Dressing as Hanuman during Dasara and Navratri in Panipat for wishes fulfilled

Many people dress up as Hanuman in Panipat in Haryana on the seventh, eighth and ninth day of Navratri and also on the Dasara day. They do this as part of gratitude for wish fulfilled and prayers heard by the Almighty. Those who become Hanumans, sleep in nearby temples and follow the strict rules of a Brahmachari. They also fast for 7 to 21 days. The Hanumans roam around the street blessing people and they are also invited into homes for pujas.

Times of India reports 

A tradition - in which people dress up like Hanuman and move around on city streets -- brought to this part of the country by the Laiya and the Hyderabadi communities of the Mianwali district in the northwest of Punjab province, Pakistan, after the partition. 

According to Ramesh Kumar, president of Panipat Dussehra Committee, the tradition was brought here by one Suraj Bhan who, along with his family, arrived in Panipat after the partition. Soon, other members of his community also arrived here. Along with them came this tradition to Panipat, which, as of today, is practiced nowhere else in the world, he said. 

The Hanumans choose the seventh, eighth and ninth Navratras to change their looks and on the day of Dussehra, they go to Ramleela grounds and circle the effigy of demon king Ravan.

Narinder Kumar, who had wished for a baby boy and was blessed with one on August 18, said that he fasted for 11 days and became a Hanuman on the seventh Navratra. He said that none from his family had shifted here from Pakistan, but he chose to participate in the tradition believing that it had the potential of getting one's wishes granted.

Kishan Yadav, who had arrived here a few years back to take up a job in a local textile mill, said he got so fascinated by the tradition that he decided to become a Hanuman this season believing that it would bring good luck for him and his family.

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