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Huge crowd throngs Telangana’s Medaram for India’s biggest tribal festival
“Samakka Saralamma Jatara” is expected to witness a record turnout of around 15 million tribals from across the country
Hundreds of thousands of Adivasis from across the country began thronging Medaram — a tiny hamlet in Tadwai forests of Telangana’s Mulugu district — for the three-day biennial tribal fair “Samakka Saralamma Jatara” that began on Wednesday.
Considered to be the biggest tribal festival of the country, “Samakka Saralamma Jatara” is expected to witness a record turnout of around 15 million tribals from across the country, including Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and West Bengal.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the nation in extending his wishes to the devotees. “Greetings on the start of the Sammakka-Sarakka Medaram Jathara, one of the largest tribal festivals, and a vibrant manifestation of the enduring spirit of our cultural heritage,” he posted on X.
“This Jathara is a great fusion of devotion, tradition and community spirit. We bow to Sammakka-Sarakka and recall the spirit of unity and valour they personify”
The tribal fair commenced in Medaram with the arrival of Saralamma to her “gadde” (sacred platform) on Wednesday evening.
On Friday, Samakka will be brought from the neighbouring hillock – Chilukalagutta. The other deities, including Pagididdaraju (husband of Sammakka deity), Govindarajulu (husband of Saralamma deity) and Nagulamma (sister of Sammakka) would also be brought to the platform for worship during these two days.
The fair will come to an end with the return of the deities to their respective places deep in the forests by Saturday.
Devotees, who have been staying in makeshift camps at Medaram for the last two days, are presenting their offerings (jaggery, saree, and rice) to the tribal deities, which will continue till Friday.
Mulugu district collector Ila Tripathi said that they are expecting a huge crowd this year. “With the introduction of free bus services for women under Mahalakshmi scheme, the number of women devotees is expected to increase steeply this year.”
Sharing the elaborate arrangements made for pilgrims, Tripathi said: “Water has been released into the Jampanna Vagu from nearby Laknavaram Lake to enable pilgrims to take the traditional holy dip before going for darshan. Drinking water provisions have been arranged in queue lines.”
The district police have deployed 14,000 personnel, along with 4,000 sanitation staff and 1,200 scavengers who are kept on duty through the panchayat raj department. Additionally, 700 acres of land have been allocated for parking and the RTC bus stand. The Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) is operating 6,000 buses for the jatara.
The health department has set up 72 medical camps with 150 doctors and ambulances to address health emergencies of devotees.
The tribal fair is celebrated to worship two tribal women – Sammakka and her daughter Saralamma of the 13th century, in the form of deities, on “Magha Suddha Pournami” (the full-moon day of the month of Magha). The tribals believe that Sammakka and Saralamma had laid down their lives fighting the mighty emperors of the Kakatiya dynasty who had attacked their little tribal hamlet demanding royalty and sought to destroy their life and culture.
