Bhoondu Ki Zaath is a famous festival of Paddar. Like Dussehra it is also celebrated as a festival of victory of good over evil. It is celebrated every third year in the month of October.
People of Atholi Paddargather around the temple of Meh Raja ,the king of all Nagas on this day and dance all night with long Bhonds.
Meh Raja is their hero, their Kuldevta who rose against all odds and saved the clan when it was hit with adversities.
This great festival was celebrated on 9th of October this year. People from the length and breadth of Paddar watched this with great zeal and basked in the glory of pride after knowing the legendary story of it.
Stories and legends pump life into the glory of festivals and this is a small exercise of ours in this direction to keep you energized all the time. Here is a great legend of Bhoondu Ki Zaath.
Sometimes in the past, when the whole system of village was in apple pie order, Aavgaan, a furious demon Commander-in -Chief across from the village attacked Atholi Paddar in the month of Aasauj (October-November).
He came from the other side of the mountain, from the Sharoth Dhar to attack the region. To face this army of demons, the ruling authority of Atholi (Mehraaj) selected a team of 12 commanders to neutralize them.
They moved along the Dhaar from where they had received the information of the bout. This fight took place at the Sharoth Dhar for some days. Mehraaj’s army took the bull by horns and defeated the rivals.
Devotees (Chelas) holding large birch tree poles called Bhonds.
Hon’ble Prime Minister Sh.Narendra Modi ji inagurated Paddar Degree College online today which was sanctioned last year under the Govt. sponsored scheme RUSA. He also had chat with the students and teachers of Paddar. ”Chat did not run for a long time though, but it was a nice experience” students from Paddar say. Furthermore, foundation stone of Ladakh University, two AIIMS at Vijaypur and Awantipura and many other multicrore projects laid today. It was a humbling experience for the people of Paddar and our state.
MARTYR JCO CHUNI LAL-“A WAR LEGEND OF PADDAR” (BORN IN GANDHARI, PADDAR AND BROUGHT UP IN BHADERWAH)
Birth Place and early life of NAIB SUBEDAR CHUNI LAL:
MARTYR NAIB SUBEDAR CHUNI LAL AC, VC, SM was born in a remote village Muthal , Gandhari, Paddar Tehsil Atholi, Dist.Kishtwar (J&K). A son of sh. Shankar Dass of village Muthal and Smt. Dunkhari Devi of village Bhatwas, of Gandhari, Paddar. Born in the family of pujarian (Pujari of Mata Chandi seated in Chag,Gandhari) had the blessing of Mata Chandi, he attained supreme martyrdom unto the service of his motherland. The family of the brave soldier had shifted in sixties to Bhaderwah and settled in a village Bhara presently in Bhalla Tehsil (Bhaderwah) of district Doda. The eldest son of the family, he had two younger brothers and four younger sisters behind.
Sena medal, Vir chakra and Ashok chakra Awardee:
Born on 6th of March, 1968 in village Muthal, Gandhari, Paddar. Late Naib Subedar Chuni Lal was a brave and courageous. He is highly decorated soldiers in Indian Army honoured with Sena Medal, Vir Chakra, and India’s highest peace time gallantry awards the Ashok Chakra (POS). He succumbed to the war inflicted injuries on 24th of June, 2007.
The print media of India gave wider coverage through major Headlines on NAIB SUBEDAR CHUNI LAL and his prime sacrifice, some of which are as under:
1. The Siachen Hero succumbs to the injuries-The National Herald(26-06-2007) 2. Siachen hero falls to militants bullets – the Indian Express.( 26-06-2007) 3. He was a real hero, in life and death- Hindustan Times (26-06-2007) 4. Jawan kills five terrorists before succumbing – The Times of India (27-06-2007) 5. Highly decorated JCO dies in Kupwara- Kashmir Times 6. Vir Chakra winner dies hero’s death- The Pioneer (27-06-2007) All the leading news papers of India and state printed the bravery of the naib subedar Chuni Lal who was promoted as JCO (Junior Commissioned Officer”) in the last days of his life. But the destiny has bigger reward for the son of mother india than the badge of honour received on promotion.
Late JCO joined the Indian army in 30 November, 1985 and was directed to report EIGHT JAMMU AND KASHMIR LIGHT INFANTORY (8JAKLI) for service and served till 24th June 2007. In his services the gallant soldier volunteered for and played a crucial role in capturing the famous post ‘BANA POST’ (21153 FTS) in Siachen Glacier, the highest battle field in the world. For this act of gallant, he was awarded ‘Sena Medal’ in the year 1987. He once again became an example to emulate , when in the year 1999 while serving with his unit in the Poonch sector in the ‘OPERATION RAKSHAK’ he fought an attempted intrusion by Pak Army and was instrumental in beating back the attack, killed 12 Pak soldiers in the operation. He was awarded ‘VIR CHAKRA’ for the act of gallantry.
An asset to the organization, he represented INDIAN ARMY twice as UN PEACE KEEPER in Somalia and Sudan during 1992 and 2006 respectively. He again displayed his utility and unflinching devotion to his duty while serving in the difficult operation of Sudan as a peace keeper. He was at the fore front in the Malakal crisis in Sudan for which the battalion was awarded ‘ UN UNIT CITATION’ for valour. He excelled professionally as well and also did instructor tenure at NCC, OTA, Kamptee, Nagpur , Maharashtra. JCO Chuni Lal is survived by his wife, a son and two daughters. Now his son Manveer Singh has also joined Indian Army.
On 24 June 2007 JCO Chuni Lal in a fierce gun fighting with militants in the Keran sector of Kupwara attained martyrdom. According to the reports received, the troops of the JAMMU & KASHMIR LIGHT INFANTORY (JAKLI) battalion observed some suspicious movements near the line of control (LOC) where the said battalion was posted during the intervening night of June 23/24 in the Keran sector of Kupwara district in Kashmir. However, due to low clouds and poor visibility the movement of terrorists could not be tracked very effectively at night. Consequently, a search party led by Naib Sub Chuni Lal set out in the morning hours of Sunday to ascertain the facts. The JCO led his troops from the front though with caution. The troops fired upon by a group of terrorists hiding near the LOC to which they retaliated immediately with heavy volume of fire. The young but battle hardened JCO maneuvered his troops to block all escape routes of the terrorists which led to the elimination of two fleeing militants at the outset and the remaining terrorists finding themselves surrounded by the troop opened fires on soldier. On spotting terrorists hiding behind boulders, he closed in and shot him at close range other terrorists opened fire and injured two soldiers. Sensing criticality of the situation and threat to the lives of his fellow soldiers Naib sub Chuni Lal with total disregard to personal safety charged at the terrorists. This act of daredevilry took the remaining three terrorists by total surprise. The JCO though wounded and profusely bleeding continued to fire at the terrorists till all the remaining three terrorists were killed. Naib sub Chuni Lal later succumbed to injuries. The act of bravery, leadership and sacrifice by naib sub Chuni Lal not only resulted in the elimination of five Pak trained terrorists but also saved the lives of the fellow soldiers under his command. For this gallant act and most conspicuous display of bravery naib sub Chuni Lal Vr C, SM was awarded posthumously the highest peace time gallantry award ‘ASHOK CHAKRA’ on 61st Independence day.
Commemoration :
To remember the saga of supreme sacrifice, extraordinary valour and bravery and unflinching patriotism of the soldier a statue is raised at Fish Pond-cum- lake view resort , Gatha, Bhaderwah developed by J&K Tourism.To commemorate this unmatched heroism 25th of June is celebrated as ‘SHAHIDI DIWAS’ in Bhaderwah. 24th of June is also celebrated as ‘SHAHIDI DIWAS’ in his native village BHARA(KILLAR). In this village there is a ‘SHAHIDI PARK’ named in the memory of war legend. He is also called ‘HERO OF BHADERWAH’.
Shahidi Diwas on 24th of June, 2019:
Indian army in collaboration with district administration Doda and Shree Mata Vaishno Devi Narayana Super Speciality Hospital are organising Medical Camp at Dandi Hospital, Bhaderwah for Ex- servicemen and general public. This is done in commemoration of legendary soldier to honour the brave martyr.
Since time immemorial, various religious gurus eminent personalities have been visiting the valley of Sapphire (Paddar) but least concrete information about their visits is available.
But when we approached senior persons of Paddar valley, we came to know that since 1987, when the foundation of Himalayan Buddhist Cultural Society was laid down, various religious gurus have visited Paddar valley and we have tried to put them in chronological order as under:
MONTH & YEAR
EMINENT PERSONALITIES
1) JULY 1987
H.H Jabdrung Rinpoche visited the Paddar valley on foot & blessed all the Buddhist communities of Paddar.
2) JULY 1995
H.E the 19th Lochal Tulku Rinpoche visited Gulabgarh Paadar & other adjoining villages. H.E laid the foundation of HCS( Himalayan Cultural School) at Gulabgarh.
3) JULY 1998
Ven Jigmet Khunu Rinpoche visited Paddar Valley.
4) JULY 1999
Ven Jigmet Khunu Rinpoche visited Paddar Valley for the second time.
5) October 2000
H.E Kyabje Stakna Rinpoche at the age of 80 years visited Paddar valley and donated Rs.50000.0 to the school for its smooth running.
6) JUNE 2001
H.E Choeje(Dharana Master) Togden Rinpoche visited Paddar valley and blessed the people of valley . H.E also donated rs. 10000.00 for the HCS.
7) October 2002
H.E Kyabje Stakna Rinpoche visited Paddar valley for 2nd time.
8) JULY 2006
H.E Kyabje Stakna Rinpoche Paddar valley for the 3rd time and also donated Rs.50000.0 to the school .
9) JUNE 2010
H.H the 14th Dalai Lama visited Paddar Valley.
10) October 2013
H.E kyabje Choegon Rinpoche visited Paddar valley and stayed at Gulabgarh fotang for a two days religious teaching organised by Youth Association.
The Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader arrived here at Gulabgarh Paddar on his 2 day visit to the Sapphire Valley on mountainous Kishtwar District amid tight security arrangements and was received by the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah along with his 3 cabinet colleagues G.M Saroori ( R&B Minister),
Nawang Rigzin Jora ( Tourism & Culture Minister), Qamar Ali Akhoon ( Minister CAPB), Chaudhry Lal Singh( M.P) & Sajjad Ahmed Kichloo. This was the first visit of the H.H the 14th Dalai Lama to the Jammu region of the state. Media persons from different parts of the country reached Paddar valley to cover the moment of the religious congregation organized by Himalayan Buddhist Cultural Society, Paddar under the leadership of Jigmet Norbu.
For the past 15 years , the Buddhist community of Paddar in general & HBCS in in particular was consistently approaching H.H the Dalai Lama to visit Paddar to address the congregation of Buddhist population and now the dreams of the people of the valley is fulfilled.
H.H the 14th Dalai Lama addressed a gathering of about 10000 people from different parts of the country in the Chattergarh Stadium Gulabgarh. Prior to the visit of H.H to Paddar, the people were expecting few political announcements, but when H.H delivered his speech, it was purely nonpolitical. However he said, “I believe myself to be India’s messenger to the world, the listeners got attentive, there was a pin drop silence in the open ground. His another statement ‘India & Tibet have always had a “Guru Shishya relationship”. I am thus a chela of India.
Buddhist Stupa in Paddar
In fact, H.H all the statements were all about peace and brotherhood. While addressing the public gathering, H.H appealed the world leaders to come forward and make the 21st century, violence free. Admiring the social fabric in India where people following different faiths live together peacefully. H.H said that peace is one of the highest virtues and this should lead to the unity of hearts among people of all faiths. H.H appealed the people to continue with their rich multicultural heritage and maintain religious harmony and tranquility at all costs. H.H also said that he was fortunate to have friendship with three generations of Abdullah Family.
Before leaving H.H advised the gathering in the ground of the main temple to follow Buddhism practically for humanity and non-violence. H.H also advised to preserve the rare holy Buddhist texts Kengur & Tengur and maintain peace and harmony with other religious faiths of the valley. He also donated Tengur for the monastery and & provided financial assistance for the smooth functioning of the Himalayan Cultural School and Hostel.
All the local people of Paddar valley were chanting mantras with holding colourful khataks in their hands while H.H was leaving to Dharamshala (HP). They were both sad and happy, sad because H.H was leaving & happy because the decade long dream of the people of Paddar was fulfilled.
H.E Skyabje Choegon Rinpoche arrived at Gulabgarh Gompa on 17th of Oct 2013 for two days teaching along with Jmayang Tsering Namgyal of Ladakh, President Himalayan Buddhist cultural society. Paddar Mr. Tsering Palyor ( Rumal Chand) 7Mr. Tenzin Namgyal Representative of Buddhist youth Association, Paddar ( All Paddar Buddhist Youth Association). On arrival at Gulabgarh Paddar, Rinpoche was given a warm welcome with colourful reception, ritual and music by the monks & people of Paddar at the main temple of H.H the 14th Dalai Lama at Gulabgarh Tehsil Paddar, District Kishtwar of Jammu & Kashmir.
On the first day of teaching i.e on 18th of October, 2013 thousands of people from all over the Paddar valley gathered in the main temple of Gulabgarh to receive the Initiation Kawang of “rta-chag-kyung-sum” & teaching of basic principle of Buddhism from H.E Skyabje Choegon Rinpoche. In the teaching H.E stressed the Buddhist community to stop the sacrifices of animals in the name of God or religion. H.E also advised to follow the principle of non-violence as taught by Lord Buddha. H.E also advised to avoid alcohol and intoxicants which create violence in the family and society.
Historic visit of Four Gurus to Paddar valley:-
It was the first time in the history of Paddar that four prominent gurus visited Paddar. The four Gurus are
H.E the 12 Kybgon Galwang Drukpa Rinpoche,
H.E Drukpa Takna Rinpoche,
H.E Thuksey Rinpoche and
H.E Khamta Rinpoche
They visited Paddar on 19th of July and stayed there for a week. They blessed the land of Paddar with positive vibration.
By Nawang Sangay
(Author is a teacher in education department, J&K)
