Herath Festival

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Context : Displaced Kashmiri Pandits celebrated Herath (local name for Shivaratri) in Kashmir, with sections of the Muslim community recalling past traditions of shared cultural bonds.

About Herath

  • Local Kashmiri name for Shivaratri. Celebrated mainly by Kashmiri Pandits. Marks devotion to Lord Shiva.
  • Unique feature: Preparation of mutton and fish dishes, unlike vegetarian observance elsewhere in India.

Cultural Practices

  • Sharing of soaked walnuts between Pandit and Muslim neighbours.
  • Exchange of traditional foods (e.g., nadru). (Nadru: Lotus stem, traditionally exchanged during festivities.)
  • Social visits and community participation across faith lines.

These practices symbolised shared cultural heritage and communal coexistence in Kashmir.

Religious & Cultural Sites Associated: Sankara­charya Temple (Srinagar), Sharika Devi Temple, Hanuman Temple (Srinagar).These temples witness special prayers on Herath.

Significance

  • Reflects Kashmir’s historic Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb (composite culture).
  • Demonstrates role of festivals in sustaining social cohesion.
  • Symbolic reminder of pre-militancy communal harmony.
  • Important from the perspective of cultural pluralism and internal security discourse.

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