Uttarakhand’s Ghughutiya festival (also called Ghughuti Tyar or Kale Kauva) is a winter ritual observed on January 14, coinciding with Makar Sankranti, especially among Kumaoni communities. On the morning of the festival, children make small sweet fritters (ghughute) from wheat flour, jaggery and sesame, string them into necklaces, and step out calling to crows and offering these sweets to birds as symbolic guests. The ritual blends agrarian symbolism with folklore: one legend ties the origin to King Kalyan Chand who, during a drought, was advised by the goddess Shyamala to offer ghughute to crows. When the rains returned, the practice became a tradition. Because the festival is rooted in both seasonal cycles and ancestral storytelling, it acts as a conduit for cultural continuity in mountain communities, where modernisation and migration often erode local memory.
Into that shifting landscape comes 'Ghughuti Ki Maala', a 2D hand-drawn animated short by filmmaker Ketan Pal. Rather than a literal retelling, the film dwells on themes of memory, belonging, generational transmission, and how ritual binds children to their heritage. Pal, born in Almora and raised in Garhwal, discovered the festival through folk-story compilations and field conversations — many residents he spoke to had forgotten the meanings behind Ghughutiya even if they observed it. Over three years, he travelled through Kumaon, recorded oral memories, sketched scenes from daily life, and crafted the film with modest resources and collaborative community support.
On the festival circuit, Ghughuti Ki Maala is an Official Selection at ALT EFF 2025 in the Animated Film category. It is also slated to screen during the Kumaon Literature Fest in Haldwani on October 1, 2025, marking its Uttarakhand debut. Through these platforms, Pal hopes the film will not just entertain but spark conversations on endangered lore, the act of remembering, and how younger generations might still reclaim ritual with renewed meaning.
Follow Ketan Pal here and watch the trailer for the short film below:
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