Harela: A festival that reminds us to remain grounded and get back towards our roots and culture

"Live long & stay aware. May this festival come, again and again, may your family keep flourishing like the cow grass, may you expand wide like the Earth, and lofty like the sky, may you have the courage of a lion and the wisdom that of a fox. May you live till there is snow on the Himalayas and water in the Ganges.”

Above mentioned are the blessings offered by the adults of the family on the auspicious occasion and holy folk festival of mainly Kumaon region of Uttarakhand ‘Harela’. As the name suggests, ‘Harela’ means ‘green leaves' and  s celebrated on the first day of Shravan month to mark the beginning of the monsoon and the onset of the sowing season of crops and a prosperous harvest year.

The preparations are high and start about 9-11 days before the festival and seeds of cereals like maize, wheat, barley, rice, gram, soya bean, mustard etc are sown in a pot and kept in a dark room away from sunlight. This also gives a reality check on how the seeds and harvest of the year would be. The number of seeds sown is either equal to or more than the number of family members. The outgrowths are cut on the day of the festival, offered to God and then placed on the heads of the family members. Traditional dishes like vada, puri, kheer, raita, saag etc are prepared mostly with one's harvest and after offering to God is served in pattal of timil (Timil tree's leaves) to the whole family and rejoiced together.

A lot has happened in the hilly state of Uttarakhand from migration to exploitation of nature. The migration of children for better study facilities and opportunities to metropolitan cities and urban areas has cut off their connection with the environment and the culture. They lack tnformation about the crops, folk festivals, culture, rituals and dialect as well. It is a shame that being Kumaoni, Kumaoni children neither know how to speak Kumaoni nor many of them understand it. 

It is our responsibility to help and stand united for the conservation of our pride ‘Our Kumaoni boli, culture and festivals'. It is we on whose shoulders lie the responsibility of promoting and keeping our culture exists. 

Who will speak our Kumaoni? Who will celebrate our existence and the existence  of our culture? Who will sing and dance the Jhodas? 

These questions alarm us to be aware and conserve our society and culture. 

Our culture is chiefly related to the nature and greenery. Festivals like Harela are the medium and connection of ourselves to nature and our community. We should come together and celebrate the festival spreading awareness on planting trees and practising afforestation, caring and conserving the environment. We should converse with children in our dialect to promote our very own beloved mother tongue and tell them about all our festivals and the reason behind celebrating them and why much importance is given to mother nature and most festivals are based primarily on nature.  Moreover, with the celebration of festivals, we should also emphasize getting closer to nature through keeping the environment clean and promote greenery.

The festival of ‘Harela’ is believed to bring peace, happiness and prosperity in life. May the festival is celebrated for millions and billions of years to come and however advanced we become, we may always be connected to nature.

Smartphone: Boon or Bane

Smartphones have prevailed as integral parts of our lives. The world has become smaller with the invention and further development of this rather small gadget. Being bulky, fat and wide in the early days, smartphones have come a long way.

Initially, they were used for making only phone calls but forthwith they come with wide uses from calls to texts, internet, video calls, social media, maps,  directions and the list goes on. They have become smarter with colours, design, manifestation and are lightweight and slim. 

Gone are the days when phones were mere a mode of communication. Nowadays, you name a task and the phone will either do it or suggest to you the ways to do it. One just needs to tap on the phone and it provides you with every detail possible in the world. A person at any corner of the planet is just a phone call away. It can guide you to almost any location and notify you about the traffic, shortcuts and time needed to reach the destination. You can book tickets for the latest movie or watch any movie by yourself on your smart device. They have emerged as gaming devices and have gained huge popularity. It has made bill payment, sending emails, ordering food, shopping for things from around the globe way easier. 

During the pandemic, it made interaction between students and teachers easier. It made work from home possible and updated about every news. 

People have used this device as their career by blogging, vlogging and working with it. It has proven to be a blessing so far.  

Christian Lous Lange said, "Technology is a useful servant but a dangerous master."

Children and adults have become used to such devices and constant eyes on the screen weaken their eyesight. Time wastage is another factor in the problem. It has made ordering food and other things easier but people lazier. Sitting at a place and getting everything has made mechanical movement rather less which has bestowed problems like obesity, heart diseases and numerous pains in the body from a very young age.

Nevertheless, it is your choice to make it your assistant and use it for purposes that matter and not yourself become a subordinate to it. 

So, it is indeed a boon when used appropriately and smartly.