A trip to the Balbal Mela. Subhashis Das

December 14, 2021

A trip to the Balbal Mela. Subhashis Das

An overview of the Balbal mela

Last January Bubu, my wife and I drove down to Balbal, about 30 kms from my hometown Hazaribagh to witness the famous fare.

Renowned for its hot sulphur springs, people frequently throng here to bathe in the springs in hope to do away their skin diseases. The fare is held every year on the bank of the Balbal river that flows from South to North. Balbal also holds a temple of the Goddess.

Melas as fares are locally known in India begins from the 14th of January, the Makar Sankranti day. Balabal too is no exception as the mela here too commences from this very auspicious day.

Such melas are not only purchasing and selling venue of cattle but they also play host to numerous fun activities such as merry-go-rounds, giant wheels and various others, which are innate attraction for the rural children. Stalls of cosmetics and fashion garments open up for the village belles. Other than these you can also purchase items from aluminium trunks to steel utensils.

You can get Salman Khan (in a poster of course) for a mere 10 rupees. Numerous eateries serve local delicacies as barras, dhuskas to singharas to the ubiquitous chowmein...but do not fuss over hygiene. You can also have your self photographed sitting on a Royal Bengal Tiger (well, stuffed of course) for a paltry sum of Rs 30.

Old friends meet and so do furtive lovers and the newly weds. It is indeed touching to see the shy bride donning a set of colourful bangles and look at the content in her husband's eyes which shifts from his wife's face to her hands loaded with the coloured bangles; isn't it worth a million of rupees ?

The nature of village melas have changed with the times, but the colour and the passion among the villagers still remains unaltered. I have tried to capture these attributes

of the Balbal mela in my camera which I present to you below:

Enjoy.