2 weeks ago
Uttarakhand's Butter Festival Brings Holi-Style Fun to Himalayan Meadows
High up in the mountains of India, there is a special celebration called the Butter Festival.
It is also known as Anduri Utsav.
Instead of throwing colored powder, people smear fresh butter on each other's faces and splash buttermilk around.
The fun happens in beautiful green meadows about 12,000 feet up in the sky.
The festival is a way for villagers to say thank you to nature and the local gods for keeping their cows safe.
There is music, a dance called Raso, and prayers during the celebration.
People also play a game where they try to break a pot, just like in the Dahi Handi festival.
Visitors have to walk through the night from a village to reach the celebration.
It happens every year around the middle of August.
Uttarakhand's Butter Festival, known locally as Anduri Utsav, is held annually in Dayara Bugyal meadows and Raithal Village in Uttarkashi.
Participants celebrate Holi-style by smearing fresh butter on faces and clothes and splashing buttermilk around instead of colours.
The festival is rooted in pastoral traditions, expressing gratitude to nature and local deities for protecting livestock in high-altitude pastures.
Celebrations include processions, folk music, prayers to Lord Sameshwar Devta, and the traditional Raso folk dance.
A Dahi Handi-style pot-breaking activity adds Janmashtami-inspired fun, with visitors trekking overnight from Raithal Village to the roughly 12,000-foot site.
- Who
- Villagers and visitors in Uttarakhand's Dayara Bugyal meadows and Raithal Village
- What
- The Butter Festival (Anduri Utsav), a celebration featuring butter play, folk music, prayers, and Dahi Handi-style pot breaking
- Where
- Dayara Bugyal alpine meadows and Raithal Village, Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand, at about 12,000 feet in the Himalayas
- When
- Annually around mid-August, coinciding with Bhado Sankranti
- Why
- To express gratitude to nature and local deities for protecting livestock that graze in the high-altitude Himalayan pastures
Key facts
- Festival
- Anduri Utsav (Butter Festival)
- Location
- Dayara Bugyal meadows and Raithal Village, Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand
- Altitude
- Around 12,000 feet in the Himalayas
- Timing
- Mid-August, coinciding with Bhado Sankranti
- Activities
- Butter smearing, buttermilk splashing, Raso folk dance, Dahi Handi-style pot breaking
- Cultural Roots
- Pastoral traditions and gratitude for protection of livestock
- Access
- Overnight trek from Raithal Village
Sources
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