My India. ‘Thoda’ festival

As the sound of drums reverberated in the air, people in the Jubarhatti village of Himachal Pradesh, an area approximately 20 kilometers from the capital town of Shimla gathered together to celebrate the ‘Thoda’ festival. Celebrated majorly in the Sirmour, Shimla, and Solan districts of Himachal Pradesh, the festival showcases the state’s culture and traditions and gives out loud the message of environment conservation and preservation. Villagers also offer prayers to a wild species of the olive tree, which is quite rare to find. They believe that this tree is associated with Narsimha, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. For more details, see the video by ANI, a partner of the TV BRICS network.