Uttarkashi: The Butter Festival, also known as Anduri Utsav or Makhan Holi, is a vibrant and culturally rich celebration held in the Raithal village of Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand. This festival is celebrated between August 16 and 18.
It is an ode to Lord Krishna’s love for butter
The festival is an ode to Lord Krishna’s love for butter and involves playful activities where participants smear each other with butter, milk, and buttermilk, similar to the festival of Holi. It begins with a procession of villagers ascending the hills to Dayara Bugyal, accompanied by traditional music and dance. The festival also includes a fair with activities like Dahi-handi, traditional folk music, and dances. Additionally, it’s a unique and joyous event that attracts both locals and tourists, offering a glimpse into the rich cultural traditions of Uttarakhand.
Foreign tourists also come to participate in this festival
Dayara Bugyal is a velvety green meadow spread over several square kilometers, located 40 km away from Uttarkashi district headquarters and at an altitude of about 11,000 feet above sea level. Tourists have also started arriving along with the locals in this Adhundi festival celebrated in Dayara Bugyal. Not only this, foreign tourists also come to participate in this festival. This is the reason why the traditional festival of Uttarkashi has gained global popularity. Due to which some people have named it Butter Festival by linking it to ‘La Tomatina’ i.e. Holi of Tomatoes is celebrated in Spain.
This is how the Butter Festival is celebrated
Villagers have been traditionally playing Holi with milk, butter and whey on the Sankranti of the Bhadrapad month for centuries. This festival, which expresses gratitude to nature, reflects the sweet relationship between villagers and nature. In the year 2006, the Dayara Tourism Festival Committee of the villagers of Raithal made efforts to connect this unique Holi with tourists from the country and abroad and decided to organize it on a large scale. Thousands of tourists from the country and abroad also reach Dayara Bugyal every year to participate in this unique butter Holi.
This festival is similar to Tomato Holi, known as ‘La Tomatina’ in Spain
Apart from the Butter Holi of Dayara, there is a unique festival in Spain where tomatoes take center stage. The organizers of the Butter Festival in Uttarkashi highlight that this event is uniquely celebrated in the Himalayan region. Similar to how the Tomato Holi, known as ‘La Tomatina,’ is celebrated in Spain, Butter Holi is joyfully played in Dayara Bugyal. Just as La Tomatina involves playful tomato fights, the Butter Festival features playful smearing of butter, making both festivals distinct and lively in their own ways. Thousands of people participate in La Tomatina in Spain. This festival is also held in the month of August. While on one hand, in the butter festival of Uttarkashi, Holi is played with about 2 quintals of buttermilk and 100 kg of butter, on the other hand, an estimated 2,50,000 pounds of tomatoes are used during La Tomatina.
The number of participants is limited due to environmental region
The Uttarakhand High Court, Yesterday, has set a limit of 1500 participants for the Butter Festival in Dayara Bugyal. This decision aims to ensure the safety and sustainability of the event, given the environmental and logistical challenges of hosting a large number of people in the Himalayan region.
