rasa yatra in shantipur.

[sambya]

after advaita acharya nityananda prabhu left this world a significant part of their work in bengal was continued by their sons and grandsons.it was at the time of advaita acharya's greatgrandson mathuresh goswami that the first rasa celebration took place in shantipur.slowly it spread to other branches of the goswami clan and assumed the proportions of the main festival of shantipur.

 

the principal diety in this area is radha raman of the baro-goswami family.this deity was first installed in orissa by the famous king indradyummna bearing the name of dol-govinda.when the king of yessore(now in bangladesh), vasanta ray attacked orrissa he carried this famous diety to his capital. many years passed by and yessore came under the rule of pratapaditya,a blood relation of vasanta ray and the last independent ruler of bengal, before being overtaken by the mughals.when raja man singh,who was the right hand man of mughal emperor akbar, attacked yessore the purohit of dolgovinda sensed the gravity of the situation and gave the diety to his own guru mathuresh goswami,who brought it to shantipur.here he installed an idol of srimati radharani and renamed it radharaman.

 

to this day one can see the beutiful deities in shantipur. apart from radharaman there are numerous other ancient family deities each with their own unique mystical history.they are spendidly dressed up in antique gold and diamond jewellary for the festival.but rest of the year use of jewellery is kept to a bare minimum to pevent attracting robbers and theives.the first day of rasautsav begins with special archana and kirtans.on the second night the dieties are married to each other.on the third day they are seated on a lavish howdah or palanquin and carried atop shoulders acrros the city accompanied with huge dazzling processions. antique silver perfume holders,betel nut holders, water glasses are provided for them in case they require any of those in the middle of the journey.

 

these processions usually start with playing of 108 'dhaak's, a speciall barrell drum of bengal played during major festivals and decorated with lavish heron plumes. next comes numerous men and women dressed as radha krishna etc.scottish bands , balloons and other rural entertainments also follow the parade. next in line comes the beautifull "rai raja". a young girl ,not yet reached puberty, is decorated as rai or radha rani,worshipped and revered as rai herself and then seated on a lavish throne decorated with ornate lamps and chandeliers and toured across the city.

 

it is interesting to see how these families have kept the tradition alive even after so many years.most of these palanquins or thrones are still lit up using ornate belgium glass candel holders and chandeliers.even the temples are decorated using thousands of candles.electric light is used to a basic minimum.this gives the entire event a sense of aesthetic beauty and instantly transports you to the bygone colonial eras of maharajas and zamindars.the tall collums,lofty arches,silver thrones all shimmer in the dim candel light and creates a breathtaking beauty in a few households.

 

over time a new feature has propped up in this festivals.many public clubs and societies have started their own puja.most of these are either kali or durga.this is indeed a miracle to see kali,who is usually worshipped on amavasya,being worshipped on a purnima.but keeping the vaishnav nature of the festival intact no animal sacrifice or such practice is perormed.shakta devis are worshipped in their satwik aspect.thus it achived a synthesis of two most apparently opposing religious forces predominant in bengal -the vaishnavas and shaktas.

 

it is indeed curious to see the hype and celebration revolving around so many vaishnav deities in one single place,in an otherwise predominantly shakta state.

 

this makes one remember of the ancient kingdom of malla kings vishnupur,bengal.here raja bir hambir(who got initiated from jiva goswami) constructed a large rasa mancha(a temple for rasa celebrations) with 108 carved arches on its four sides.on the rasa purnima day all the local deities(108 in number),were brought and seated on the grand platform for a week long celebrations.after its culimination after a week each deity returned to its own temple.this inspiration is drawn from the nature of rasa lila itself where krishna multiplied himself to play individually with all the gopis simultaneously.those numerous deities might have given the same feel to the onlooker.but this festival didnt survive and died out with the collapse of monarchy.

 

sadly inspite of its lost era charm and unique style , there are no proper hotels available in shantipur,which makes this festival largely inaccesable to the outsiders,except ones having relatives in this town.the unruly crowd and other issues also add to the problem.

 

but even to this day shantipur's rasautsav can give you a taste of ancient bengal of a bygone era.