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Fairs in Birbhum refers to the many fairs that take place in
Birbhum district Birbhum district () is an administrative unit in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the northernmost district of Burdwan division—one of the five administrative divisions of West Bengal. The district headquarters is in Suri. Other impo ...
in the Indian state of West Bengal.


Backdrop

Birbhum is a large but primarily rural district dotted with small towns. Many of the small towns had markets that were held on specific days in the week, where agricultural produce and products of cottage industry found a wide range of customers, many of whom travelled long distances to attend the markets. The fairs (''mela'' in Bengali) spread right across the district are thought of as an extension of the concept of markets, a place of not only trade and business but also a meeting place of people and an arena for cultural exchange.Mukhopadhyay, Aditya, ''Birbhumer Mela'', ''Paschim Banga'', Birbhum Special Issue, pp. 203–214, (in Bengali), February 2006, Information and Culture Dept., Government of West Bengal The largest and most notable fair is the
Poush Mela Poush Mela ( bn, পৌষ মেলা) is an annual fair and festival that takes place in Santiniketan, in Birbhum District in the Indian state of West Bengal, marking the harvest season. Commencing on the 7th day of the month of Poush, t ...
held at
Santiniketan Santiniketan is a neighbourhood of Bolpur town in the Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in West Bengal, India, approximately 152 km north of Kolkata. It was established by Maharshi Devendranath Tagore, and later expanded by hi ...
for three days from 7
Poush Poush ( bn, পৌষ; ne, पौष) is the 9th month of both the Bengali calendar and the Nepali calendar. It overlaps December and January of the Gregorian calendar. It is the first month of the winter season. This month marks the start of Wi ...
.Mondal, Dipanwita, ''Ek Najore Birbhum Jela'', ''Paschim Banga'', Birbhum Special Issue, pp. 7–10 The
baul The Baul ( bn, বাউল) are a group of mystic minstrels of mixed elements of Sufism, Vaishnavism and Tantra from Bangladesh and the neighboring Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam's Barak Valley and Meghalaya. Bauls constitute ...
mela is held at
Jaydev Kenduli Jaydev Kenduli is a village and gram panchayat in Ilambazar community development block in Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum District in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is believed by many to be the birthplace of Jayadeva, an issue that is sti ...
on the occasion of Poush Sankranti or
Makar Sankranti Makar(a) Sankranti (), also referred to as Uttarayana, Maghi, or simply Sankranti, is a Hindu observance and a festival. Usually falling on the date of January 14 annually, this occasion marks the transition of the Sun from the zodiac of Sag ...
. It starts on the last day of the
Bengali calendar The Bengali Calendar or Bangla Calendar ( bn, বঙ্গাব্দ , , Baṅgābda), colloquially ( bn, বাংলা সন, Baṅgla Śon), is a solar calendar used in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent. A revised version of t ...
month
Poush Poush ( bn, পৌষ; ne, पौष) is the 9th month of both the Bengali calendar and the Nepali calendar. It overlaps December and January of the Gregorian calendar. It is the first month of the winter season. This month marks the start of Wi ...
and continues up to 2 Magh. On the occasion of Choitro Sankranti, a fair is organised on the last day of the Bengali calendar month of
Choitro Choitro ( bn, চৈত্র) is the last month of the Bengali calendar. It falls from mid-March to mid-April and is the last month of Spring ( bn, বসন্ত ''Bôsôntô''). The name of the month is derived from the star Chitra ( ''Chitra ...
and continues for three days at Kankalitala.Sarkar, Joydeep, ''Paryatan Boichitre Birbhum Jela'', ''Paschim Banga'', Birbhum Special Issue, pp. 197–202 Lakhs of pilgrims assemble at Patharchapuri for the fair held on 10–12 Choitro commemorating the death anniversary of Data Saheb. Apart from these major fairs, numerous other fairs are held across the district. A few of them are mentioned here.


Traditional fairs

Medini mela is organised around the time of Muharram and Shab e Baraat near the mazar of Shah Abdullah Kermani at Khustigiri. The emphasis in these fairs is on catering to the needs of rural women.
Urs Urs (from ''‘Urs'') or ''Urus'' (literal meaning wedding), is the death anniversary of a Sufi saint, usually held at the saint's dargah (shrine or tomb). In most Sufi orders such as Naqshbandiyyah, Suhrawardiyya, Chishtiyya, Qadiriyya, etc. t ...
fair is organised on 15
Falgun Falgun or Phalgun (; ne, फाल्गुण) or Phagun ( as, ফাগুন) is the eleventh month of the year in the Bengali calendar, the Assamese calendar, and the Nepali calendar. In the revision of the Bengali calendar used in Banglades ...
at Langulia village in Suri police station and on 23 Falgun at Rajnagar. A fair is organised on
Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...
Purnima Pūrṇimā () is the word for full moon in Sanskrit. The day of Purnima is the day (''Tithi'') in each month when the full moon occurs, and marks the division in each month between the two lunar fortnights (paksha), and the Moon is aligned exactl ...
day on the occasion of Dharmaraj Puja in Kaddang village. Dharmaraj puja fairs are held at several other places – in Banashanka village on Buddha Purnima day, in Kandapur village on Shravani Purnima day, and in Kurmitha village on the occasion of Asarhi Purnima. Lebrashwar celebrates Shiva Gajan with a three-day fair. Villages such as Parui, Katna, Rongaipur etc. celebrate Brahmadaitya Puja with fairs spread across several days in the early part of Magh. Khosnagar has a fair for
Saraswati Puja Vasant Panchami, also called Saraswati Puja in honor of the Hindu goddess Saraswati, is a festival that marks the preparation for the arrival of spring. The festival is celebrated in Indian religions in different ways depending on the region ...
.
Tarapith Tarapith is a 13-century Hindu temple in Chandipur village Rampurhat II CD block in Rampurhat subdivision of Birbhum district of the Indian state of West Bengal, known for its Tantric temple and its adjoining cremation (Maha Shmashan) ground ...
sports a festive look round the year, but a special fair is held on the occasion of Shukla chaturdashi in the month of
Ashvin Ashvin or Ashwin or Ashwan (; bn, আশ্বিন; hi, आश्विन; or, ଆଶ୍ୱିନ; Malay/Indonesian: ''Aswin''; Thai: ''Asawin''), also known as Aswayuja, is the seventh month of the lunisolar Hindu calendar, the solar T ...
. Birchandrapur, about from Tarapith and a centre of
Vaishnava Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...
pilgrimage, organises fairs for
Rath Yatra Ratha Yatra (), or Chariot festival, is any public procession in a chariot. The term particularly refers to the annual Ratha Yatra in Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal and other East Indian states, particularly the Odia festival that involve ...
and Goshtaastami. The birth anniversary of
Nityananda Nityānanda (; born circa 1474), also called Nitai, was a primary religious figure within the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition of Bengal. Nitai was Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's friend and disciple. They are often mentioned together as ''Gaura-Nitai' ...
is celebrated with Aradhanar mela in the month of Magh. The area is also known as
Ekachakra Ekachakra is a small village, located 20 km away from the town of Rampurhat in the Birbhum District of West Bengal. Within Hindu tradition, the five Pandavas from the epic, Mahabharata are described as staying in Ekachakra during their years ...
, the place where the
Pandava The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowledged ...
s spent some time in anonymity.
Shivaratri Maha Shivaratri (IAST: Mahāśivarātri) is a Hindu festival celebrated annually in honour of the god Shiva. The name also refers to the night when Shiva performs the heavenly dance called Tandava. In every month of the luni-solar Hindu ca ...
mela is organised at Dabuk, which boasts of the tallest Shiva temple in Birbhum. Shibgram in
Mayureswar Mayureswar is a village and gram panchayat in Mayureswar II CD Block in Rampurhat subdivision of Birbhum district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Geography Location Kotasur, the CD Block headquarters, is 10 km away from Mayureswar. ...
police station organises a fair for
Makar Sankranti Makar(a) Sankranti (), also referred to as Uttarayana, Maghi, or simply Sankranti, is a Hindu observance and a festival. Usually falling on the date of January 14 annually, this occasion marks the transition of the Sun from the zodiac of Sag ...
. A Brahmadaitya Mela is organised on 1 Magh on the banks of Ramsagar at Dheka. A week-long fair is organised at Kaleswar on the occasion of Shivaratri in Falgun. The fair organised on the banks of the
Mayurakshi River Mayurakshi River (also called Mor River) is a major river in Jharkhand and West Bengal, India, with a long history of devastating floods. It has its source on Trikut Hills, about from Deoghar in Jharkhand state. It flows through Jharkhand an ...
at Suganpur on the occasion of Buddha Purnima in Boisakh continues for three months. The Urs fair of Malang Zakaria Pir is held on 22–23 Poush at Tildanga. Lohajang Saheb Pirer Mela is held at Bara village near Lohapur on 2–20 Magh. A fair is organised on the first three days of Poush in honour of Sasan Kali at Bumkotala, at the western end of
Rampurhat Rampurhat is a city and a municipality in Birbhum district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Rampurhat subdivision. According to Census 2011 Rampurhat is the third most populous city in Birbhum district and ...
. The fair comes alive with the singing and dancing of Santals. Choitro Sankranti fair is held in precincts of Dhamri Kali, on the banks of Brahmani River, in
Nalhati Nalhati is a town and a municipality in Rampurhat subdivision of Birbhum District in the Indian state of West Bengal near the West Bengal / Jharkhand border. This town is named after the ''Shakti peeth'' Nalhateshwari temple, which according t ...
police station. Traditionally large numbers of goats were offered to the goddess. Sri Gopaler Mela is held at Kaluha village on the occasion of Dol. Banbater Mela is held for seven days starting from a day after Saraswati Puja at Kurugram. A month-long fair at Rudranagar near Chatra, organised on the occasion of Basanti Puja, has on display the work of local craftsmen. A fair is organised on the occasion of
Kali Puja Kali Puja, also known as Shyama Puja or Mahanisha Puja, is a festival originating from the Indian subcontinent, dedicated to the Hinduism, Hindu goddess Kali. It is celebrated on the new moon day (Dipannita Amavasya) of the Hindu calendar month ...
for 10–15 days at Jajigram. Chandidas Mela is organised on the banks of Denta Pukur in
Nanoor Nanoor (also spelt Nanur, called Chandidas Nanoor), is a village in Nanoor CD block in Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in West Bengal. Nanoor is the birthplace of 14th century lyric poet Chandidas of '' Vaishnava Padavali'' fame. It is d ...
. The week–long Radhamadhab Mela is organised from 14 Choitro at Charkalgram near Nonoor. A three–day fair is organised on the occasion of Saraswati Puja at Hetampur.


Modern fairs

Magh Mela at
Sriniketan Sriniketan (also spelt Sri Niketan) is a neighbourhood of Surul in Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is adjacent to Santiniketan and houses the second campus of Visva-Bharati University. The Palli Samg ...
is basically a fair displaying rural crafts. Sri Sri Ramakrishna Ashram organises Abhedananda Mela at
Dubrajpur Dubrajpur is a city and a municipality in Suri Sadar subdivision of Birbhum district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Geography Location Dubrajpur is located at . It has an average elevation of 77 metres (252 feet). Connectivi ...
in December. Netaji Subhas Mela is held for 10 days from 1 Magh around Raksha Kali temple in the outskirts of
Sainthia Sainthia (formerly Nandipur) is a city and a municipality in Suri Sadar subdivision of Birbhum district in the Indian state of West Bengal. The city is known as business city of Birbhum district. The city is under the jurisdiction of Sainthia p ...
. The once famous Barabaganer Mela in Suri closed down long ago. Similarly, Vivekananda Mela and Sarada Mela also closed down.


References

{{Birbhum topics Birbhum district Culture of West Bengal Fairs in India