Once upon a time, a long time ago, there was a ruler of the tahsil of Pandhurna in India that had heard many enticing tales about the exquisite beauty of the daughter of the Raja of Sawargaon, who lived on the other side of the river Jam, the river which separated these two tahsils.  So taken was the Raja of Pandhurna by this girl’s reputed loveliness that he made plans and commenced to abduct the young beauty by horseback from the palace of Sawargaon. 

But the common people of Sawargaon soon became aware of this horrifying development, and chased the abductor as he fled back towards his own palace with the cherished princess in his grasp.  As the raving mob reached the shores of the river Jam, they found the Raja of Pandhurna plodding midstream onward, yonder, with his booty ( her  booty, literally).   Thereupon, the enraged throng started hurling rocks and stones at the fleeing ‘future fornicator’ (as their worst fears imagined him). 

Now the peeps of Pandhurna themselves were not oblivious of their Raja’s plans and had gathered on the other side of the river to greet the babe-grabbing victor home.  But when the Pandhurna peeps saw their King being attacked, infuriated, they, too, began hurling stones back across the river Jam.  From amidst this chaotic hail of pellets, the Raja of Pandhurna emerged and galloped off, finally reaching his palace safely while still hugging the incensed vixen of his quest.  Thereupon, a night of wine-drinking, passionate exclamations, and great frolic ensued…

Now back to the real world…

The Got-maar (hitting with pellets) fair is held at Pandhurna (population of 34,000)  and falls on Bhadra Sudi, the day of the first full moon in September. Sponsored by the municipality, the fair is held only for a day, ending at sunset, and typically draws over 5000 people.

This fair is a commemorative re-enactment of the historical abduction. A branch of a palas tree ( Butea frondosa) is positioned in the bed of the river Jam and the peeps from Pandhurna and Sawargaon try to abscond with branches and leaves of this tree while throwing shore rocks at one another. People who get hurt by the hurtling missiles proceed to the temple of the Goddess Chandi--for it is popularly believed that it was this Goddess who secretly assisted the absconding Raja during his curious odyssey.  Once at the temple, the wounded seek an application of Chandi's ‘sacred ash’ that is supposed to magically heal the wounds.

Typically, anywhere from about 500-900 people get injured every year due to this stone-hitting fair. There are sometimes fatalities and sometimes injuries resulting in participants becoming handicapped for life.   Although lately the municipality has attempted to limit injuries by banning alcohol sales on fair-day and providing tens of thousands of rubber balls to throw instead of stones, the participants, nonetheless, show up notoriously drunk, do, indeed, hurl the rubber balls, but dutifully resort to hurling stones after all the rubber balls run out.

Note: in September 2002, 550 fairgoers were injured

(and to think that I thought the yearly 'Running With The Bulls' in Pamplona was the height of festive stupidity) !