The 150-year old tradition of Chikhalkalo is a festival found in its most
traditional and enjoyable form, only in the village of Mashel in Ponda taluka.
The incessant rains over the last few days had made it perfect for the enactment
of the traditional utsav of Chikhalkalo, and yesterday, July 6, people from all
walks of life-across age, gender and faiths got together to immerse themselves
in the celebration, yet again. Akin to every year, Chikhalkalo was celebrated
on the Devki Krishna Ground in Mashel – full of puddles of water that created a
slushy platform for the games. Chikhalkalo, a festival dedicated to the
adolescent form of Lord Krishna, is an attempt to recreate the games that he
used to play with his friends in Vrindavan, and is celebrated as a sign of
gratitude to the Lord. For the uninitiated, Chikhalkalo is celebrated on
Aashadi Ekadashi, the eleventh day of the Hindu calendar’s Aashadh month.
When Mashelkars became one with Balkrishna
