April 15 means Bengali New Year. Food friends New clothes.
But the LAST day of the old year means the Charak Mela, the Charak Fair.
FAIR SOUNDS
This is Sandip Roy in Kolkata.
The entire street is blocked with rows of people sitting on the ground selling all kinds of knickknacks Little clay images of Gods, baskets, palm leaf puppets, wooden stools, flutes and drums.
FLUTES and DRUMS
But the real attraction is inside the old Market. A huge pole points to the the sky, like a tree trunk without branches but with a cross beam and ropes. A group of sadhus, holy men in orange robes, their hair matted, foreheads smeared with ash run around the pole pulling the rope as the crowd goes into a frenzy
ROPE PULLING
Soon the sadhus are flying through the air, Spinning in the air around the pole, showering the crowds with puffed rice
SPINNING
At the end when they descend old women with grey hair touch the feet of young sadhus who bless them. Their age does not matter. For that moment they are not God but touched by God says Aman Kajaria, one of the young sadhus, not quite 21 smooth faced still with boyish fuzz on his lip.
AK1: bhogobaan na kintu amader uporey ekta bhogobaner haath aache, ei jonye amra charak kori,
Charak festival is big especially in rural Bengal. Groups of men take on a vow as disciples of God Shiva. Like Shiva they live like ascetics, wandering the world, begging for food says Aman.
AK2: Baba jokhon sanyas niyechilo, baba bhikkha kore kheto baba joto kichhu korto amra kori.
There are many acts of penance. In many villages people still stick hooks into their skin and spin around in a sort of ecsatic trance. They pierce their tongues with pins. Here in Kolkata they use ropes not hooks. Aman’s friend Suraj who has been doing this for 7 years says it feels like he is flying.
S1: Urchi, babar aashirvaad niye
He says they don’t really train for this. I believe in Shiva and I put my faith in him he says
S2: TRaining kichhu na. Babar Bhakti. Ja kora hoy babar upor bhorsha kore kora hoy.
For this one month these men are without family. Even the gotras or lineage they come from don’t matter. For one month they are Shiva’s gotra.
AK2A: Ekhon amader gotro nei. Shiv Gotra. Ekhon amra babar gon
Then on the first day of the New Year once Charaj is over they go back to their normal lives says Aman.
And that’s where Aman surprises me.
AK3: I am studying in IIHM. Doing hotel management. Obviously have to continue
Even more unusual for a ritual that’s steeped in the traditions of rural Bengal, Aman is not even Bengali
AK4: I am non Bengali. Was Marwari. I love Bengal culture. Thats why I do this
The Marwaris are a business community from Rajasthan. Many have lived here in Kolkata for generations. Aman grew up here and was always curious about these rites and rituals
AK5: Actually I stay here. From childhood I see this sort of Pujo
He says he always wondered how sadhus actually lived, how they struggled. It’s not easy but it’s a way to purify his body.
AK6: Sanyasira koto struggle korto. Amra palon korechi. Its not easy for me but…
When he proposed the idea to his family they said no. They were not going to let their son go and live like a mendicant out in the open.
AK7: Yeah obviously denied me. After I convinced them I do only for one week.
Next year he did 11. This year is his third year. And the first time he’s done the full month.
AK8: My family is like agree. They agree for everything. Because this is not a bad thing.
He and his fellow sadhus lived on the banks of the river. He says for him the toughest was bathing in the cold water river at least 5 times a day.
AK9: Ganga ghastly thaktam. Amader sanyasey minimum 5 bar snaana kortey hoy
With the new year Aman will return to his old life. Studies. Family. And friends. Then he drops another bombshell
AK10: Actually I was a skateboarder. One of first skateboarders from north Kolkata. I do graffiti, I do beatbox, I do rap
His hip hop friends are mostly non believers. But he just skates from one life to another seamlessly. Borne by the beat of faith.
Come, he says as I leave, take Baba Taranath’s blessings. And I quietly lower my head and accept them from the 21 year old hip hop sadhu.
AK11: Baba Taraknath
This is Sandip Roy in Kolkata for KALW