Why Muslims of Barsana, Nandgoan don’t marry into each other?

 Rakesh Chaurasia / Mathura

The people living in two villages of Nandgoan and Barsana in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh continue to uphold the 5,000-year tradition related to the life of Lord Krishna and his lady-love Radha and maintain the sanctity of the special Holi festival based on their friendship.

Both the Hindus and Muslims from the twin villages located in Mathura district of UP, do not marry from each other’s village to keep the purity and relevance of Lathmar holi, a festival in which women of Barsana rein in lathi blows on the menfolk from Nandgoan as the latter come to play colours a few days prior to the Holi celebration all over India.

The logic behind this tradition is that Lord Krishna belonged to Nandgoan while Radha to the nearby Barsana and since they were in a romantic or, as some say, plutonic relationship, the villagers are continuing to carry on that equation.

Colours and lathis of Barsana's lathmar Holi

The lovers’ villages draw their identity to the story of the two deities who symbolise youthful zest and mutual healthy interaction between the two sexes. The Radha-Krishna relationship has myriad shades of human emotions and is hugely celebrated in poetry, folklore and literature of Urdu and Hindi. Their relationship continues to be celebrated in a society where interaction between boys and girls is still frowned upon.

The festival of Lathmar Holi in Barsana is a celebration of their love and youthful liaison. The legend has it that both Radha and Krishna had young women and men of their respective villages as their followers in the pranks they played on each other.

Since the advent of Islam in India in the seventh century, Muslims have been living in the Braj region, considered a playfield of the Krishna-Radha story. Unlike Hindus, though Muslims don’t have strict exogamous rules for marriages, those living in the twin villages follow this unwritten rule of no weddings between Nandgoan and Barsana.

Salam Qureshi, a resident of Barsana, says “we have to live here and this is our culture. We respect regional traditions.”

On Lathmar Holi, the men from Krishna's village Nandgaon ceremonially come to Radha’s village Barsana with the preparations and intentions to play Holi with the young men, who represent the girls’ gang of Radha. After they are welcome, the women folk rain on them lathi blows. The festival ends with the playing of colours and singing following by partying in Barsana.