The story of human development is the story of making mistakes and correcting them. The Kutch Kadwa Patidar community is no exception. Our elders migrated from Gujarat to Shikra village in Kutch Wagad almost 500 years ago. Due to poverty and illiteracy, our ancestors couldn’t improve their lives. Sadly, they fell victim to the heathen fanatic powers of the time, despite being pure Hindus themselves. As a result, they forgot their true religion and became unwitting victims of the treacherous and dangerous moves of Satpanth. However, the Most Merciful God showed us the true religion at the right time, and we returned to our original faith.

Let’s talk a little about how marriage customs and the celebration of Janmashtami have changed in our society over the past 75-100 years. In the olden days, child marriage was prevalent, and in our society, mass child marriages used to happen once every 12 years. Sons and daughters aged 15 months to 12 years were married off during these ceremonies. The last 12-year mass marriage happened in Samvat 2002 AD 1946. However, due to government restrictions, these mass marriages have stopped.

Back in the day, people used to take pride in marrying off young children who were still in their cradles. Marriages were held in every village on the day when the Gedheras of Panchada decided on the marriage date. The village headman would perform the marriage ceremony. Since all the marriages took place on the same day every 12 years, young children who were unable to walk were carried around the marriage circle, while those who could walk would go around the wedding circle on their own.

However, this practice had unique problems. Some families would marry off their children even if the son was only six months old and the daughter was three or four years old. This led to many households becoming a curse to society. Additionally, few children were born during those days, since every child in a house had to be married off on the same day. The father would go to marry off his son, while the mother would stay at home to marry off the daughter. Other siblings would help their sisters get married, and uncles and aunts would help too. In some families, four children were taken away, and if there were daughters, four children would be brought home. This mass marriage usually took place in the month of Baisakh.

In the past, when daughters were married at a young age, around 15 years old, their in-laws would bring “Anna”(Food) to their house. When the daughter gave birth for the first time, she would stay at her father-in-law’s house for about 15 to 20 days, and on the first and second Sundays of the sixth month, they would celebrate “Ditwar” (Sunday). Additionally, in the month of Vaishakh, there was a tradition of “anna”. If the daughter’s parents were well-off, they would pay for Anna for the second and third years. However, if they were not financially secure, the daughter would only go to her in-laws’ house during the first year. After the second birth, the daughter would stay at her father-in-law’s house for an extended period. In the second year, after Janmashtami, the in-laws would come to welcome the son-in-law, and the daughter would stay at her father-in-law’s house.

Visiting Maternal Aunts: In the winter after Diwali, the daughter used to visit Mawtar’s house for a big parab. Then she would go to relatives’ houses to meet them, including a big gathering at Faina’s house, her aunt’s and uncle’s houses. This tradition started around 20 years ago and still continues in some places.

Loose Marriages Started: Loose marriages began after Samvat 2002 AD (1946) due to social and religious revolutions in society and various government restrictions. At that time, according to government rules, the minimum age for marriage was 18 for sons and 16 for daughters. However, some marriages were conducted secretly at a younger age. If anyone informed the government officials or the police department, they would come to stop the marriage, but they left after making an agreement.

Creating a Tragic Situation: Government control of the marriageable age limit has created many tragedies in our society. Before Samvat 2002, sons and daughters of the same age were married. After that, the children were expected to get married at the age of 16, which has caused many problems.

In our society, it used to be common for parents to find a suitable boy and get their daughter married when she reached the age of 16. In contrast, sons were not expected to get married at such a young age, and due to their focus on education, their parents would typically get them married later in life. As a result, many daughters in Gujarat were forced to marry between 1965 and 1980, as parents were worried about their daughters’ increasing age. Even though there were not many daughters at that time, the age difference of two or three years caused many negative consequences. Nowadays, the government has set the age of marriage at 21 years for sons and 18 years for daughters.

Saptami-Ashtami festival: Our elders may have been illiterate and naive, but one thing we can be proud of is that even though they belonged to the Pirana Satpanth, they continued to celebrate the festival of Janmashtami. This prevented us from deviating from our religious beliefs. Despite being part of the Satpanth religion, our elders used to celebrate the festival of Satham Atham with great enthusiasm and zeal.

K. K. P. Community-specific Krishna Janmashtami celebrations: Krishna Janmashtami is celebrated by all Hindu communities, but in the Kutch Kadwa Patidar community, this festival is celebrated with a unique enthusiasm and in a unique way. In our society, after the advent of arranged marriages, they started to take place around the month of Baisakh. During the entire month of Baisakh, many marriages take place in different villages. As there was no electricity at that time, the marriages were conducted at night, under the light of a Petromax gas lamp. The bridegroom would stay for one night and two days, and the next day, in the afternoon, he would be sent away. The wedding menu was also very simple. After the marriage, 20 to 25 men from the bride’s family would go to the groom’s house with rice to feed the newlyweds. At this time, they would also take the newlyweds with them and stay for two or four days.

After that, when the first Sunday of the month of Jeth arrives, the bride goes to play Ditwar (Sunday) at her in-laws’ house. On weekdays, she goes to play in the paddy field in the morning, where they play games on the neem, pipal, or tamarind tree. In the afternoon, after bathing in the water tank, she goes to play games in the sand of the river.

As the Shravan month progresses, the Saptami and Ashtami festivals approach. A month before Janmashtami, the villagers gather to play the Parb at Mawar’s house. The girls in the village start singing songs for the seventh and eighth festivals of Janmashtami a month in advance. Initially, they sing while sitting, and later, they sing while walking around during the next fifteen days. The tradition of singing these songs still continues in many villages. Even today, newly married daughters go to Mawtar’s house to participate in the seventh and eighth festivals. Krishna prepares the God’s Gokuli, and the daughters play the Gokalya. In other words, the festival of Janmashtami is celebrated by Krishna with God’s Gokuli.

After the completion of the Janmashtami festival, the father-in-law visits the bride-to-be, and stays with the in-laws until Diwali. The father-in-law celebrates Diwali and then goes to the daughter’s house for a big winter gathering. This custom is still prevalent in many regions.

Note: This article is based on the experiences of living elders who got married in the year of Samvat 2002. The customs may vary significantly in different regions. 

This article is an attempt to document the changes in the way of celebrating the festival over time.