Dr. Banarsi Lal
Reasi district of J&K Union Territory is said to be the hub of religious spots as this district is endowed with many religious plots. The district is blessed with the immense natural beauty. This hilly district is located about 72 km away from Jammu and is at 1528 meter above from mean sea level. As per 2011 census total population of the district is 3, 14,714. It was carved out from Udhampur district on 1st April, 2007.This district is surrounded by Udhampur, Rajouri, Jammu, Ramban and Shopian districts. Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir is also an abode of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine. Every year millions of devotees visit this holy shrine to pay homage. The Chenab River passes through this district which is another centre of attraction in the district. This district is blessed with vast biodiversity. Reasi is one of the oldest towns of J&K.Every year Reasi district attracts lakhs of devotees across the globe. Internationally renowned places like Mata Vaishno Devi, Katra along with some historical places like Shiv Khori Shrine, Dera Baba Banda Bahadur, Siarh Baba, Nao Devian, Dhansar Baba, Ziarat Baji Ismail etc. Are in Reasi district and millions of pilgrims from all over the world used to come in the district throughout the year.
Baba Aghar Jitto is an ancient shrine which is situated in the lap of Trikuta hills on Katra-Reasi main road at village Aghar Jitto which is around 6 km from Katra. Baba Aghar Jitto was a great devotee of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi. Baba Jitto was a farmer who sacrificed his life to get his due share of agricultural crop from landlord Bir Singh who denied him to give the committed share. After that he became famous among the farmers’ community. This place is also source of attraction for the pilgrims from all over the country. On this spot Baba Jitto statue has been constructed and natural source of water is really the centre of attraction. Every year a big fair is organized by the district administration at this spot and large numbers of people participate in this fair and pay respect to Baba Jitto. The Baba Jitto Mela is an important annual congregation of farmers and other pilgrims who gather at Aghar Jitto village to pay homage to Dogra folk hero Baba Jitto. The fair is held every year to honour and celebrate the memory of 15th-16th century folk hero Baba Jitto, who laid down his life to defend the values of honesty and justice.
Like many other folk heroes who begin their life as an ordinary person but are transformed into someone extraordinary by performing significant life events in their lives. Baba Jitto, originally named as Jit Mal, was an honest and truthful farmer of village Aghar Jitto. Baba Jitto was a Brahmin and great devotee of Mata Vaishno Devi. His aunt Jojan was having hostile behaviour towards him and finally he decided to leave the village along with his daughter Bua Kori. He went to his friend, Iso Megh at Kahnachak and there he requested Mehta Bir Singh, a feudal lord of the Ambgrota, to provide a piece of land for farming. Mehta Bir Singh gave Jit Mal a piece of barren and unfertile land after signing an agreement that he would give him the one-fourth of his produce. Jit Mal’s hard work transformed the unfertile and barren land which finally yielded a excellent crop. When Bir Singh came to know about the excellent crop yield, he arrived at the fields along with his men and instructed them to lift three fourth of the crop yield and leave only a quarter for Jit Mal Baba Jitto requested Mehta Bir Singh to follow the terms and conditions of the agreement but Mehta forcibly took the major share of the crop. Injustice done by Mehta compelled Jit Mal to stab himself after sitting on the heap of grains which got wet by his blood. Her daughter Bua Kori with help of their pet dog Kalu, found the dead body of her father which was hidden in the Simbal tree trunk by the goons of Mehta. She then lit the pyre and burnt herself with her father. After that a fierce rain storm raged the area, the blood strained grains were washed away and all those people, even the birds, who had taken those grains later suffered from various ailments, untimely deaths, misfortunes etc. In order to seek pardon from the wrath of the holy great spirit, they not only asked for his forgiveness by worshiping him as a ‘Kuldevta’-family deity but also making it mandatory for their future generations to venerate Baba Jitto and pay annual homage to him. There’s also spring water that flows in front of the shrine. It is believed that water of this spring is holy.
It is said that if a childless lady takes bath in the pond at Aghar Jitto, she is blessed with a child. Aghar Jitto mela witnesses great hustle and bustle during three-day festival as pilgrims families and various groups belonging to diverse communities and hailing from different parts of the country assemble there to pay obeisance at the Baba Jitto temple and seek his blessings and the blessings of his daughter-Bua Kouri. People from every nook and corners have also been visiting this spot throughout the year and enjoy the unique place of spirituality. Especially the members of local and outside communities, who worship Bawa Jitto as a Kuldevta (family deity) come here to pay obeisance on occasions of important events in their families like marriage, birth of child, mundan (tonsuring ceremony) or simply to thank or entreat the Bawa for his continuing protection and blessings. Baba Jitto Mela, the farmer’s fair like other such congregations is a spectacle to behold. Apart from large number of kiosks of eatables and merchants displaying their wares for sale, which include from trinkets to new popular electronics gadgets, the fair presents hosts of entertainments for every age group of people. During the festival there is regular recitation of folk songs by Yogis and ‘Gardis’ in form of Bawa’s devotional ballads at the main shrine. Many entertaining cultural shows are also staged. While ‘dangals’- the Indian style wrestling matches in which wrestlers from far a wide used to come here which draw a large crowd of sport enthusiasts.
During the fair, exhibitions and stalls are organized by different government departments like agriculture, horticulture, floriculture, animal husbandry, rural development etc. to aware the people about various technologies, government schemes and incentives so that people could avail the benefits. Most of the stalls of eatables especially Jalebi and Pakoras, which is a specialty of the mela, are being run by local people. Other than the shopkeepers, the local transporters like matador and bus owners also earn extra income by bringing large number of pilgrims to the mela site. The Aghar Jitto Mela is one of the most attended fairs in Reasi district. It is a major socio-religious event that brings together many people at Aghar Jitto village near Katra where devotees of Baba Jitto forget their caste, creed and language and share an experience of faith with full devotion. Security, safe drinking water, un-interrupted power supply, adequate provision of essential commodities, sanitation, fire services, medical services, transport arrangements etc. are provided to the devotees by the district administration. Wide publicity of mela through print and electronic media well in advance is also done so that more and more people participate in the event.
(The writer is Chief Scientist & Head, KVK Reasi SKUAST-J).
