Festivals of Bengal

There’s a popular Bengali saying : ‘Baro Mase Tero Parban’: it literally means thirteen festivals in twelve months but signifies the umpteen number of fairs and festivals that take place. The calendar is often likened to a splendid pageantry of fairs and festivals. A veritable feast for the senses and the mind.
Come autumn, the air is rent with the sound of drums, the season of festivals. The Durga Puja, followed by Id and then, Dewali, the Festival of Lights. In November-December Rasajatra is celebrated. Navanna, the harvest festival is celebrated in this month. Come winter, it is time to celebrate Christmas. And the Ganga Sagar Mela drawing lakhs of devotees from all parts of India. Winter is also the season of cultural events like the Poush Mela in Santiniketan and Joydev Mela, the festival of wandering minstrels at Kenduli. In January-February Saraswati Puja (Goddess of Learning) is celebrated in almost all Bengalee home. With the advent of spring, comes Holi, the festival of colours. So does Shivaratri; to celebrate the occasion, fairs at Jalpesh in Jalpaiguri and Tarakeswar in Hooghly takes place. In April the most important festival is Charak; the fair at Tarakeswar attracts large number of devotees. Poila Baishakh the Bengali New Year is celebrated in April. Another important event in the month of May is Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s Birthday. In June-July, there is Rathajatra, the most famous in the State being the one held at Mahesh, a suburb of Kolkata. For the city of Kolkata, winter is one continuous stream of fairs – industrial, art, textiles, leather. Then, there are Book Fairs, Classical music, dance and drama festivals, Film festivals. The list goes on. In short, there’s never a dull moment for the tourist. A moveable feast for the senses and the mind.

Gangasagar Mela : The largest fair of the State, Gangasagar Mela is a three-day event held in mid-January, on the occasion of Makar Sankranti, at Sagar Dwip. Lakhs of pilgrims come for a holy dip at the confluence of the Ganga and the Bay of Bengal.

Kenduli Mela : on the occasion of Makar Sankranti (mid-January) another fair is held at Kenduli in the district of Birbhum. The Mela draws the largest number of Bauls, the wandering minstrels of Bengal.

Jalpesh Mela : On the occasion of Sivaratri (February - March), a month-long fair is held at Jalpesh near Mainaguri in the district of Jalpaiguri. The fair centres round the age-old Siva temple dedicated to Lord Jalpeswara.

Vasanta Utsav : With the onset of spring, Holi is celebrated all throughout India. At Santiniketan in the district of Birbhum, it is Vasanta Utsav (March). Students of the Visva Bharati University welcome the season of colours through songs and dances, throwing abir and spraying liquid dyes at each other.

Naba Barsho : The Bengali year starts from the first Baisakh (mid-April). It is an occasion for celebration to the Bengalees in general and tradesmen in particular. New clothes, fresh flowers, offerings at temples, people visiting decorated shops mark the day.

Rathayatra : Rathayatra (June-July) at Mahesh near Serampore is a week-long festival. People throng to have a share in pulling the long ropes attached to the chariots of Lord Jagannath, Balaram and Subhadra on the journey from the temple and back.

Jhapan : All over the Western part of the state, a festival is held in the honour of the serpent-deity Manasa on the last day of the Bengali month Sravana (mid-August). But the most spectacular is the one held at Vishnupur in the district of Bankura, with its shows of live snakes on open platforms.

Bera Utsav : Every year on the last Thursday of the Bengali month of Bhadra mid-September), Bera Utsav is held at Lalbagh on the river Bhagirathi near the palace of the Nawabs. Fireworks of various size and colour add to the gaiety of the festival.

Durga Puja & Deepavali : The largest Bengali festival is Durga Puja, held in the Bengali month of Aswin (October). Images of the ten-armed goddess are worshipped in ancient houses and at pandals, erected specially for the Puja. After the four-day ceremony, the images are immersed in the river. Durgapuja is the most important festival in the city of Calcutta. The festival that follows is Deepavali, the festival of lights,. The worship of goddess Kali is marked by display of fireworks and crackers.

Rash Mela : On the occasion of Rashyatra (November), a fair is held at Cooch Behar in North Bengal. The month-long fair is one of the most important fairs in the area.

Jagaddhatri Puja : Goddess Jagaddhatri is worshipped in the Bengali month of Kartick (November). At Chandannagar near Calcutta images of the goddess are tall, pandals spectacular and the illumination unique. In fact, the illumination part is the most attractive feature here.

Teesta Tea & Tourism Festival : Held in a series at Darjeeling, the Dooars and in Sikkim, the Teesta Tea & Tourism Festival is celebrated with a view to promote tourism in this region as a composite tourist destination, with its bounties in tea, timber and tourism. The festival is held every year in November - December.

Poush Mela : Between the 7th and 9th of Poush (end-December). Poush Mela is held at Santiniketan in the district of Birbhum. Of the many seasonal festivals celebrated at Santiniketan, this is perhaps the most important, with cultural programmes consisting of folk music & dance, folk theatre and Baul songs.

Vishnupur Festival : In the temple town of Vishnupur a festival is organised every year between 27 and 31 December. Characterised by exhibition and sale of local handicrafts and performance of the rich musical tradition that Vishnupur boasts, this is an immensely popular festival.