Jhiri Mela – A tribute to Baba Jitto

 

Jhiri Mela (pronounced as चीड़ी मेला in Dogri language) is an annual fair held in Jammu every year in the months of October-November. It lasts for almost 7-8 days.
Every year, the fair is celebrated to salute the courage of a legendary Dogra farmer, who sacrificed his life to ensure justice to his people against the feudal system
 
The Samadhi of Baba Jit Mal, popularly known as Baba Jitto at Shama Chak Jhiri, about 20 km from Jammu. He had laid down his life after he was cheated by the Kardar of the area.
The fair also pays tribute to father(Baba Jitto) and her seven year old daughter Bua Kaudi who set herself ablaze on the pyre of her father Baba Jitto.
A temple was built at the site of martyrdom of father and the daughter and after that a fair was held in their memory.
 
The villagers and their descendants have been attending the annual fair to repent for partaking the blood strained grains and for not coming forward to support Baba Jitto. 


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Mubarak Mandi Palace

Mubarak Mandi is a palace in Jammu, India. The palace was the royal residence of the maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir from the Dogra Dynasty. It was their main seat till 1925 when maharadja Hari Singh moved to the Hari Niwas Palace in the northern part of Jammu. The palace is located in the heart of the old walled city of Jammu and overlooks the Tawi river.
The oldest building of the complex dates back to 1824. Successive maharajas added to the complex in size and building took more than 150 years. The architecture is a mix of Rajasthaniand European baroque, and Mughalstyles.
The complex is grouped around several courtyards and includes various buildings and palaces like the Darbar Hall Complex, the Pink Palace, Royal Courts buildings, Gol Ghar Complex, Nawa Mahal, Rani Charak Palace, Hawa Mahal, the Toshakhana palace and the Sheesh Mahal. The halls and galleries of the palace were used for official functions and ceremonies.
Nowadays sections of the palace house government offices, courts and the Dogra art museum. However, other parts of the palace are in ruins as the palace has more than 36 times has been the victim of fires. Furthermore, the building suffered from earthquakes in the 1980s and in 2005.
The Dogra art museum is situated within the ‘Pink Hall’. It has a rich collection containing miniature paintings of various styles of the region. The miniatures belong to the Kangra, Jammu and the Basohili art schools. But it also has a gold painted bow and arrow of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. The pink hall owes its name to the pink plastered walls of the palace section.
 
The Gol Ghar section is located in the southern part of the complex. It has four storeys and overlooks the Tawi river. It has been gutted down in the mid 1980s as a result of an earthquake. Consequently roofs and floors collapsed, leaving the building as a ruin.
The Sheesh Mahal is made entirely of glass.
The palace, which is a heritage site declared by the state government, is proposed to be linked with a rope way running up to the Bahu Fort, another heritage site in the city.

Baba Dhansar

 

The holy place of Baba Dhansar is located at Karua Jheel (Pond) near village Karua, 17 km from Reasi towards Katra in Reasi district of Jammu & Kashmir State, India. The approach involves a walk of 200 metres from the road. It is a mythological belief that when Lord Shiva went to the Amarnath cave to tell Parvati the story of his immortality, he left his serpent king, Sheshnag at Anantnag. Shesh Nag came in the human form as Vasudev. One of the sons of Vasudev was Dhansar who was a saintly person.
As the local belief goes, in the ancient times there was a demon who lived near Karua Jheel(lake) and committed atrocities on the people of village Karua. The villagers sought help of Baba Dhansar to get rid of the Demon. It is believed that Baba Dhansar prayed to Lord Shiva for help. Lord Shiva arrived and helped in killing the Demon. The temple of Baba Dhansar and a cave of Lord Shiva near Karua Jheel has become a place of worship. Karua Jheel is considered sacred where bathing is not permitted. However, the devotees may take a bath downstream. People believe that their wishes are fulfilled if they take bath in the stream and pray with complete faith. A large number of devotees visit the place every year on the day of Mahashivratri when an annual fete (Mela) is organized.

It is very beautiful place visit once in your life by admin pankaj raina