Ramesh Tanna

Visnagar, March 7:

In a bizarre celebration of Holi, people of this small town of north Gujarat today thrashed each other with footwear. Generally, people celebrate Holi by smearing each other with colours, but revellers of Visnagar in Mehsana district, 60 km from state capital Gandhinagar, use shoes, sandals and slippers to have a whale of a time.

"We have been celebrating Holi this way for the past two centuries," Shankarlal Patel, a resident of the town, said. According to Patel, beating each other with footwear is all part of the fun associated with Holi and does not reflect any feeling of hatred or dislike.

Hitendra Chauhan and Pratap Parmar are examples. "We thrashed each other with chappals (slippers) during Holi last year and this time too we are doing the same but there is no sense of animosity between us," said Chauhan. Visnagar witnesses riotous scenes during Holi as two groups of thousands of people gather on the outskirts of the town and throw footwear at each other. Sometimes the revellers are left bleeding but the injuries are considered to be blessings from the gods and the injured "lucky ones."

"We play Holi for such injuries. The more blood one sheds, the more pious it becomes," said Siddharth Shah. This celebration of Holi in Visnagar has no place for women.

"We enjoy Holi by seeing our men throw footwear at each other," said Kankuben Vankani, a housewife. This strange Holi celebration is said to be as old as 200 years but there are no historical records to verify its origins.

Prominent historian Vinayak Rawal said: "There are no historical records available about the start of this unusual celebration of Holi.

"However, there are communities in Gujarat which celebrate Holi in a similar way. There are Rajput descendents of the kings of erstwhile princely estates of Saurashtra region who hit each other with sticks and Brahmins of south Gujarat who throw vegetables at each other."