Today, on November 23, the Pahadi community of Uttarakhand is celebrating the Igas festival that holds as much importance for the state as Diwali. The festival is celebrated 11 days after Diwali.

There are two reasons as to why the festival is celebrated. The first reason is religious and entails the Ramayana.

It is believed that when Lord Ram reached Ayodhya after conquering Lanka, people welcomed him by lighting diyas and celebrated it as the festival of Deepawali. The myth goes that people in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand got to know about the victory after 11 days, so here it is celebrated 11 days after Diwali.

According to another belief, Veer Bhad Madho Singh Bhandari of Garhwal was the commander of the army of King Mahipati Shah of Tehri. About 400 years ago, the king sent a commander named Madho Singh to fight a battle with Tibet.

The festival of Diwali coincided with the battle and soldiers couldn’t return home timely to celebrate it. People falsely supposed that Madho Singh and his soldiers were martyred in the war and nobody celebrated Diwali.

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But on the 11th day of Diwali, Madho Singh returned with his soldiers from Tibet after winning the battle. The Igas festival is hence celebrated 11 days after Diwali.

The festival of Igas is celebrated by singing and dancing with bhailo which is made by combining small bundles of dry wood of sesame, leaves of bhangjire (a Himalayan herb), and pine.

After the worship of deities during the day, people from nearby places gather at one place and play Bhailo. In the Bhailo game, the bhailos are used to show tricks by setting them on fire, along with the traditional folk dance Chanchhari and Jhummelon. Also, folk songs like Bhailo Re Bhailo, Kakhdi Ko Railu, and Ujaylu Aalo Andhero Bhagalu are enjoyed.

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