Holi becomes day of humbling for son-in-law in this village!

On the day of Holi, a son-in-law is ritually disgraced here. He does not mind, of course, it being a tradition. He is made to sit on a donkey, and paraded through the village. It is called `Gardabh Sawari' (donkey-ride), and village elders say that the tradition started some 75 years ago.

Every year one of the men who has married a girl from the village is picked for this honour. Talking to PTI, Datta Deshmukh, a villager, said, "The tradition has its roots in the Nizam era. Story has it that it started when one `Jahagirdar' (grandee) Anandrao Deshmukh from Chincholi village in Latur district once visited Vida where his in-laws lived.

He had a spat with the in-laws, so they made him sit on a donkey, and paraded him. Then it became a ritual. People from all the communities take part in it." Parade is accompanied by a band, and since it is Holi, colours are splashed throughout.

Dadoji Barkase, another villager, said, "The selected son-in-law gets a new dress at the Hanuman Temple from the villagers after the procession."