-- Samir Umarye SAL (BICHOLIM): The scariest bit came right at the end.
Hiding behind an abandoned house with a huge banyan tree just in front, the silence of the night, or rather early morning, was intermittently broken by shrieks, howls and a thunderous sound of a whiplash. Someone, not so far away, was screaming in agony and from the agonizing cries you could tell it was a woman. It must have been a little before or after four in the morning. As a group of journalists, overwhelmingly from TOI, listened intently to the cries growing louder, suddenly all hell broke loose. The noise of hurriedly approaching footsteps hit you in the ears and then a familiar face, the leader of the pack, ordered, "run, run, run". In a flash, almost everyone ran for their lives and with them, out of nowhere emerged at least a hundred men and women, all of whom, just like the journalist gang, were eavesdropping on what was happening in the dead of the night. Scarily enough, all this a few metres away from a crematorium on the final day, and final minutes, of Sal's famous Gadyachi Zatra where thousands throng to witness the hide-and-seek game being played between the devchar or devil and gade or devotees. The ritual of the gade visiting the crematorium in search of anything and everything has started to evoke more curiosity, and even awe, than the appearance of the devchar, symbolized by a moving, dancing light that thousands swear is the devil. The shrieks are said to be part of the final process that frees spirits. "It's only during these three days that the devil establishes contact with humans. The devil is omnipresent in our village and we can sense his presence through the light during several occasions, but during these three days, his presence is there for all to see," explained Sandeep Raut, president of the Mahadev Bhumika temple committee. The three-night gade festival is traditionally held during Shigmo, considered the most appropriate occasion to express gratitude to ghosts and spirits. Thousands flock to Sal in Bicholim to witness the Gadyachi Zatra where 42 gade -from an original list of 64 belonging to Raut, Parab, Naik, Ghure, Mhale and Mesta communities-are believed to be under a spell and are guided by a mysterious torch shown by the devchar. The devchar apparently captures a gado and then releases him, mesmerising onlookers with the flame movement. The flame, clear to one and all, is sometimes lit on top of a tree, then on the ground and the biggest roar is normally reserved to the time when the devchar suddenly appears to show two flames, locally known as chudti. When the flame disappears, a lifeless gado appears. The energy that the gade draw to run barefoot for more than four hours, venture out in dense forests and carry out other rituals has remained a mystery. So has the appearance of the devchar. Even the gade themselves have no answers. "I only know that I am talking to you now. What happened during the time when I came here last night and now is unknown. We don't remember anything," said Babli Kusi Raut, who at 90 was the oldest gado during this year's zatra. Babli has been a gado for 65 years, and even though he appears feeble, the strength he draws during those four to five hours is hard to explain. The appearance of the mysterious torch has baffled many. According to one version provided by a group of villagers on Thursday, a well-known rationalist challenged the villagers in 1992 that he would solve the mystery. He never made it to the zatra; instead fell sick and had to beg for forgiveness, villagers say. "We don't make any claims. All those who are suspicious can come here and see for themselves," Sandeep, the temple committee head, a relatively young man in his early forties, told TOI after the conclusion of the zatra. "If you had told us earlier, we would have made arrangements to take you as close to the spot as possible. You will rub your eyes in disbelief," he said. (toi)
