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Mumbai: The Kutchi communities living in Mumbai celebrated the Kutchi New Year Ashadhi Beej on Sunday. The celebrations for the festival continued till Monday with two major award functions hosted in Thane and Ghatkopar. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde felicitated people from the community for their exceptional social works in various fields by gifting them Kutchi turbans.
Kutchi communities including Jains, Patidars, Bhanushalis and Lohanas celebrate their new year on the second day of the Hindu calendar’s Ashadh month. The festival is celebrated with great zeal among the Kutchi communities by religious worship, social gatherings and preparing laapasi, a traditional sweet dish of Gujarat. The festival is also important due to the time it is celebrated at, which marks the beginning of rains in the dry region of Kutch.
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As a huge population of these Kutchi communities have settled in Mumbai centuries ago and still continue to do so, Ashadhi Beej is also celebrated largely in the city. Grand celebrations with cultural rituals are hosted in areas like Ghatkopar, Mulund, Thane and Navi Mumbai, which are home to the majority of the Kutchi population living in the city.
Like every year, the Ashadhi Beej festival was celebrated enthusiastically in the city and two grand award functions were hosted in Thane and Ghatkopar. Kutch Asmita Manch hosted its 17th edition of Ashadhi Beej celebrations on Sunday, where Chief Minister Eknath Shinde felicitated six people from the community for their exceptional social work in the fields of education, women empowerment, art, business, social welfare and law.
CM placed Kutchi paghdi, a traditional turban, on the heads of the awardees to felicitate them and also greeted the Kutchi community on the occasion of the new year. The annual award distribution organised on Ashadhi Beej is being organised by Suresh Gada, who has felicitated 84 people from the Kutchi community in 17 years.
Similarly, the Ghatkopar Kutch Vagad Vikas Samaaj organised its 20th Ghatkopar Kutch Ratna Award ceremony, where eleven people from the Kutchi community were felicitated for their social work in different sectors. The event saw a huge participation from the Kutchi communities living in Ghatkopar, who enjoyed the tune of Kutchi music and lok dayro, a traditional spoken word performing art of Kutch.
Pravin Chheda, former corporator from Ghatkopar and the organiser of the event, said, “Kutchi communities have settled in Ghatkopar for so many years and this event in Ghatkopar is appreciated across Mumbai and Gujarat. People wait throughout the year to attend this event and we will continue felicitating the gems in our community on every Ashadhi Beej, which also turns into an annual gathering of the community.”
Former member of parliament from Mumbai North-East constituency Manoj Kotak, who also hails from the Kutchi community, felicitated the community members at the event. “Ghatkopar is a mine full of gems and such an award function can continue for years. The Kutchi community has proved its worth in Mumbai as it does not fall back in any sector. It is known for its honesty and calibre and shines bright as an example for others with its workaholic spirit,” he said.
