Smear 'gulal' to fix the perfect match

 Bhagoria, the famous tribal festival of mass spouse selection will be held in Jhabua and Alirajpur districts of Madhya Pradesh between March 1 to 7, officials said.

It is held before the festival of Holi in haat-bazaars at various places in the two districts.
In the traditional tribal festival, young boys and girls choose their life partners and then elope symbolically. Later, they are accepted as husband and wife as per prescribed traditional social rituals.

In the tradition, a boy smears gulal (coloured powder) on the face of the girl he likes at the haat-bazaar. If the girl reciprocates these feelings and wants to marry the boy, she smears gulal on his face too.

The girl does not have to necessarily apply Gulal to the boy’s face immediately, even if she is ready to marry him. Sometimes, the boy has to pursue her and eventually receive consent from the girl.

In fact, Bhagoria is not a one-day event, but a series of festivals, held at various village haat-bazaars for many days.

The festival is organised after the harvesting of crops adding an agrarian colour to it. If the crop yield is good, the enthusiasm is felt in the festival too.