Afzal Hussain Fauji/ Nainital
The Ghughutiya Festival- considered the largest and most unique festival of Kumaon culture- is celebrated with cultural enthusiasm and traditional fervour on the day after Makar Sankranti. The festival is believed to have originated in Bageshwar where it is still continuing in its vibrant form. Over the years, this tradition has spread across the Kumaon region, including Almora, Nainital and Haldwani.
The Ghughutiya festival is not just a celebration but a vibrant confluence of folklore, music, faith and sweetness. A traditional dish called “Ghughuti,” prepared with flour and jaggery, is specially prepared on this day in the Kumaoni style. These Ghughutis are fried in oil and then strung into long garlands, which children wear around their necks.
Narrating the folk tale behind the Ghughutiya Festival, a senior professor of the DSB campus of Kumaun University, Lalit Tiwari said that as per the legend, the childless King Kalyanchand of the Chand dynasty had performed penance and charity at the Bagnath temple and then he had been blessed with a son who was named Nirbhaychand, who later became known as Ghuguti. “A minister in the palace conspired to kill the prince and with that intention took him to the forest. Hearing the scared prince’s screams, crows gathered and attacked the minister. One crow removed the Ghuguti garland from the prince’s neck and hung it at the palace gate. The queen recognised it as belonging to her son, went into the forest and brought him home safely. The minister was later punished for his evil deed. This incident led to the tradition of summoning crows and feeding them Ghughuti on the day after Makar Sankranti. This is how the festival is celebrated,” he said.
“Early in the morning, children wear garlands of ghughuti and sing traditional songs, calling out to the crows, ‘Kale kauwa kale, ghughuti mala khale.’ Prasad is also offered to the crows. In Bageshwar, there is a special tradition of offering water to the Sun God on this day. The Ghughuti Festival remains a vibrant symbol of Kumaon’s folk faith, love for nature and cultural heritage,” Tiwari added.
