Poush Mela
Poush Mela held at Shantiniketan in Birbhum district de-
picts the quintessential Bengali culture. The fair is hosted
between 7th and 9th of the month of Poush, near about
the time when the present Gregorian year is to bid fare-
well and preparations are made to welcome the new year,
with its new hopes and new promises. Shantiniketan, the
famed land from where the renowned Nobel Laureate Ra-
bindranath Tagore drew his inspiration abounds in cultural
and intellectual festivities throughout the year. On the
inaugural day, the festival begins with a community prayer
that includes Vedic hymns and reading from passages writ-
ten by Maharshi Debendranath Tagore and Rabindranath
followed singing of Rabindra sangeet by invited artists and
students. After this, visitors assemble on the central stage
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at the fairground where the roving folk artistes like bauls,
kirtan singers perform and jatras and dance performances
are held. The kiosks and stalls are set up while many sellers
sit wherever they like, spreading their earthenwares, hand-
icrafts, toys etc. on the ground. The fair ground is continu-
ously thronged by hordes of crowds for three days.
Charak Puja
Charak Puja is a special folk festival and it is celebrated on
the last day of Chaitra month in the Bengali calendar or a
day before Poila Boishakh. Lord Shiva and Goddess Shakti
are worshipped on the day of Charak Puja. It is celebrated
with great élan amongst the villagers. The rituals of Charak
Puja, a way to show the miracle of God, are unique and, at
times, a little risky. On this day, bamboo stages, of aver-
age height between 10 and 15 feet, are erected, with their
ground full of knives, glass and thorns where devotees
intentionally fall from above