Charak Puja or Charak Mela (also known as ''Cadak'', ''Chadak'', ''Nil Puja'' and ''Hajrha Puja'') is a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

folk

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...

held in honor of the deity

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one o ...

. The festival is observed in the India, in the state of

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

, and in

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...

on the last day of the month of ''

Chaitra Chaitra (Hindi: चैत्र) is a month of the Hindu calendar. In the standard Hindu calendar and India's national civil calendar, Chaitra is the first month of the year. It is the last month in the Bengali calendar, where it is called Ch ...

'' ( Choitro in 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 th ...

) at midnight. People believe that by satisfying Shiva, the festival will bring prosperity by eliminating the sorrow and sufferings of the previous year. The preparation usually starts a month in advance. The arrangement team of the festival go from village to village to procure the necessary components like

paddy Paddy may refer to: People *Paddy (given name), a list of people with the given name or nickname *An ethnic slur for an Irishman Birds *Paddy (pigeon), a Second World War carrier pigeon * Snowy sheathbill or paddy, a bird species *Black-faced s ...

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or do ...

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

money Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money ar ...

and other items needed for the ritual. On the midnight of the Songkranti, the worshippers are gathered together to worship Shiva and Maa Durga for success, and after a puja, the

prasad 200px, Prasad thaal offered to Swaminarayan temple in Ahmedabad ">Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Ahmedabad">Swaminarayan temple in Ahmedabad Prasada (, Sanskrit: प्रसाद, ), Prasadam or Prasad is a religious offering in Hinduism. Most o ...

(items blessed by the deity) are distributed. Charak - Indian Museum, Kolkata R

In one place, it is also known as "Hajrha Puja". Women fast before this festival. Many times male devotees swing from the pole by hooks thrust through their backs, the hooks being attached to the pole by ropes.

Charak Puja in Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, it is frequently found to take place at Moulvibazar, Thakurgaon district,

Galachipa Upazila Galachipa ( bn, গলাচিপা ) is an upazila of Patuakhali District in the Division of Barisal, Bangladesh. In March 2011, part of the upazila was separated to make the new Rangabali Upazila. Geography Galachipa is located at . It has 49 ...

of the

Patuakhali District Patuakhali () is a district in South-central Bangladesh in the Barisal Division. This district is the main entrance for the beach of Kuakata. Geography It is adjacent to the Bay of Bengal. The area of the district is 3220.15 km2. Patuakh ...

. Goalkhali, Gabua, Haridebpur, Lalua, Lohalia, and other villages are well known for "Charak Puja". Though the aristocracy and fluency of the festival is being deemed now, there are some who are arranging it every year with great devotion and dedication. It is a part of their life. The Most popular festival "Charak Puja" found at places like Dholar hat, Akcha, Gorea, Khochabari(Singia), Hothath para at Thakurgaon Sadar, same places of Tripura Dhalai District like Kamalpur and Kulai

Bagad & Sirimanu

In Maharashtra Bagad (Marathi language: बगाड) in Andhra pradesh Sirimanu festival is a religious festive tradition, where in ceremonial pole from auspicious tree is venerated in some village jatras in honour of local deities in

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the second-most populous state in India and the second-most populous country subdi ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

state of India. Bagad is a similar concept to Charak Puja,

Gajan (festival) Gajan or Shivagajan is a Hindu festival celebrated mostly in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is associated with such deities as Shiva, Neel and Dharmaraj. Gajan spans around a week, starting at the last week of Choitro continuing till t ...

or Indian parallel of Mexican

Danza de los Voladores The ''Danza de los Voladores'' (; "Dance of the Flyers"), or ''Palo Volador'' (; "flying pole"), is an ancient Mesoamerican ceremony/ritual still performed today, albeit in modified form, in isolated pockets in Mexico. It is believed to have ...

Ban during British Raj

References

External links

Janakantha
"by Shankar Lal Dash, 13 April 2008" {{Hindu festivals Hindu festivals Religious festivals in India Religious festivals in Bangladesh

Charak Puja in Bangladesh

Bagad & Sirimanu

Ban during British Raj

See also

References

External links