Previous Year Question

Pair 1—Chaliha Sahib Festival : Sindhis—is correct.

• Chaliha Sahib is an important religious observance of the Sindhi Hindu community.

• It generally involves a forty-day period of fasting, restraint and devotion to Bhagwan Jhulelal. The term ‘Chaliha’ itself refers to this forty-day period.

• Devotees follow a disciplined lifestyle, consume simple sattvic food and offer prayers near a water body.

• A traditional offering known as ‘Akho’, prepared using ingredients such as raw rice, sugar, cardamom and turmeric, is also offered with prayers.

• The observance concludes with ceremonies such as the Matki Mela and collective prayers.

• Jhulelal is revered as the patron deity of the Sindhi community and is closely associated with water. Therefore, this pair is correctly matched.

Pair 2—Nanda Raj Jaat Yatra : Gonds—is incorrect.

• Nanda Devi Raj Jat is a religious and cultural pilgrimage of the Garhwal and Kumaon regions of Uttarakhand. It is not a tradition of the Gond community.

• Its major form is organised in Chamoli approximately once in twelve years and continues for about three weeks.

• The journey starts from Nauti village near Karnaprayag and proceeds towards the high-altitude areas of Roopkund and Homkund.

• A four-horned ram, locally known as the chausingya khadu, has an important ritual role in the pilgrimage.

• Local tradition treats Goddess Nanda as a daughter of the Himalayan region who is ceremonially sent from her parental home to her husband’s abode in Kailash.

• The Gonds are predominantly associated with central India. Hence, the second pair is incorrectly matched.

Pair 3—Wari-Warkari : Santhals—is incorrect.

• Wari is a major devotional pilgrimage tradition of Maharashtra, centred on the Vithoba or Panduranga temple at Pandharpur.

• ‘Wari’ denotes the recurring pilgrimage, while devotees who undertake it and follow the associated devotional tradition are known as Warkaris.

• The Ashadhi Ekadashi Wari is particularly important. The palkhis carrying the sacred footwear of Sant Tukaram from Dehu and Sant Dnyaneshwar from Alandi proceed to Pandharpur.

• Organised groups of pilgrims are called dindis. Devotees sing abhangas, bhajans and kirtans during the journey.

• The Warkari tradition is associated with Maharashtra’s Bhakti saints, including Dnyaneshwar, Namdev, Eknath and Tukaram.

• It is therefore unrelated to the Santhal community.