Jauljibi Fair is a cultural and commercial fair held every year from 14th-21st November at the place of confluence of Kali and Gori rivers, situated 10kms from Askot. Askot is situated in the Dharchula Nagar-panchayat of Pithoragarh district. The confluence of Kali and Gori rivers is the meeting place of three different cultures of Shauka, Nepali, and Kumaoni.
History of Jauljibi Fair
Initially, the fair was held in Margashirsha Sankranti for two days. But in 1914, the ruler of Askot shifted the fair to Kartik Purnima where it was celebrated as a commercial fair for a span of 7 days. Jauljibi Fair was an important commercial fair wherein people from the Terai regions of Uttarakhand, states of Delhi, Lucknow, Nepal, and Tibet traded goods with one another. Culturally too, Jauljibi Fair was a significant one with a massive scale of local and regional products from the above regions being traded and exchanged.
Significance of Jauljibi Fair
Jauljibi Mela played an important role in the trade between Tibet and Terai regions of Uttrakhand. The locals sold their regional clothing and carpets along with deer musk, and ayurvedic medicines. The traders from Nepal brought honey, butter, asafoetida, shilajit, etc. which was purchased by the traders and people of Haldwani, Kashipur, Bareili, Muradabad, the plains of Terail, and even Delhi and Lucknow.
Apart from the regional products, Himalayan horses were traded in large numbers in Jauljibi Fair. After some years, the dates of Jauljibi Fair were further moved to 14th November – 21st November. However, the fair lost its significance after 1962 when the trade ended with Tibet and the regional developments also minimized the implications of the fair.