A Note on Hyper-Masculinity in Amritsar
Yogesh Snehi
The city of Amritsar is unique in a number of ways. On the first day
of navratras (nine days of fasting and festivity before the day of Dusshera), hundreds of children and adults (unmarried sons) dressed as langurs can be seen on the streets of the walled city flocking to Bara Hanuman Temple at the Dugiana Temple complex to celebrate the langur-mela. Not only Hindus but Sikhs and Muslims also dress their children in colourful princely-attire like monkeys after fulfilment of their wish of a male child.
Langur-mela typifies the intensity of hyper-masculinity in Amritsar. According to Surinder Kumar Billa the president of All-India Hindu Shiv Sena more than 10,000 langurs throng the Temple during navratras (The Tribune, Amritsar Plus, 13 October 2007). Punjab has been historically been notorious for its low sex-ratios (with general sex-ratio at 849) and the practise of female infanticide and foeticide. With urban sex-ratio of 862 (per 1000 males), Amritsar may not fare as bad as its counterpart Ludhiana with urban sex-ratio at 783, but the former is an epitome of culture (Punjabi-sabhyachar) and has a bearing not only on Punjab but also bordering districts of Himachal Pradesh.
of navratras (nine days of fasting and festivity before the day of Dusshera), hundreds of children and adults (unmarried sons) dressed as langurs can be seen on the streets of the walled city flocking to Bara Hanuman Temple at the Dugiana Temple complex to celebrate the langur-mela. Not only Hindus but Sikhs and Muslims also dress their children in colourful princely-attire like monkeys after fulfilment of their wish of a male child. 
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