In this village of Goa, people celebrate Holi with fire shower!
Panaji, Mar 7: Holi is celebrated with colours in India but the scene is a bit different, even scary for some, in Malcarnem village in Goa where people shower hot embers on their bodies, a unique tradition associated with the festival in the country.
In many states, the festival of Holi begins the next day after people burn pyres of wood, marking the end of the evil holika', on the previous night.
However, people in Malcornem village, located 80 km away from Panaji in South Goa, follow a different and unique celebration, which they have been observing for centuries.
"No one has a record of when this tradition started. But 'Sheni Ujo' is an integral part of our temple culture. Once a year, this tradition is observed on the eve of the Holi festival," said Kushta Gaonkar, a village resident.
In Konkani, "sheni" means dry cow dung cake and the word "ujo" stands for fire.
On the night before Holi, hundreds of people start gathering in the open spaces between various temples including Shree Mallikarjun, Shree Vagrodev, and Shree Jhalmidev where the "Sheni Ujo" ritual is performed.
Vagrodev temple is dedicated to a tiger with the idol of the wild beast being worshipped for several decades.
The entire cluster of temples is unique as they house 43 Shivlings.
According to Gaonkar, the preparation for "Sheni Ujo" begins a fortnight before the Holi festival. Those who want to participate in the ritual have to follow a strict vegetarian diet and have to follow pious living.
On the night ahead of Holi, villagers gather at an open space with three huge trunks of betel nut trees for performing various rituals that culminate into "Sheni Ujo.
"You have to be barefoot while performing all these rituals. The rituals continue the entire night. The participants run around the temples before gathering on a nearby ground. In the wee hours, they light cow dung cakes and throw embers on themselves," said another villager, Sonu Gaonkar.
Spectators can also run under the falling embers on the occasion.
On March 6 night, the festival was celebrated with a traditional fervour with the participants performing "Sheni Ujo" amid loud cheers and a crescendo of traditional music against the backdrop of darkness, part of it illuminated by the "shower of embers".
"It is believed that if you run through this fire, the sins committed by you in the previous year will be forgiven. It is also believed that diseases will be cured," Gaonkar added.
When asked if people get injured, Gaonkar claimed no such incident had occurred in decades.
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Cong says Modi 'has lost authority to continue as PM', cites Ram Madhav's remarks on oil, tariffs
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Friday said Narendra Modi has lost his authority to continue as the prime minister, claiming that a senior RSS leader has made a "clear admission" that Modi is "dancing to Washington's tunes".
Congress general secretary, Organisation, K C Venugopal shared a video of RSS leader Ram Madhav on X where the latter says that India agreed to stop buying oil from Iran and Russia and also agreed to higher tariffs imposed by the US.
Madhav, however, later apologised saying what he said was "wrong as India did not agree to stop import of oil from Russia. "What I said was wrong. India didn't agree to stopping import of oil from Russia anytime."
"Also it vigorously protested 50 per cent tariff imposition. I was trying to make a limited counterpoint to the other panellist. But factually incorrect. My apologies," Madhav said in a post on X while sharing his video.
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Madhav along with RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale are on a visit to the United States and attended an event at the Hudson Institute in Washington.
In a post on X, Venugopal said, "Clear admission by a senior RSS leader - PM Modi is dancing to Washington's tunes.
"There was once a time when the US' 7th Fleet was in the Bay of Bengal, and India didn't budge. And then there is today, where a Compromised PM has handed over India's sovereignty to the US," Venugopal said in a post on X.
The Congress leader said this is exactly what Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and the entire Opposition has been saying. "India has lost its independent voice on the world stage.
"After this surrender, it's clear that Narendra Modi has lost his authority to continue as Prime Minister," Venugopal said in his post.
In the video shared by Venugopal along with his post, Ram Madhav is heard saying, "India agreed to stop buying oil from Iran. We agreed to stop buying oil from Russia, facing so much criticism from our Indian opposition."
"We agreed to a 50 per cent tariff...Agreed means, we did not say anything. We maintained our patience. 50 per cent tariffs we agreed. Today, in the new trade deal also we agreed for 18 per cent tariffs higher than what it used to be.... I mean, average tariff.
"So, where is India lagging behind in that. What are those issues where India is not doing enough?" Madhav is heard saying in the video during an interactive session at the Hudson Institute.
