Neel Puja

Another intriguing part of Gajan is the ‘Neel Puja’. The women of the household conduct this puja by offering milk to the ‘Shiva Lingam’ and praying for the well being of their family and children. This puja is done by the village women in the nearest temple of Shiva.

‘Neel’ comes from the word ‘Neelkantha’, which is another name of Shiva. Neel means the colour blue and kantha, means the throat. This puja is a symbol of the holy marriage of Shiva and Parvati. The women pray for their marriages to be blessed by the deities.

A priest conducting the rituals of Neel Puja. Image Courtesy: www.youtube.com

As per the Hindu scriptures, the Gods and Demons were fighting for the ‘amrita’, the drink of immortality; a fatal poison came out of the ‘Halahal’. To save the creation, The toxic poison was consumed by Shiva which in turn made is throat turn blue in colour. Hence the name ‘Neelkantha’ was bestowed upon him.

People in West Bengal nowadays celebrate ‘Neel Sashti’. The goddess Sashti is considered to bring well being to the women of the family and their children.

The Neel Puja is one of the major part of the Gajan festival and is majorly a ritual for the women only but at various places, fairs are organized for the entire village. Various plays and songs are dedicated towards the marriage of Shiva and Parvati.

Charak Puja

The most interesting part of Gajan festival is the ritual of Charak Puja.‘Charak’ is a kind of tree which is traditionally worshipped in this puja. The Gajan sanyasis perform various acts or stunts that are taken to be acts of penance.

The branch of the Charak tree is brought to the puja premises. The branch is made to stand erect on a spot and is balanced with the use of bamboos. The sanyasis then pray around it and perform those stunts which are considered to be an act of penance. After this ritual is over, the Charak branch is immersed in a river body.

Charak puja is setup using the branch of a Charak tree. Image Courtesy: Wikipedia

 The Charak branch is believed to be a form of ‘Ardhnarishwar’ (part Shiva and part Parvati). It is considered to be a holy tree traditionally. A face mask is designed to stay on top of the Charak branch before making it stand up straight. While mostly, the mask suggests the presence of Ardhnarishwar, people of some villages assume that the mask resembles ‘Harakali’

What can be really intriguing in Charak Puja is the fact that the Sanyasi priests insert immensely sharp needles and hooks into the bodies of the other sanyasis. The sanyasis consider this as a process of purifying one’s soul from all the sins of mortal life. The sanyasis then hang themselves using ropes from the Charak branch and swing around in circular motions. Sometimes they jump from such heights to the ground as a stunt performed for the worship of the deity.  

The villagers, on the days of Gajan festivities, consider these sanyasis to be close to godly spirit and hence, the localites touch their feet and ask for blessings. The place where The Charak Puja is done is secured very well to check that the onlookers do not get hurt while the sanyasis perform the stunts. The place is sanctified by performing various rituals before the Charak branch is erected there.

Gajan in various districts of West Bengal

      Gajan is celebrated in various ways in different districts of West Bengal. Each district posses a specific characteristic of Gajan festivity to boast upon. Following are the various ways in which of Gajan is celebrated in these districts:

Nabadwip District-

      The Gajan celebration at Nabadwip includes worship of seven forms of Shiva. At a time, the sanyasis pray at only one temple of Shiva but they do so with each of these forms. The sanyasis fast throughout the day and do not even drink water. In the evening, they break their fast by eating fruits and sweets.

      The ‘Buro Shib’ of Buro Shib Tala at Nabadwip is considered the most ancient among the rest of the temples of Shiva. During the start of the yatra, Buro Shib is bathed first which is follwed by bathing of the rest of the Shivas.

Bardhaman District-

      Kurmun, Palashi and Sena Palashi are one of the places, famous in Bardhaman, for their Gajan festival and fairs. Four days before the fair is set up, the localites take up the ‘sanyas vrata’ and begin their fast. They fast throughout the day and break the fast in the evening by consuming ‘hobbishi’ cooked at their homes.

      The main attraction of Bardhaman’s Gajan was believed to be when the sanyasis dance with ‘Naramundu’ (human skull) or a dead body of a child.

      The fair goes on till 7-10 days with many events in between including ‘Jatra’, puppet-show and musical performances.

South 24 Parganas District-

      Just like the other districts, the Gajan celebration is pretty standard in this district. As the Sanyasis gear up to worship and fast, the localites prepare for various events and functions of Gajan.

       The ‘Palagaan’ groups perform at these functions. There are certain groups called ‘Satyanarayan Gajan Dal’ and ‘Lakhhinarayan Gajan Dal’ which are majorly famous to sing  and perform during the festivities of Gajan.

Hooghly District-

      Almost like the other districts, the main role is played by the Sanyasis or the Bhaktas in the festivities of Gajan here as well. The Sanyasis are inclusive of almost all the caste groups. The rituals of Gajan are strictly follwed with the localites taking up the vrata and fasting for their wish-fulfilment.

      Sanyasis, belonging to lower castes, attempt the deadly rituals of ‘Banfoda’ and ‘Shikh foda’. They insert sharp needles and hooks on their body as an act of purifying of their body and soul.