Fairs and 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.