New Year Puja

A couple of weeks back, with poila boishakh (the Bengali New Year) just around the corner, I found myself in the midst of an enormous crowd of people, all trying to cross the Gariahat Road crossing from the Ekdalia side to the Anandamela side. It makes me happy to see so many thronging to Gariahat shortly before poila boishakh because that implies (optimistically) that at least so many are not inside South City Mall at that moment. Traffic control had taken over and there were young interns (probably) who were trying to contain the crowds to the footpath by holding up these thick ropes while traffic flowed down the street. This is a technique commonly seen in use during the Pujas. I sensed someone whose spirit was clearly soaring above the crowds, jostle busily towards the said intern. He tapped him on the shoulder and in the same business-like manner asked, "দাদা, একডালিয়ার পুজোটা কোন দিকে?" ("Dada, which way is the Ekdalia puja?") I suspect he didn't make himself too popular with the policeman.

Churrack Sannyasi - Sri Bhim Manik

As part of the work that I was doing on the Bazars of Calcutta, I came in touch, inevitably, with Chhatu-babu Latu-babu's Bazar, i.e. the Onauth Nauth Deb Bazar on Beadon Street. The family has a number of economic and cultural associations in Calcutta's history through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, but more on that later. One of the traditions that they still preserve is the Churrack festival. I hope to compile soon a list of archival references to the Churrack festival, from the State Archives (some are provided in Calcutta in the Nineteenth Century: An Archival Exploration written by Sarmistha De and Bidisha Chakraborty), from newspaper reports and suchlike. There is of course that wonderful description and commentary in Hutom Pyanchar Naksha.

I went to watch the Churrack festival at the said Bazar (telecast widely) a year back. Subsequently I tried to get in touch with the head sannyasi to find out from him details about the ritual, his family, and so on. The directions that I got were vague at best. I was told that somewhere in Dom Para resides this gentleman by the name of Bhim Manik. I had some idea where Dom Para is but it took me a while to locate Bhim da. I first tried the Balaram De Street approach but I was told that I'd perhaps find someone by that name if I tried asking around the Minerva Theatre. So I did ask around and after a few failed attempts found someone who knew the neighbourhood where Bhim da resides. I finally managed to locate his son, who informed me that his father wasn't home. Chiranjeet gave me his number and asked me to get in touch in a couple of hours or so. I did so and after some difficulty retraced my way through the mazes and sub-mazes of the deep interiors of Dom Para back to his house. He invited me to the Club office, and there I spoke to the only Churrack sannyasi (from what I have been able to gather) in Calcutta. Here are a few excerpts from the interview:

From I was about his age [points to his nephew who is around 8 years old by my guess], I've been training under my father. He is my grandson. It's unfair to expect someone so small to fast. So my father used to feed me sandesh. I used to go with him. I grew up gradually and learnt some of the trickier bits from my father. We used to perform at Chhatu bazar even then. In fact, right from the time of my grandfather we have been performing at Chhatu bazar. My name is Bhim Manik. You can mention my father's name to them, Kanai Manik. 

There is a feat that we perform - I don't know if you've seen it - we hang upside down, our feet tied by a rope. This happens on the day when we first consecrate the deity - Baba. There is a particular way of tying the knot. Not too many people know how to do this. My grandfather - his grandfather - it has passed down to me. My grandfather was called Nandalal Manik. He too was a sannyasi.

Nimai Manik, Bhim Manik's father

Sri Bhim Manik

Aman Manna (I hope I got his name right), Bhim Manik's nephew 

We belong to the dharma pundit community. We are traditionally associated with the bamboo, cane and wicker trades. We are artisans. I work in the Burrabazar. You know, the labels that you find on your vests. My work is to attach those to vests. As far back as I know, none of my immediate ancestors were into impaling their bodies. I work with my group of 12 sannyasi-s. 

Chhora karate hoy - someone has to lie down. The deity is consecrated with flowers. Till such time as I utter the sacred words, the process cannot start. Once I give the signal, the purahit performs the ritual. The flowers are placed on the head of the linga. With time they will fall off from it. You can watch from afar. Till such time as the flowers drop, we can't let anything pass through our throats - not even water. After the flowers drop, we make a journey to the Ganges and proceed with further rites. We perform the habishyi thrice. The first two are at the river. Then there's a third, maya habishyi. Milk, kamini rice, dates, and other mewa. All the girls line up along the river hoping to get their share, however small, of the prasad. It's a fertility ritual. We will first offer to Baba. Then we consume it and then distribute it among everyone else.

This pole, you see, is constructed out of wood that is not available here. It has to be imported. I think it comes by ship. Once, one of these developed a crack. On of the persons associated with the Bazar asked me what he should do. "Should I try to repair it? May be nail it together?" I said, "No, don't ever do that. How will you feel if I drive a nail into your skin?" This too is a deity. My grandfather had swung from that tree. This one is new, it stays in their garden. I advised him to sacrifice it to the Ganges. And soon after we were able to get another tree from which we could make another pole.

I don't know if you will believe me, but there was this one time when a "sannyasi" who was supposed to perform the ritual ate when he was not supposed to. Who knows how it happened. He started coughing blood. Sannyas is not child's play. There are many who do not follow these customs sincerely. But there's no getting away from this particular deity - he is ever alert. The puja is performed by the Brahmin purahit, though. This deity is called sareshwar (ষাঁড়েশ্বর), he is one who has emerged out of the belly of a bull. My grandfather passed on the history to my father, and I have received it from him. This goes way back - 200 years or more. They had found this in the bull's dung. You can see it in the shrine right next to the thakurbari. 

This is the only one that survives in Kolkata. There are similar festivals that take place in Midnapore for instance, but those are not on the same scale as this one.

I ask him if it's not physically taxing - all this fasting and then the acrobatics.

No. We don't feel a thing, really. Even if we are fasting the whole day - if it is for Baba - nothing can hurt us. You won't be able to do it. This uttari that we wear - with our Baba's blessings - once we do wear it, we can't participate in the cremation rites, even if it is of your closest family members. Once you've taken sannyas. You have to discard the uttari if you want to get anywhere near the deceased body. I am sixty years old now. We owe it all to His blessings.

The young lad (he tells me he lives in Tollygunge) says that he too has learnt the mantra. They wish to preserve their ancestral legacy, in whatever limited way they can. I asked him if he is brave enough to fast before the performance. He looked sheepishly and confessed that he survives on sandesh. A brief video that I shot of one of the sannyasi-s performing.

(Excuse please a month's silence.)