Ranchi, April 22 : Jharkhand draws much attention during Sarhul, the annual tribal festival dedicated to mother nature. It is also known as “Ba Parb”, Ba stands for flower and Parb for festival.

The centuries old festival is celebrated across Jharkhand, especially in the tribal belt. It showcases various colours of life through flowers just like the nature undergoes various changes throughout the year in different seasons.

Deepu Tiga, one priest, said: “Sarhul is the festival of religious faith, which is being celebrated here for centuries. This tribal festival has kept its originality despite a lot of change in life with the passage of time.”

Like many other Indian festivals, performing Puja holds utmost importance during Sarhul. People worship the Saal tree at the “Sharan Sthala” that exists as a Shila (slab).

As per the ritual, a bird like fowl is sacrificed as an offering to the Goddess Adishakti (the incarnation of Goddess Vaishno) at the Sharan Sthala and seek her blessings. It is believed Saal tree is the abode of Goddess.

Once the Puja is over, the offerings to the Goddess are distributed among all devotees. Besides, it is only after the seasonal fruits and flowers are offered to the Goddess, the villagers can use them as per the ritual.

The main aspect of Sarhul is that the tribals have preserved their traditions and culture for such a long time. In Ranchi, a huge number of people converged to participate in Sarhul festival this year.

Manju Kujur, one of the visitors, said: “ It’s a very major festival of us and is awaited for whole year. For this festival, proper preparations are made to make it special. Everyone worships nature while participating in this festival.”

Many people say that Sarhul offers them an opportunity and reason to relate themselves with the mother nature. (ANI)