- Wed, 8 Sep, 2010, 12:15 pm -

- P. Vijay Raghavan -
Murma (Ranchi): Just 25kms from the capital city of Jharkhand, Ranchi, lies the picturesque village of Murma. This small village of about a few hundred dwellings has a long and historic importance. This is the village that has been celebrating the annual Murma Mela for nearly 2000 years. Astonishing but true, the mela popularly known as the ‘Murma Jatra’ is growing in strength with every passing year. Managed efficiently by the local Parha Sarna Samithi, this year had a turnout of more than two million people, including locals, tourists and journalists from all over the world. Samithi’s convenor Professor Praveen Oraon of Sanjay Gandhi Memorial University in the State, said that this year’s turnout had created a record of sorts. He has been an active participant in the festivities for the past 25 years.

The religious ‘Guru’ of the festivities Bandhan Tigga, supervising the proceedings from a specially erected stage, spoke at length on the festivities. According to him, villagers from 40 villages of the State, assembled at the mela site, each arriving with their mascots. These comprised of different hues of flags, idols of Hyena, horse or any other form of living. Prior to departing from their village, these mascots are offered traditional prayers, so as to ensure a smooth and safe passage to the site of festivities. They come in groups; both men and women attired in traditional costumes and arrive at the site dancing to the beat of traditional drums. The glorious sight is a treat to all eyes as one after the other all of 40 groups reach the main prayer place at the mela, calles as Sarna Puja Sthal, a beautiful granite structure with elegant architectural design, stands majestically to welcome the groups. The group arrives at this place and offers their prayers by lighting a lamp. The festivity is celebrated with great deal of pomp and show and symbolizes the unity of all villages. Tigga said that during the British regime, the festivities were celebrated more elaborately, but with the policy of divide & rule, the British separated the villages by classifying them as different tribes. This led to unrest and protest. Bhagwan Birsa Munda’s independence struggle bore fruit as the British recognized all the tribes legally. According to the Guru, even the Mogul empires never interfered in the festivities. He proudly added that the Parhas had representation in all the four pillars of our democracy, including media.

80 year old Purthi Oraon has not missed the mela for even a single year since his birth. Even today braving the severe viral fever, he was present with his entire family. His 10 month old great grand daughter firmly strapped to her mother’s body. The entire mela was colorfully decorated and thousands of shops selling traditional sweets, toys, artifacts and weapons had people thronging them. Entertainment in form of circus, magic shows, Giant wheels and merry-go-rounds kept the parents busy with their children. Colourfully dressed youth in modern garbs, proved that modernization had nothing to do with tradition. A feeling that makes us proud to be a Indian. Bad weather combined with muddy and slushy ground in no way dampened the moral of hundreds of thousands of visitors to the gala event.