inserting ‘Dhamma Raada' (made of the largest circular neck of earthen pot) in the centre of other raadas to give it prominence.
Speaking on the occasion, Vikram Singh began by congratulating Prof. Yash Pal Sharma, Rector of the Udhampur Campus, for conducting such events and reviving the rich Dogra traditions. He pledged to start hosting these festivals in their villages in the future.
The women from the surrounding areas of the Udhampur Campus, the students, and the faculty all participated in the event by placing the necks of the earthen pots in the ground and planting seeds of different kharif crops like maize, sesame (til), millet, etc. in them. The growth of these Raades signifies growth and good fortunes of the members of the family.
On this occasion, the women also recited folk songs and bhajans, particularly those that were about Raades, like "Dhamma dhamma Raadya, tugi paani deyi deyi paalya" (Dhamma Raadya, we nurtured you up by watering regularly).
Every Sunday at sunset, these raades are beautifully and artistically decorated with natural and herbal colours (made from flour and ground rice, turmeric, and dried leaves of plants) in a variety of designs as a Rangoli in order to seek God's blessings for health and prosperity.
Speaking on the occasion, Rector, Udhampur Campus, University of Jammu Prof. Yash Pal Sharma said, "during our childhood and school days we would curiously wait for Raade festival to be held in our backyard since we would get a variety of traditional delicacies like khameeras (locally made tandoor ripened fermented wheat bread filled with timbru), rutt (wheat bread with jaggery) and sweets".
It is considered a celebration of happiness, colours, vitality, mutual affection, and good fortune.
However, as in case of other such festivals, this beautiful and colourful ritual is also losing its sheen due to the ignorance of the youth, lack of social connect, and the generational gap, said Prof Sharma.
The youth of today remain glued to social media and mobile phones and have little time and enthusiasm for participating in such socially gluing events.
He exhorted upon them for taking their time off from their hectic and monotonous life to celebrate such festivities.
Prof. Sharma also advised parents to continuously interact with their children and motivate them to organize and participate in such festivals so that our rich culture is preserved and transmitted to the posterity."
He thanked the Sarpanch and local villagers for their overwhelming participation in the festival.
It is pertinent to mention that there are numerous Dogra festivals, and each one has a unique social or religious significance and history.
People from different communities can come together during these festivals to celebrate life in all of its facets, hues, and colours. These celebrations also aid in fostering human connection to nature and social bonding.
The "Raade" festival starts on the auspicious day of Aashad Sankranti, falls on "Tamdeh," and culminates on the first of Shravan Sankranti with the celebration of Minjraan in the Vikrami Samvat.
The event was coordinated by Dr. Mamta Sharma, Lecturer in Commerce and attended by the students, the local community of village Garnai Lotta, Non-teaching staff and Teaching faculty of Udhampur Campus including Dr. Shilpa Gupta, Dr. Ritika Sambyal, Dr. Kamani Dutta, Dr. Jatinder Kour, Taruna Dubey, Dr. Jyotishna and Dr. Sunita Kumari.
