Many rush in from far & wide to sing & dance to Bhagoriya beats

Chaktala (Alirajpur): Chaktala (Alirajpur): For 23-year-old Meenakshi, who works at a BPO in Vadodara, the overnight bus home was non-negotiable. She reached Chaktala at dawn on Sunday, slept for barely 2 hours, and stepped out by noon in a bright green ghagra that matched the rest of her faliya. "I can't miss Bhagoriya," she said, adjusting the silver around her neck. "In Gujarat, it's office and hostel. Here, it's everyone together. This is ours." By midday, the hamlet about 35 km from Alirajpur swelled far beyond its usual rhythm. The narrow road cutting through Chaktala turned into a surge of colour and percussion as Bhagoriya gathered pace. Women from the same faliyas moved in coordinated clusters, their identical odhanis and skirts marking their village affiliations without introduction. "We come as a group every year," said Ramilaben, walking alongside Meenakshi and others from their hamlet. "If 1 comes, all come. Otherwise, it feels incomplete." The haat stretched along the dusty road, lined with stalls selling bangles, pheta turbans, wooden toys, and seasonal snacks. Shopkeeper Kailash, who travelled from a neighbouring village at dawn, said sales were brisk before noon. "People look around first. They buy after they meet everyone," he said, gesturing toward trays of glass bangles catching the sun. Maandal players did not remain in 1 spot. They moved through the crowd, their rhythm pulling people into spontaneous dance circles. With each shift in beat, the flow of the crowd altered. "When the maandal starts, you cannot stand still," said 19-year-old Ritesh, his bright pink pheta freshly tied. "You feel it here," he added, tapping his chest before stepping into a widening circle of dancers. Elders watched the swirl with quiet approval. "This is how it has always been," said 65-year-old Bhuribai. "Only the colours change. The feeling does not." Greetings rose above the music as relatives located one another in the surge. Names were called out loud to cut through percussion. Some embraced; others simply clasped hands and smiled. "We wait for this day," said farmer Soma, who walked nearly 8 km from his hamlet. "You finish your farm work early. After that, this is where everyone is." Sitting in the shade of a tractor, 70-year-old Nathu Singh watched the crowd thicken along Chaktala's only road. "In our time, we came on foot from far villages. Now they come on bikes and jeeps," he said. "But the maandal still sounds the same." Through the afternoon, the marketplace kept expanding, absorbing fresh arrivals from distant settlements. For 18-year-old Kavita, this was the first Bhagoriya she attended without her parents walking beside her. "Earlier, I just followed them," she said. "This time, I came with my friends."