Fear of Curse Stops This Madhya Pradesh Village to Celebrate Holika Dahan for 400 Years
Sagar (Madhya Pradesh): On a day, when the entire country is celebrating Holi, there is a village in Madhya Pradesh where the Holika Dahan is not celebrated for fear of curse. Hathkhoh, a village in the Sagar district, has not celebrated Holika Dahan for the last 400 years due to the wrath of the Goddess.
The residents said that there is a temple of Jharkhandan Mata in the dense forest in this village. It is believed that the Goddess Herself appeared here and there was a small idol of Her in the middle of the forest. Temple priest Chhotebhai said that an elderly man of the village had come to know in a dream that Mata was sitting in the dense forests near the village. When the villagers searched, they found an idol of the Goddess in the middle of the forest and started worshipping it and built a small temple there, he added.
The priest further said, “Years ago, some people stubbornly decided to burn Holika in the village. But, soon after that, a massive fire broke out in the area and the fire engulfed the entire village. The locals considered it as a curse of the Goddess and rushed to the temple. The villagers then apologised to the Jharkhandan Mata and swore to never burn Holika again.
The villagers believed that once the villagers broke the tradition and burnt Holika, then the village would face a terrible crisis. They believed that if Holika was burnt in the village, then the Mata would get angry and some wrath would befall the village and the entire area would catch fire.
Hathkhoh, situated in dense forests near National Highway-44 passing through Sagar, is a tribal-dominated village, including tribal and Lodhi communities. The village celebrates all the festivals, however, an unknown terror grips the people as Holi comes in. The villagers play with colours the next day, but are afraid of Holika Dahan.
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