Poush Mela of Shantiniketan.

Poush Mela of Shantiniketan.

Baro mase tero parban – so goes a saying. But among all the twelve months in the Bengali Calendar perhaps the Poush Mash is the best month during the year. It is actually the month of celebrating lots of harvest festival when people enjoy this winter in many ways. As a part of such merriment people in large do not like miss the chance of going once to the renowned Posh Mela the most important festival in the district of Birbhum and rather in Bengal. The festival is celebrated at Shantiniketan the abode of peace with great splendor on 7^th of Poush every year. Now not only from the different parts of our state gather there, even the people of different cultures and traditions from all parts of our country and even from abroad are coming to this abode of peace to enjoy the rare taste of this mela. Actually this fair is famous for the perfect amalgamation of various cultures and traditions.

The rich heritage of Bengal and the culture of Shantiniketan is the main theme of enjoyment and attraction there. The performances by the students of Shantiniketan and the folk and boul music enamor the visitors to a great extent. Many a people goes to this fair every year mainly for the higher level and mind blowing cultural performances in the mela ground during the week.

            In various camps group of TV and Radio artists show their excel performance in presence of the crowds. “The fun filled week of the fair is full of different interesting activities. Besides the cultural programmes, the Poush Mela presents collection of local artistic handicrafts and printed fabrics for all to buy and experience the Bengali spirit in its true sense. Ladies and Gents’ mostly like the Panjabi or Kurtas with the special type of fabric print and some leather products also. Every year we reach on the day before the mela begins. We have some relatives there and accommodation problem does not arise. Yet there are many hotels and lodges where people could easily stay in affordable rates. ” says Swapan Chatterjee, Moumita Saha and others of a local cultural group of Township.

            More than 500 vendors set up different stalls in the fair. But the visitors in all say, “Shopping in the fair is really a hard task. Jampacked fair ground makes it more difficult to hop in the stalls. The dust of the red cobbled road makes the situation more worst and a lot of people suffer from breathing problem in the crowds. The vehicular traffic has become a great concern for the people to reach there. Parking cars in the lots during the peak hours is a difficult job. Moreover the kids and the elderly people face great difficulties to reach the fair ground which is nearly 2 kilometers from the parking lot walking in the crowded road approaching the fair ground. ”

            Rimpa Sen and Writhik Sen both the Rabindra Sangeet Artist say, “This is the 5th year  we are planning to enjoy the Mela in Shantiniketan. We start early on the inauguration  day. We like to enjoy the inauguration programme which begins with a community prayer that includes vedic hymns and reading from  passages written by Maharshi Debendranath and Rabindra Nath Tagore. Since both of us are Rabindra Sangeet Artists we go there only to enjoy the Rabindra Culture in different forms by different groups and solo performances of the renowned artists”

            Officials of the mela committee say, “This year we have increased our  budget for adequate security and fire fighting measures. We are trying hard to maintain the peace and harmony among all the people will attend the mela. We have  installed close circuit TV in the crowded areas from where our control room people will make constant vigil the whole of the campus till late night. Security for the VIPs will be maintained more strictly so that no untoward situation arise during the mela days. ”

Kanchan Kumar Chatterjee.