Surreal yet real

This post is a bit out of the box and a very elaborate one. It is about my experiences of that amazing, spine chilling, mother of all thrillers night. So brace yourselves.

Many of you, at least the goan pals, might've heard about the famous 'Gadyanchi Jatra of Sal'. To break it down, 'Gade' can roughly be called as players. 'Jatra' can be described as a periodical festival celebrated in honour of an idol or local deity. To further clarify, the happenings that occur in this festival are mystic and can be attributed to the cause of supernatural forces. Though science does not believe in the existence of life after death, many cultures in the world have a lot of rituals dedicated to ghosts and spirits. Before some of you jump off to the conclusion of calling it rubbish and declaring it to be another post spreading superstition in this age of advancement, I ask you to further read on. Even I'm a science student and trust me I'd taken this down with a pinch of salt when I heard my friends talking about it. The necessity for everything to be logical and scientific drives our breed crazy and hence it is difficult to convince us with something that defies the law of nature. Even Nolan has a hard time selling his Sci-Fi movies to the crazy science freaks.

Nevertheless, I decided that I should check this out for myself. So I and few of my friends decided to go on the 3rd and concluding night of this festival. Supposedly, the most eventful night of the festival. Before we started off, we thought of gathering some information about it. We were told that no clicking of pictures or recording stuff is allowed once inside the village boundaries. Also, the village gates are closed just before midnight, i.e. before the actual play (yes, you’ll know the reason why I called it a play) starts and opens up at dawn when the play gets over. Also, few other advisories such as don't make fun or talk which can offend local sentiments or beliefs, not to mess with the gade participating and always stay clear off the route which is meant for the gade to run. With all this in our mind, the excitement was just building up. It didn't help to know that 2 of our friends had already been some years back to the festival and their details were just getting the better of us.

As we reached, we saw a cluster of temples at the heart of the village, where the core activities were supposed to take place. A huge Holi, as in a wooden trunk of a mango tree decorated with mango leaves is erected near the Mahadev (God of ghosts) temple. As soon as the crowd (called as romat) comes to the place of holi (mand) dancing to the beat of dhol and taso (common goan folklore instruments) the proceedings start.

The elderly people sings endless folk songs and the rest of them play dhol in a rhythm which induces you into a state of trance. The gade (about 50 in number) who are identified by their bare bodies and a modest white dhoti come running to the mand to the beats of dhol. They move around the holi erected and hop in a subconscious manner. Under the captivity of the trance, they all run in the direction of hill in the pitch darkness of night with the mere glimmer of stars. All barefooted, some of them frail and old. They move towards the forest attracted by a mysterious torch (chudti), which is more of like a flame seen floating in the air. The flame is shown by the 'Devchar/Rakhandar' (local deity who is known as protector of the village). The flame is seen lit on the top of tree and suddenly on the ground and is almost random, this lighting and extinguishing process of torch creates awe amongst the onlookers. We were in utter disbelief looking at the sight. It was surreal and none could justify the reason behind such occurrence.

Cut to the chase. The gades run at crazy speeds throughout the night in groups sequentially to retrieve their fellow gades who have been hidden deep into the forests. The gades carry along with them one of the dholkar (percussionist) into the forest who continuously plays the dhol in a monotonous manner until the gade is retrieved and literally carried back on the shoulders back to mand. Following the gades is a huge number of crowd who just runs behind trying to see the impossible for themselves. After the devchar hands over the captured gado, the gade run back to the mand carrying the gado literally like a dead body. As soon as the gado is placed near the mand, he return to his senses on pouring of holy water into his mouth. He immediately gets up and joins the rest of the troop. Quite obviously, he doesn't remember a thing of what happened. For that matter, gades don’t remember anything that happens during the night once they get into trance.

The basic gist about the whole concept is that the Devchar involves himself in a ‘play’ with the Gade (players/village folk who participate in the jatra) wherein for 3 nights the devchar shows the torch. In the meantime, he hides a few gade inside the temple and deep in the ambit of forest on trees. On these nights, the hidden gade who are unconscious are handed over by the devchar to the remaining gade by the means of lighting the torch. The ones who've been lucky enough to run proximally close to the gade while chasing the torch have seen much more of the devchar. According to the sources, the description goes as a massive figure clad in dhotar and a shawl like clothing on its shoulder. But that’s that. The maximum one has been able to figure out. None has been able to perceive beyond the partially seen spirit. It is interesting to note that even though the devchar lits a torch it’s head can never be seen and it’s always dark around. Fact or fiction? Well that’s for you to judge.

Also a news doing the rounds was that in the past curious, disbelieving men have attempted to hide in the bushes well in advance and see what's happening for themselves but all of them either fell unconscious or were injured on their way to the forest.

We came to know that on the last day after all the gades are retrieved, there is more to the episode. It just doesn't end there. All the gades make their way to crematorium. Brace yourselves, here comes the deadliest part. Although this time you’re not allowed to run beyond the gade. You’re allowed to stay nearby a fair enough distance from the crematorium in the amazing darkness of forest. As soon as all the gades enter the crematorium, you can literally hear the ghosts screaming. Mind you! Not an exaggeration. Women and children yelling on to the beat of a whiplash. Yes a whiplash! You can hear it that clearly and it’s way too audible to scare you off. As the concept goes, the gades go to retrieve any matter which can be found in the crematorium, which also includes remnants of burnt dead body, wooden logs, clay figures. But the evil spirits tries to haunt them in this process so as to prevent the gade from escaping the crematorium. That’s the point wherein devchar/rakhandar enters and whiplashes the spirits and the resultant screams and shrill yelling is heard. This is the most mind boggling experience because it literally invokes shades of fear and anxiety into you. You become numb knowing the fact that it is all just happening at a stone’s throw away from you. Cut back to the mand, the final lap of victory is done by carrying the loot obtained from the crematorium by gade and that signals the end of jatra.

It is almost dawn when the proceedings end and we’re all left in awe and questions as to what really guides us and all the universe. Is there a force greater than nature that is oblivious to us? Will science ever be able to answer this contradiction to the laws created by itself?

Think about it and if you’re intrigued too about all this. I shall see you at next Sal Gade. Till then keep speculating!