GODH GADHEDA NO MELO

'Godh Gadheda no Melo' is celebrated in the tribal areas of Dahod district every year after the Holi festival in the month of phagun March The fair takes place on the fifth seventh or twelfth day after Holi in a public ground at Jesawada village in Garbada taluka Thousands of people from the neighboring areas and other communities participate in this fair with great enthusiasm they play drums sing and dance with joy. On the day of festivities a 20 to 25 feet long wooden pole is erected in the middle of the fairground and then two horizontal wooden planks measuring 4 to 5 feet are arranged in such a way that a man is able to stand on it and on the top of the pillar a jar of jaggery Godh is hung.Young womens dance around the pillars in circular motion while singing songs and playing drums with the help of bamboo sticks Young men try to climb the pillar by leaping over the dancing group of girls. The young men who try to climb the pillar to take the jaggery get beaten up like 'donkeys' by the women/girls  with sticks( dandiyas).  Some valiant men who are able to overcome the hurdles posed by the women wielding sticks and  are able to climb the pillar  are considered to be the winner and he even gets a chance to relish the jar of jaggery (potli ) tied on the top. The young man who gets behind in the race of climbing is named as the 'donkey' who did not get the jaggery.In some groups the youth hoist the flag Dhaja of his group on the pole in some tribal areas the flag is placed on the pole instead of the Jaggery.In the old days the young man could marry his favorite bride from the crowd of girls if he wins the game The fair replicates the ancient tradition of Swayamvara a tradition of marriage in which a woman chose a man as her husband from a group of suitors The young man has to bear with the beatings like a donkey Gadheda to win the game so that he gets to eat jaggery Thus this fair is called Godh Gadheda Melo.