Uttarakhand, the mountainous northern state that hosts Dharali, has been devastated by cloudbursts before. A June 2013 cloudburst killed over 6,000 people in Uttarakhand and surrounding states, becoming the country's worst natural disaster in ten years. In 2021, flash flooding triggered by a cloudburst killed over 200.

The festival isn't listed in guidebooks or tourist maps. It survives purely through tradition which is passed from one generation to the next in villages like Dharali and Jhala.

On Tuesday afternoon, a devastating cloudburst hit Dharali, a region known for its ecological sensitivity and significance as a key stop for pilgrims heading to Gangotri. The heavy rains caused massive mudslides,