Villagers keep Kashmir spring alive with clean-and-fish fest

SRINAGAR: Panzath Nag has been flowing for ages. So have celebrations. Now, bigger ripples of prominence and excitement course through the brook in south Kashmir’s Qazigund after a 400-year-old community cleaning and fishing festival tied to it seeped into an episode of PM Narendra Modi’s Mann Ki Baat.

This time, the Panzath fest fervour crested last weekend on May 17 when hundreds fanned out across the stream, dipping wicker baskets and lifting them out with fish, weeds and debris before emptying them along the banks.

The dip-and-lift desilting drill wasn’t desultory -- the participants sent up lusty cheers, peppering them with local folk songs. Some tuned in with Bollywood chartbusters. Hundreds more, who had come from various parts of the Valley, stood by the banks, egging on the filth fighters.

Rao Farman Ali, an environmental activist and author, said Panzath Nag originates in Qazigund’s Panzath village, feeding a wider network of springs and helping irrigate dozens of villages. “The festival is an occasion for celebration but, more importantly, a community service as it helps desilt the spring. We can say it is an agricultural festival ahead of the paddy sowing season in mid-May,” Ali said.

The word Panzath is believed to have originated from Paanch Haath, meaning five hundred. Legend has it that 500 springs once flowed through the area. Though most have disappeared over time, the community’s commitment to preserving its water heritage continues through this unique annual fishing-and-cleaning festival.

The effort gained national recognition when PM Modi mentioned it in Mann Ki Baat in 2023, praising the villagers for taking collective responsibility for protecting and restoring vital water sources.

Since then, enthusiasm has grown, as have participants and spectators. “I have seen this (celebration) every year since childhood and heard from elders that it began nearly 400 years ago,” said local villager Abdul Aziz (70).

Gul Wani, former head of political science department at University of Kashmir, travelled 75km from Srinagar to witness the festival. “My sense is that it dates back to the Mughal era. What was once seen largely as a celebration has acquired more importance in modern times amid growing concerns over climate change and shrinking water bodies,” Wani said. He emphasised that the stream is the lifeline of the area and called for govt efforts to help protect the spring from gradual erosion and declining capacity.

Amid the swirl of joy, a much-awaited bonus is fishing, more so as it is allowed only once a year -- on Panzath festival day. “Hundreds spend an entire day cleaning and if they catch some fish along the way, it needs to be appreciated,” Wani said, urging authorities to allow fishing at least twice a year.