MARBAT FESTIVAL IN NAGPUR
Instead, thousands danced to dhol-tasha and music beats, craning for a glimpse of towering effigies and joined the chorus — Ida, pida gheun jaa ge Marbat — as the 145-year-old Marbat tradition turned the rain-soaked streets into a carnival of colour, satire and celebration.
Badgyas targeted alleged paper leaks and social problems, while Pakistan army chief Asim Munir was lampooned as a “Failed Marshal” — a pun on his title. At the heart of Friday’s spectacle was the historic Kali and Pili Marbats, but this year it wasn’t just that. Multiple Kali, Pili, Lal and even Chandi (silver) and Nili Marbats moved through different parts of the city accompanied by its own band of followers. The towering structures were not mounted on vehicles but carried on shoulders of men, swaying and turning through tightly packed old-city lanes. The procession, traditionally taken out on Tanha Pola, reaches its defining moment at Nehru Chowk, where Kali Marbat traditionally waits as the others arrive one after another. Nili, Lal, Chandi and smaller replicas approach Kali and bow before her in a symbolic gesture of respect. Amid the hierarchy of Marbats, Kali reserves her own bow for only one — Pili Marbat. When Pili finally arrives for the awaited ‘milan’, Kali bows before her before a ‘pradakshina’ by men carrying the massive structure on their shoulders. That is when Nehru Chowk erupts. Hands go up and thousands break into chants of ‘Ida, pida gheun jaa ge Marbat’ as the towering Kali revolves amid the sea of people. The procession provided a spectacle beyond the Marbats. Dhol-tasha pathaks kept the old-city lanes pulsating throughout the journey, while an Aghori-themed performance emerged, another unusual sight. Artistes smeared in ‘bhasma’ danced amid the procession, adding an eerie, theatrical edge to the riot of colours, characters and sounds. And if Marbats represented tradition, the ‘badgyas’ remained its irreverent voice. The giant effigies once again turned the streets into an open-air commentary on everything the nation debated or had been angered by during the year. Pop culture found its place through a badgya-based on Rehman Dakait from Dhurandhar, while the quirky ‘cockroach’ represented the recent protest by the newly formed party. Black and white gorillas were among other major crowd-pullers. The humour came with sharper messages too.
MARBAT FESTIVAL IN NAGPUR MARBAT FESTIVAL IN NAGPUR MARBAT FESTIVAL IN NAGPUR MARBAT FESTIVAL IN NAGPUR MARBAT FESTIVAL IN NAGPUR MARBAT FESTIVAL IN NAGPUR MARBAT FESTIVAL IN NAGPUR MARBAT FESTIVAL IN NAGPUR Nagpur: Rain pounded old Nagpur on Friday, but nobody ran for cover.
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