Bastar News: Goncha festival is celebrated all over the country. Rath Yatra is being taken out with pomp in Puri Jagannath of Odisha. The same festival of Goncha is celebrated in a special way in Bastar of Chhattisgarh. Where 360 people of Aranyak Brahmin society as well as tribal tradition can be seen in this festival. A large number of devotees from other districts of Chhattisgarh also come to participate in this festival in this Goncha festival. Here, along with seeing Lord Jagannath’s Rath Yatra, he also enjoys running Tupki.
In fact, there is a tradition of running Tupki in the Goncha festival celebrated in Bastar. The sound of tupki (gun) made of bamboo doubles the joy of the journey. The special thing is that in the whole of India, the tradition of running Tupki is not seen anywhere other than Bastar. On the arrival of Lord Jagannath, Goddess Subhadra and Balabhadra in the chariot, a salute (guard of honor) is given from Tupaki’s “bamboo gun”. Tupki is a gun made of bamboo prepared by the tribals of Bastar.
Tupki’s practice has been going on for hundreds of years
It is a tradition more than 600 years old. Bastar’s knowledgeable Hemant Kashyap says that the villagers of Bastar prepare tupki from bamboo tubes. In which a wild Malkangani fruit is put in a bamboo tube and fired. Due to which the sound of firing comes. Hemant Kashyap told that the word Tupki is basically derived from Tupak which is considered to be a corruption of cannon. On the other hand, 360 people of Aranyak Brahmin society say that the practice of spitting during Goncha festival in Bastar has been going on for hundreds of years. Which is seen only in Bastar. Salute is given from twenty one guns.
Tupki is also the center of special attraction in the Goncha festival celebrated in Bastar for 600 years. This is the reason why the villagers make these Tupkis more attractive by decorating them with colorful papers and foils. The salute is given on the lines of 21 guns. Tupki is prepared by the tribals living in the rural areas of Salamibastar from Tupki. During this festival, villagers coming from the inner villages earn a good income by selling Tupki.
Different toys are ready like Tupki
Even though the tribals consider Tupki Chalan as a game for themselves, but the people associated with the law of the festival believe that it is seen as a salute in respect given to Lord Jagannath during his visit. Just as there was a tradition of giving 21 gun salutes during the princely period, in the same way, when the Goncha Rath Yatra takes place in Bastar, the devotees fire Tupki in the sky. Which is named after a salami in honor of Lord Jagannath’s Rath Yatra, although the trend of Tupki has decreased in comparison to the past few years, Tupki vendors say that in modern times different toys like Tupki are made. Due to which Tupki is now selling less than before.
