AHMEDABAD: Holi is generally celebrated by throwing and smearing colour on each other. But in Visnagar in Gujarat’s Mehsana district, it is marked by throwing old footwear and vegetables at each other. This tradition has been going on in this city for the past 100 years.
In Visnagar, throwing footwear at each other is recognised as Khasda yudh (old footwear war) and locals believe the person who gets hit by shoes will have a very good year ahead.
It is usually done on Dhuleti (2nd day of Holi). Earlier, only footwear was used for Khasda yudh. Later, vegetables were included.
The celebration starts early in the morning, when people from various communities gather in the Mandi Bazaar area of Visnagar. They divide into two groups of those from the northern part of the city and those form the southern part and start throwing footwear and vegetables at each other.
Then there is friction between the two groups to get a jug full of dates in the middle of Mandi Bazar. After the ‘battle’ is over, the victorious group travels from house to house collecting dates and distributing them to the locals.
Suresh Patel, a resident of Visnagar, said: “Those who get hit by vegetable and footwear will have a good time and blessings for one year.”