North 24 Pargana’s best Events and Festivals tourist spot – West Bengal
1. Kalpataru Utsab
Kalpataru Utsab is celebrated at Dakshineswar (along with Cossipore Uddyanbati at
Kolkata district) on 1st January every year to commemorate Shri Ramakrishna Dev
incarnation as an Avatar or incarnation of God on earth.
2. Banipur Art & Crafts Fair
Banipur Lok Utsav is a fair over fifty years held under Habra municipality in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. This cultural fair has acquired several awards and honours by Information and Cultural Department, Govt. of West Bengal. There are six stages or manchas namely Mul Mancha, Dakshin Mancha, Jatra Mancha, Janata Hall, Swasthya Mancha and Mela ground where different scheduled programmes are presented daily. . These programmes include theatre (jatra), puppet dance(putulnach), chhou dance of Purulia district, Raybenshe dance of Murshidabad district, dramas etc.
3. Panihati Chida Utsav :
Sri Chaitanya halted at Panihati Mohotsavtala Ghat twice, once in A.D. 1515 on his way to Puri and another time when going to Vrindaban from Puri via Gaud. He came here in the month of Kartik and stayed in the house of Raghav Pandit, his disciple. The image of Madan Mohan worshiped by Sri Chaitanya in the house of Raghav, as also the Samadhi of Raghav under a canopy of Madhabi creepers can still be seen in the Raghav Bhawan or Pat Bari. Since long (500 years past), Panihati is famous for a great festival called Chida Utsab/ DandaMahotsab. This festival is related to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Sri Nityananda Mahaprabhu, having an immense religious value for the Vaisnavas. The festival is organised in the Month of Jaistha on Shukla TroyodoshiTithi or June Month every year. This festival is held at the riverbank of the Ganges at Mahotsobtala Ghat (known as Panihati Ferry Ghat), and remembers a particular day when Nityananda Mahaprabhu had partaken chida and dadhi offered by devotee Raghunath Das Goswami . This festival is now celebrated widely in various states of India and many countries abroad at ISKCON Temples with the participation of devotees.
4. Matua Maha Mela :
Thakurnagar is named after Pramath Ranjan Thakur, the great-grandson of the founder of the Matua Movement and Community, Harichand Thakur. Due to the Thakurs’ significance to the Matua devotees, the village is considered as the “Mecca of the Matuas.” On the Madhu Krishna Trayodashi Tithi, the lakhs of pilgrims of this sect (equipped with their respective flags and ‘Dangkas’) from the entire world take a holy dip at ‘Kamana Sagar’ which is fondly called as ‘BaruniSnan’. Today, Thakurnagar is widely known for the nearby Thakur Bari.
5. Shiva Puja (Gajan) :
Probably the most popular divinity of the district is Lord Shiva. A number of Shiva temples is found throughout the district. At Khardah there is twenty-six Shiva temples of At-Chala (eight roofed) style. Here, a big fair is organized on the occasion of Nil puja in the Bengali calendar month of Chaitra (mid-March to mid April). In many places of the district, Gajan festival (a special ritual to commemorate Lord Shiva) is also celebrated with great grandeur. Jaleswar Shiva of Gaighata Police Station lies submerged in a tank called Shiva Puskarini (pond) and only raised and placed in a temple for performing Gajan.
6. Cultural Traditions Ashtak :
‘Ashtak’ is a unique folk-form of the district of North 24 Parganas. It originated at the Bagdah Block of Bongaon Sub Division. This exclusive form of the region presents a musical soiree, which portrays the eventful childhood of the Lord Krishna. The mythological characters depict the various sagas of Little Krishna, which enthrall the attending audience.
7. Jhumur Dance :
Jhumur dance is mostly performed in open places (now-a-days in cultural gatherings also). The male members wear long traditional dresses and keep the rhythm with few traditional instruments: generally, a drum, hung on shoulder; a flute and a pair of “Taal” (two metallic discs). The girls mostly perform the dancing part, holding each other’s waist and moving hands and legs forward and backward synchronously.
8. Manasa Bhasan :
The exceptional Goddess Manasa had been revered, feared, worshipped & obeyed since the time immemorial. The extremely popular goddess has an irresistible charisma amid the toiling & the humble populace. The village women gather at afternoon in their vicinity, after completing their household chores, to collectively praise the superpower & prowess of the almighty Ma Manasa, which has also been termed as ‘Rayaani Gaan’, in the Bengali month of Shravan. This particular folk-form, which has also been termed as ‘Manasa Mangal’, depicts the epic-styled sagas of the goddess which revolve around the tales of Chand Sadagar, Menaka, Behula, Lakhinder& others. The performing artists portray the heart-rendering events in front of the enthralled crowd.
9. Tarja Gaan :
Tarja is a form of folk poetry contest from Bengal with a long tradition. Historically it used to be performed in the village gathering around a chandimandap or altar for village god, mela and other social events, in streets, and marketplace religious festivals. The themes of the contest are usually taken from Ramayana, Mahabharata or Puranas.
10. Bhatiyali :
This particular folk-form has been intensely associated with age-old heritage of riverine Bengal. The vast region is entangled & encompassed by the countless rivers, lakes, streams & water bodies. The livelihood of the riverside inhabitants has greately been influenced & shaped by the bio-diversity & eco-system of the flow. The boatmen endlessly afloat over the rivers, making their lives entirely dependent on moods of seas & the rivers. In passionate attempt to bear the daily challenges & ordeals, they composed their tunes at their hearts & utter the emotional lyrics with all sincerity & devotion. The music of water has purely been woven on the high and lower tides of the rivers and the streams. The district of North 24 Parganas has a rich treasure of Bhatiyali tunes and as well as its’ creators.
| Spot | North 24 Pargana |
- Official North 24 Pargana Website : https://north24parganas.gov.in/tourist-places/
