The Quintessential Feature Of Traditional Sankranti: Haridasu-A vanishing tradition of our state

Hyderabad: Several cultural and traditional practices like Haridasu meant to share, celebrate and herald auspicious time, particularly during Sankranti after the farmers sell their harvest and earn money is now fading in the fog of development. The Haridasu tradition is believed to have originated as part of the Bhakti movement to counter the spread of other religions.

Haridasus wear unique attire, including a copper vessel called an ‘Akshaya Patra’ on their head, a tambura musical instrument, and anklets called gajjelu. They also dress in bright saffron and wear garlands and accessories and move around in the villages before dawn singing songs in praise of Lord Vishnu, such as ‘Harilo Ranga Hari’ and ‘Krishna Arpanam’. They also sing Sundarakanda and Bhagavatam. The womenfolk and children come out of the houses and offer raw rice and money to them. Along with this, there is another tradition called Gangireddulu. While the tradition of Haridasus is more in Andhra Pradesh, the Gang-ireddulu are more popular in Telangana.

The ‘Dasaris’ as they are popularly known, visit every home in villages with their bulls on the Sankranti festival. They perform and sing songs along with their musical instrument Tambura. They praise Lord Vishnu and wish for happiness for each family they visit, and the bull also dances to their songs. People offer clothes and money to Dasaris. But in the name of development, this tradition has almost vanished from the rural areas.

The Haridasus and Gangireddulu are hardly seen in the villages now. This profession is no more lucrative and its importance is being forgotten. Gone are the days of Dasaris dressed in bright vibrant saffron attire hold-ing a vibrantly decorated bull (Gangireddu) going from door to door. They are more prominently visible in places like Shilparamam where the cattle are also worshipped on these days and perform acrobatic activities to entertain the spectators during Sankranti Sambaralu.

People are more glued to social media, OTTs and movies or even partying and playing cards and seem to have lost interest in healthy traditions. As a result, many of those who were dependent on this profession have transitioned to alternative professions.

Highlighting the age-old tradition, Prashant, a Haridasu, lamented that this tradition is slowly disappearing. There used to be at least ten people who were either Haridasus or Dasaris in each district but at present this practice is alive on a small scale in Khammam and Karimnagar districts of Telangana and East and West Godavari in Andhra Pradesh.