Baisi: A Pahadi ritual to bring positive changes in human lives

Baisi is a  traditional ritual  of 22 days performed in pahadi  villages of  Kumaon and garhwal in uttarakhand. It is mutually organized by two or more villages together once in a year .

 In this ritual any person who takes part as a devotee has to stay in the temple (in Pahadi we call it as “Dhuni”) for 22 days. The devotee go through a process of strict routines and training like eating once in a day, performing Arti 3 times a day, bathing after each time he goes for toilet, calling his wife as “Mayi or mother”, walking miles and miles barefooted asking for Bhiksha and Dakshina at every house even at the devotees home while chanting Bhajans and slogans.

Each activity performed is like a lesson which is learnt practically.  In India’s spirituality, Bhiksha (seeking food) was an integral part of the search for Moksha (liberation) and calling their  wife and other women as Mayi is like inculcating a sense of respect towards women.

While performing Arti ,the kind of steps which  literally seems  a combination of  Asanas and  Namaskar   performed by each devotee is like activating mind and the centers  of  energy of the human body system. And music is the medium through which the gods or inner soul are invoked. The singer (in pahadi we call him as a Jagariya) , sings a ballad of the gods from  great epics, such as the Mahabarata or Ramayana, in which the adventures and exploits of the almighty being invoked are described.

He uses musical instruments like the Hurka ,Damaru or Doonr, Dhol , Damau ,  Thali and Ransingha . This whole activity or art is called “Jagar” which means to wake up the soul .

On 21th day of the rituals all devotee go for Snan in a nearby river at a sacred temple, its like stepping into a new life freeing themselves from self -doubts and negativity . Then it finally ends with bhandara and all devotees celebrate their new life with their devotee friends and the bond they make during these 22 days with each other is worth cherishing for lifetime.

It is a proven scientific fact that any activity performed continuously for 22 days becomes a   habit , by that we can say that our ancestors were knowing it and they designed this ritual for transforming human lives , so that people get to know their inner self better and help them to bring  desired  changes in their individual life .

I use to go to watch the whole ritual, when I was a child , never thought that deeply about it but recently  after long time when I visited my homeland which is Bandhara , Jalali which is about 37 km from Ranikhet in Uttarakhand  specially to attend the rituals , I saw it very closely and was  surprised that  how knowledgeable our ancestor were at that time. I think nowhere in our country such ritual is there where a common person doing all sorts of work his whole life and then  seeking  god in himself in just 22 days . It is something  which needs  to be preserved and respected . But unfortunately the participation in “Baisi” is declining year by year due to migration of people from their very roots i.e. their villages  to cities in search of jobs. Yes it’s true and unfortunate but at least we can do is to visit our village at the time of baisi so that our next generation get to know about it and its importance. It’s a responsibility of parents to transfer cultural heritage from their generation to the next one.

( I urge  every  pahadi  who is reading this to visit and attend  “baisi” once in their own homeland and feel  the energy of the almighty in yourself. )

Jai Ma Bhagwati , Jai Golu Dev , Jai Bhumi Dev

Author:Lalit Kirola

(Author can be contacted at  [email protected])