300+ Words Essay on Festivals of West Bengal
The Bengalis are fond of festivals. The proverb ‘baro mase tero parbon’, which means thirteen festivals in twelve months, indicates the mood of the people. The Bengali year starts with New Year’s Day or ‘Halkhata’ in Baisakh (second half of April) and ends with ‘Charak’ in the month of Chaitra (second half of March) with the advent of the summer heat.
In the rainy season, there is Ratha Yatra or the Festival of Chariot of the Hindus. In autumn, Durga Puja is observed with pomp and splendour. Everyone dresses in new garments, and distant relatives get together on this occasion. In fact, it is the national festival in West Bengal. It is soon followed by Lakshmi Puja, Kali Puja, and ‘Diwali’, the festival of lamps. The Muslims have their great festivals — Eid-ul-Fitr, and Eid-al-Adha during this period. In winter, the Bengalis celebrate ‘Nabanna’ or the festival of the new harvest and Saraswati Puja, the worship of the Goddess of Learning. Christians celebrate Christmas and Easter, which have become festivals of universal love and brotherhood. In spring, there is ‘Doljatra’ or ‘Holi’, the festival of colours. It is especially a festival of youths, though it has a religious touch of Radha-Krishna, the deities of divine love.
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There are many other festivals in West Bengal. Rabindra Jayanti in May, in memory of the great poet Rabindranath Tagore, has now become the people’s cultural festival in the state. May Day is observed all over the world, and here too. It is a day to express the solidarity of the working class people. All firms and factories remain closed on this day, and the workers get together to observe the day. The latest festival is perhaps the Book Fair or ‘Boi Mela’. Here, bibliophiles (book-lovers) get books as their best friends or never-failing companions to enlarge their vision and make life more meaningful.
The Bengalis have many wants, but they have no want of festivals. And each is unique in its own place.