Dharma gajan in dance

It is observed that the tradition of Gambhira and Gajan has come down from the past, but it has not carried much of their characteristic music to the present day, though dance and music were the items which used to be performed earlier. 

Gajan includes observance of rituals of physical austerities and also some street dances. It may be mentioned here that general folk-music is not very much connected with folk-dances in Bengal, though some specific forms of dances have grown out of Gajan mainly. Some aspects of Chhau of Purulia and Birbhum, Bhaktya of Bankura, Nil dances of the south, Bolan and Alkap of Murshidabad, Kali-Kac and Siva-Gauri dance of various places are the instances of these partial or full-dance items. Loud drumming is characteristic of the nature of accompanying music in most of these dances. These are all male dances participated in by males; a male playing the role of Gouri is observed in all southern and central districts of West Bengal.

information help: google

PHOTO CREDIT - Google

ancient story of dharma gajan

Dharma or Dharma-Niranjana was a presiding deity like Lord Shiva adored and worshipped by a section of people in West Bengal who came under the spell of Buddhist faith. Dharma was regarded as the Adi Buddha. He had no connections with Brahmanic gods and goddesses. According to some, Dharma was as good as sunya (the void), invisible even to gods and approachable through meditation only. Out of Dharma's body sprang the goddess Adya who along with Dharma received worship in Gajan. The origin of Dharma and Goddess Shakti is traced to the days when the Mahayana Buddhism was on decline. Dharma, according to some others is equated with Sibi Raja. The old Sibi story is well known and it is believed that Dharma faith existed even before the rise of Buddha. 

Any way, as it is recorded in history, during the time of the break-up of Gupta Kingdom at the end of the sixth century, the faith professed in this region was chiefly non Buddhistic. The upper society at that time neither followed the Vedas nor Buddhistic Tripitaka, they practised Tantrikism. In fact, Raja Sasanka was a follower of Saiva Tantrikism. Then the Vardhana Kings came in the seventh century. The first king was a worshipper of Lord Shiva. In the second instance, there was a Saura (Sun) worshipper king and this (tradition) was followed by the most powerful emperor Harsha who was a worshipper of Saiva at first and became a Buddhist later, though he professed himself as a follower of Maheswar also during his later life. Harsha tried for unification of the faiths of Saiva, Saura, Sakta and Buddhistic cults through some unique festivals. Hiuen-Tsang's interesting account of the endeavour of Harshvardhan gives a definite picture how all these faiths were brought to the same platform and the general populace was influenced by his activities. Shri Harsha initiated the elaborate ceremony of Chaitra festival. Performance of dance and music were provided in the festivities, and representatives from every religious group were invited. 

One day Brahmans, jealous of Buddhists, are said to have set fire to this huge pavilion and a portion of it was burnt to ashes. The above festival which was held in the month of Chaitra was henceforward turned into an annual one. And in course of time this Chaitra (spring) festival of Kanauj introduced by Harsha has developed or rather degenerated into Gambhira and Gajan festival. 

In another historical festival arranged by Shri Harsha at Allahabad worships were offered to Buddha, Shiva and the Sun-god. People were entertained with dance and music. Hiuen-Tsang also recorded his visit to Pundravardhana, the capital of North Bengal, where he witnessed elaborate Buddhist Sangharams and preachers. In the south of Gauda, at that time, in the territory of Sasanka, there existed Saiva and Saura temples in hundreds. This century was followed by a period of invasion, disorder and anarchy. One Adisura  conquered and drove out Buddhism, and re-established Vedic religion. 

Then came the Palas  under whom various religious and literary traditions were encouraged. During the reign of the Palas, who were the followers of Buddhism, the worship of gods like Narayana and Mahadeva were reintroduced, and at the time of Devapala Brahmanism spread in full swing. After this, Saivism struck deep roots in Gauda (the old medieval city of Maldah). Buddhistic gods were mixed up with Saiva and Sakta images. In this way, during Sena rule just before Muslim conquest, the Buddhist images were almost dissolved into Saiva-Sakta images, and Saura (Sun) images got mixed up with those of Dharma from which Dharma Gajan originated. The Muslim invasion affected the social conditions of West Bengal. The Hindu-Buddhist festivals were forbidden even at lower rural level. Only at distant corners of villages or out-of-the-way places which were free from direct interference of the invaders, Gajan of Shiva and Dharma Gajan were in vogue. This is true about certain villages of Rarha (Burdwan) area. Since Gajan is deeply connected with the conditions stated above, the subject is needed to be treated with reference to cross-currents of thoughts: (1) adoration of Adi Buddha, (2) Sun-god worship and (3) predominance of Saiva cult. 

information collection- google

Charak puja in bangladesh

Puja festival is actually a festival to satisfy ‘’Lord Shiva’ ’the great ‘’Debadideb’’ of Hindu religion and to be blessed with happiness and prosperity by the Lord Shiva. Though the festival takes place on the mid night of ‘’Chaitra Songkranti’’ , the preparation phase usually starts before one month of the puja day.

In fact, the last day of Chaitra month is observed all over rural Bangladesh as ‘’Chaitra Sangkranti’’. On this day rural people arrange village fair ‘’Mela’’ and some other activities such as kite flying. Charak Puja is not celebrated every where, due to its special ritual and religion bond. With the combination of Charak Puja the festival gets another dimension, attraction and test. 

Charak Puja is performed by usually ten to twelve members, including both men and women. The bearers of the ritual are called Charkia and the main performer Deoboinshi. Charak Puja starts with the fasting period. Though the festival is celebrated on the midnight of Chaitra Sankranti, the preparations start at least a month in advance. The devotees keep fast for one complete month before performing the rituals. During this period the devotees cann’t eat from morning to evening and live strictly on fruits and do their daily worship. This time bound ritual is called ‘’Brata’’. Many devotees observe a fast on the day of Charak Puja, until the midnight puja takes place.
The arrangement team of the festival go from village to village and collects the necessary items, like paddy, oil, sugar, salt, honey, money and other items with the arranged cosmetics such as Shiva, Parvati and Narod. The cosmetics Shiva is locally called ‘’Nil Pagol’’ or ‘’Jal Katha’’.

 The rituals of Charak Puja , a way to show the miracle of ‘’Lord Shiva’’ are unique and at times a little risky. Around mid night, the devotees gather to offer prayers to the Lord Shiva. Then the Puja arrangers make a stage of bamboo. The average height of these stages are about 3 to 5 meter. The ‘’Charkia’’ is tied with a ‘’Borshi’’ (a kind of hook) at the back and then is moved around a bar with a long roap. The ground area of the bamboo stage is filled up with knives, glass pieces and thorns. Devotees fall on this ground. The excitement reaches to apex when the performers rise and escape without a single wound. They believe that the blessing of ‘’Lord Shiva’’ keep them safe from all the possible harms. The devotees have other ways to show the god’s blessing. They impale their body parts without feeling any pain.

In Bangladesh, Charak Puja is frequently found to take place at Patuakhali, Pabna, Sylhet, Gopalganj, Khulna, Jessor, Manikgonj and some other districts. The next day of Charak Puja is celebrated as ‘’Poila/Pohela Baisakh or Nabo Barsha (Bangla new year) all over Bangladesh.

INFORMATIONS TAKEN FROM : wikipedia,travelgram,indianetzone,travelphotographer,bengalinet,

                                                    viewbookphotostory.com/2010/09/charak-puja etc...

Picture credit: google