In an era where travel content is often reduced to drone shots, cafés, and cinematic transitions, creator Abhinav Chandel reminds the internet that storytelling can also preserve culture.
Through a deeply immersive Instagram reel, posted on his Instagram page @abhiandnow, the travel storyteller and self-described “writer with a camera” documents Hastola — a rare ritual theatre tradition from the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand that many people outside the mountains may have never even heard about.
Held every two years in Baragaon near Joshimath, Hastola is a sacred ritual performance tradition rooted in the devta culture of Uttarakhand’s agrarian mountain communities.
But calling it just a “festival” would be incomplete.
Hastola is part theatre, part ritual, part mythology, part folk memory — and entirely community-driven.
At the beginning of the ritual, six deity masks emerge from the temple and begin ceremonial dances meant to bless the village and its people. These masks represent Ganesh, Surya Dev, Vishnu, Shiv, Panchmukhi, and Narasingh Dev, the latter being one of the principal deities associated with the Joshimath region.
What follows is a layered dramatic retelling of the Ramayana through ritual dance performances.
The reel captures moments depicting the birth of Ram and Lakshman, the arrival of Sita, exile, Sita’s kidnapping, and the brothers’ search for her. Yet unlike conventional mythological performances, Hastola also leaves space for humor, absurdist folk comedy, and local storytelling traditions.
One performance features regional folk legends, while another introduces wrestling acts purely for entertainment. A particularly fascinating character called Kurjogi appears during the performances — representing the traditional figure who once cleared sticky weeds called Kuru from agricultural fields. In the ritual, he distributes small weeds to villagers as symbolic blessings for prosperity in the coming agricultural season.
As the performances progress, the spiritual energy intensifies.
The Bhumiyal Devta — the deity associated with the land itself — joins the ritual enactments. Chants invoke the energy of Goddess Bhagwati, while a chosen villager takes on the role of an oracle to predict the months ahead for the community.
Eventually, the festival culminates in an enactment of Mahishasur Mardini, featuring the effigy of Mahishasur alongside Ram-Lakshman, Bhumiyal Devta, and the invoked presence of Goddess Bhagwati.
The final moment is perhaps the most symbolic of all: the idol of Goddess Bhagwati is brought out of the temple, marking the beginning of another agricultural season and carrying hopes of prosperity, fertility, and collective well-being for the region.
It is not just performance.
It is memory, mythology, farming culture, spirituality, and local identity woven together into one living tradition.
What makes Abhinav Chandel’s reel remarkable is not just the visuals — though they are stunning in their own quiet way — but the intention behind them.
Instead of exoticising the culture or turning it into aesthetic “mountain content,” the reel feels respectful and observant. It documents rather than performs.
That sincerity is perhaps why the comments section feels unusually emotional and reflective.
One viewer wrote:
“I wanted to attend this event but couldn’t make it this time.. Thank you Abhinav for sharing this video.. you captured it beautifully ❤️🔥”
Another comment beautifully summed up what many viewers seemed to feel while watching the reel:
“There’s a certain humility to places and rituals that remain untouched by attention. What you’ve done here isn’t just capture—it feels like careful preservation of something most people would never truly see. The energy here feels incredibly potent… not just seen, but deeply felt. You’re genuinely blessed to witness and translate something this rare with such quiet sensitivity 🧿✨”
Others simply wished they could experience Hastola in person:
“Absolutely delightful to watch👏 wish had seen them performing live.”
And perhaps that is the biggest achievement of the reel — it doesn’t just inform viewers about Hastola.
It makes them feel like they missed something sacred.
Watch the reel here:
In a social media ecosystem dominated by trends and fast attention spans, reels like this prove there is still a strong audience for meaningful cultural storytelling.
Creators like Abhinav Chandel are building a different kind of internet archive — one where rituals, oral traditions, local performances, and fading cultural practices are documented with care before they disappear into obscurity.
The reel becomes more than just travel content.
It becomes cultural preservation in a format the internet is actually willing to consume.
The internet often talks about “hidden gems” when discussing travel. But sometimes, the real hidden gems are not destinations — they are traditions.
Hastola is one such tradition.
And through one thoughtfully documented reel, creator Abhinav Chandel has introduced thousands of viewers to a living cultural practice that exists far beyond tourist itineraries and postcard Uttarakhand.
In doing so, the reel becomes more than content.
It becomes documentation.