The cosmopolitan society of Kolkata celebrate most
of the popular Indian festivals with the same fervour.
However, the festival of Durga Puja and Kali Puja
witnesses a different buzz. One good reason for this
difference is the popularity of the deity that is
Goddess Durga, in the region. Other festivals celebrated
in the city include Kali Puja, Lakshmi Puja, Rathyatra,
Bhai Phota, Charak Puja, Dol Purnima, Saraswati Puja,
Rathyatra, Poila Baisakhi, Pous Mela and Vidyasagar
Mela.
Kali Puja
Timing of the year : After nineteen days of the completion
of the Durga Puja
After nineteen days of the completion of the Durga
Puja, the city get geared up to celebrate another
popular festival, the Kali Puja Kali is worshipped
as the Mother Goddess who protects from evil.
Images of Goddess Kali
The image of Kali is bit frightening and usually shows
her with a severed head in one hand, her sword known
as Kharga in the other. She is seen standing on her
foot on Lord Shiva's chest and wearing a garland of
skulls.
The puja actually takes place at midnight on the
day of the new moon. During the Kali Puja all houses
are lit up with candles decorated around the house.
During this puja, children and adults are seen to
burst firecrackers and lighting multicouloured sprinkling
crackers. No one seems to sleeps on that night.
Rathyatra
Celebration Time : The Rath Yatra festival falls
on the late of June or early July. It is celebrated
in the honour of Lord Jagannath an avatar of Vishnu.
Mahesh's Snan Yatra
It is often said that after the Snan Yatra of Puri,
'Nilkantha' bird is seen sitting on the Jagannath
temple of Mahesh, in Sreerampur only 23 km from Howrah.
Lord Jagannath on his way to Snan Yatra had rested
on the banks of river Ganga in Mahesh. From then it
acquired the status of a holy place. Even today thousands
of pilgrims who undertake Snan Yatra (pilgrimage)
flock to Mahesh for their holy dip.
Mahesh acquired its importance when Drubananda Brahmachari
started the Snan Yatra. Around 500yrs. ago he had
gone to the Jagannath temple of Puri to offer the
Lord offerings (bhog) with his own hands but the sevaks
did not allow him to make such offerings. Anguished
he went without food and almost killed himself but
it is told that in his dreams the Lord directed him
to Mahesh. Then Drubananda Brahmachari went to Mahesh.
One rainy night he found 3 wooden trunks of neem tree
floating near the banks of river Ganga. With these
wooden planks he sculptured them into the Lord Jagannatha,
his brother Lord Balarama & their sister Devi
Shubhadra. These wooden sculptures are still worshipped
today unlike the Puri's idols which are changed every
12 years.
Mahesh Rathyatra
Mahesh Yatra is the grandest and the oldest Rathyatras
in Bengal. The Mahesh Rathyatra of 1875 is of special
historical significance: A young girl was lost in
the fair and amongst many, the district magistrate
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhya - the great Bengali poet
and author of India's National song- himself went
out to search for the girl. A couple of months later
this incident inspired him to write the famous novel
Radharani.
Pous Mela
Pous Mela tries to bridge different communities, that
exist in the state of West Bengal. The fair was marked
with cultural intersection of various segments of
the society, in the past. The line of demarcation
between rural and urban population was not that prominent,
in cultural terms, in the past. The fair was aimed
to provide social interaction and discourses among
various communities. As such it used to be more like
a cultural activity, rather than fanfare and show
biz. In its present form the fair is a large crowd
puller who primarily come for merchandising goods
and the entertainment of it. It is a session where
rural masses and the urban business conglomerates
exchange their point of view and more. There is a
great display of consumer goods and items, a large
crowd, and the rumble in the air.
Festival Days : Last week of the month of December.
Festival Venue : Shantiniketan, Kolkata.
Pous Mela has its origins in the year 1843. Maharishi
Debendranath Tagore got converted and was formally
announced as a Brahmo, towards the end of the year
1843. The years that followed saw more conversions,
from Hindu to Brahmo faith. The Maharishi realized
the grave problem of disintegration in the community
and it was to organize this very particular community
that a congregation was held on 7th December in the
year 1845. The trust founded by the Maharishi carried
on the mission and on 21st December, 1895 the first
Pous Mela was held at Shantiniketan.
Despite the onslaught of the cultural values the fair
still holds some of its primitive attributes. Every
year the fair starts with the traditional morning
prayers, normally at the campus of Visva Bharati University.
The fair is visited by a whole genre of people, rural,
urban, from different faiths and cross sections of
the society. The popular Baul singers who in their
songs provide the insights on mundane matters, students
and teachers, artists and performers of dance and
theatre, tourists and more flock in the region.
Jamai Shasthi
Jamai Shashti is celebrated as the Son-in-Law Day,
in the city of Kolkata. Jamai Shashti is commonly
celebrated in the month of June. The auspicious day
is dedicated to the son-in-law and hence the name
Jamai Shashti. The day is actually a party thrown
by the in-laws for the welfare of their daughter and
her husband. The occasion has long been a part and
parcel of the local customs of West Bengal state.
Practiced mostly by Hindu families, the festival is
marked by services rendered by the in-laws. It is
more like a ceremony and party time for the son's
in law.
On the occasion of Jamai Shashti the in-laws invite
their daughter and son-in law for the celebration
of the occasion. The primary role is played by mother-in-law,
who can be seen busy throughout the occasion, performing
rites and serving the son-in-law. The occasion is
meant to bring the couple, especially the son-in-law
(Jamai) closer to the family. As such it is a family
festival and aimed to further secure the family ties.
The party starts with the greeting of Jamai with
gifts, sweets and fruits. The entry is followed by
performing rites, wherein the mother-in-law sanctifies
the occasion by touching the forehead of Jamai with
a thala (plate) containing six fruits. It is followed
by tying a thread band on the head and on the right
hand wrist of Jamai. The thread prior to its tying
is being applied with turmeric. The thread is called
as Shashti Suto and is beleived to have the blessing
of Ma Shashti, the divine protector of children. Once
the rituals are performed, the guests are then served
with food and delicacies. It is a feast, no - a grand
feast! The menu for the occasion contains the best
recipes and dishes prepared by the in-laws. The rest
of the occasion is spent as a live interaction among
all the members. Jamai Shashti is an occasion of honor
and respect in Kolkata, a representation of family
values.
