From the archive record
The much awaited walk-through fire was held at Falen village. In Falen village, panda Heera Lal after the ritualistic bath and puja walked through fire, as people waited with bated breath. Before entering the fire, Heera Lal was on a "maun vrat" and performed a series of rituals to prepare himself for the ordeal watched by thousands of pilgrims who had assembled in Falen. On the full moon night Holi bonfires are lit all over Braj mandal and the celebrations begin early the next day. For hundreds of years, pandas in Falen have been going through the fire ordeal enacting the mythological story of Prahlad who escaped unhurt while sitting in his aunt's (Holika) lap in a fire. Thousands of domestic and foreign tourists assemble at the two villages to witness pandas walking on smouldering fire,