Overview
- Photos and short videos of Kalpa’s Raulane ritual spread across Instagram and X in mid-November, drawing national coverage.
- Photographers including Laksh Puri and Kanwar Pal Singh say their March images were reposted without permission or attribution and asked users to report copies.
- Creators such as Ashwin Katariya, Saurabh Rastogi and Abhinav Chandel pressed for proper credit and urged accurate, respectful sharing of context.
- The rite selects two men to embody a divine couple honoring mountain fairies known locally as deohne or Sauni, culminating in a slow, prayerful dance at the Nagin Narayan Temple.
- Local voices stress the observance is communal and sacred, while viral edits, wallpapers and aesthetic reuse raise concerns about crowding, commodification and tourist etiquette.