India, March 26 -- By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik - Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist

It is important to remind ourselves that all Hindu festivals and rituals do not have Vedic claims. In fact, most practices in different parts of India are of local origin with no doctrinal basis, probably rooted to old tribal practices. Hook swinging is a case in point.

Across India there are festivals where men and sometimes women do hook swinging. Here, an iron hook is passed through the back of the person and they are hung from a pole that either rotates around a pillar or is attached to a pillar of a cart that is pulled by buffaloes. This is not acrobatics. The person performing the ritual fasts for many days, remains celibate, isolated in the te...