The festival is held on the ground in front
of the Devki Krishna temple. The temple of Devki Krishna is the only one of its
kind in the world and is known for its unique idol of Lord Krishna sitting on
his mother Devki’s lap. By around noon, the participants gather at the temple
and every participant takes turns to smear oil all over his body before
stepping on the field to play Chikhalkalo. The oil is derived from the burning
pedestal lamp (Divli) at the temple. In chants of “Hampaara humaara, khel
kheluya gopala”, which literally is a clarion call for all the
‘balgopals’ (participants) to gather on the ground to start the play, all
the participants make a beeline to the field to play Chikhalkalo.
Some of the games that are played are as
follows:
Bebook: All
the participants sit down in a single line and the person at the rear end jumps
on top of the person in front of him and occupies the space in front of him.
This triggers a sort of chain reaction and is continued till all the
participants are back in their original place.
Chakra
(wheel): A group of participants make an enclosed circle with five people
sitting with their legs extended alternating with five persons standing. All
the ten people are connected with their hands held together and the feet of
those sitting joined in the centre. The participants then start running in the
circular motion and the act resembles the motion of a chariot wheel.
Bokde: A
group of participants hold the feet of one person firmly. Participants
belonging to another group then try to drag that person. The idea is to not let
the other group succeed in dragging the person into their area.
Chendu fek:
Two groups of participants are formed and both the teams face each other. One
group throws the ball high in the air and one participant from the other group
is supposed to catch it. The person who fails to catch the ball has to carry
the person from the other team on his shoulders and do one round of the playing
area on the ground.
Dahihandi:
The festival of Chikhalkalo concludes with the act of Dahihandi where a human
pyramid is formed to break the earthen pot full of milk, buttermilk and curd.
The pot is tied at a height in front of the Devki Krishna temple.
(With inputs from Tushar Bhagat)
