Halley's scribble : November 2014

SHANTIPUR RAASOTSAV -- A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME !

Its been more than a month after Durga pujas and the festival memories are becoming distant with each passing day . But Shantipur , a small town in Nadia district is rising once again to sounds of dhaak . The main festival of the town , Raas yatra , has arrived .

Yugala sadhana is all about relishing the sweet Ras (extracts) of the leelas of Radha and Krishna . And this ‘ras’ finds its ultimate expression through the dance of ‘raas’ . On the full moon night of autumn , Govinda staged this divine union with the cowherd damsels of Vrindavan .
Out of all the leelas(play) of God the most important is the nara-leela or play as human incarnate . Out of all the incarnations the supreme is his incarnation as leela purushottam Sri Krishna . Out of all methods of reaching God the easiest and loftiest is Bhakti – The path through devotion . Out of all the bhavas (moods) of bhakti , the most perfected is the ‘madhura’ where one loves god as his lover . This madhura bhava is most concentrated in ‘parakiya’ – love relations out of nuptial ties .

And the place where this five points converge is raasa leela ! Purnaavatar Sri Krishna expresses his affection to Radhika through parakiya ras . To a historian , Raas is an ancient vedic dance form that was practiced in ancient days but now forgotten . We also get references of Vasanta raas or Balarama’s raas dance in the month of Chaitra . Which raises the speculation that Raas might be a generic name given to certain dance styles of those times . To a devotee it is the highest leela of Bhagavan Sri Krishna . To a philosopher it is the union of bhakta bhagavan . Call what you may , Raasa is the perhaps the most spectacular pastimes of the lord . For this Krishna expanded himself into as many Krishnas as there were Gopis ! And each of these Krishnas acted and sported individually with each Gopi ! The illusory maya of Krishna did not allow the gopis the see many Krishnas . So all through the dance each gopi thought that it is she alone who has Krishna by her side .

Deendayal Pramanick bari is still decorated with candle lit chandeliers . The ambience hasnt changed at all !


Mutt bari

RadhaRaman Ju of Boro Goswami Bari

Shantipur's famous Raai Raja -- pre pubescent girl dressed and revered as Raai or Radhika

Barely a hundred years back , Raas yatra , the celebration of Raas leela was one of the four most important festivals of Bengal . The other three being – Durgotsav , Dola yatra and Ratha yatra . Deities of Radha and Krishna used to be carried to separate temples or Raas manchas and specially worshipped with songs and dances all night long. But with the decreasing important of gaudiya vaishnavism in Bengal , Raasotsav has also dwindled . Except in Shantipur ... !

Topknot or Chuda . Once the traditional hairdo of many vaishnavs . Now a rarity

Gouranga

vaishnava pilgrims to Shantipur raas yatra

108 dhaaks playing

Five hundred years ago a learned brahmin by the name Advaita Acharya used to worship his god on the banks on Ganges and pray to Vishnu to deliver mankind of the various malpractices that have crept in . It is said that hearing his cries , Lord Vishnu could not contain himself and longer and descended on earth as the combined form of Radha and Krishna -- Chaitanya Mahaprabhu . Advaita Acharya was a resident of Shantipur and his descendents are now split into numerous aristocrat families called Goswamis . The most respected of them all is the Boro Goswami branch . It is them who started extravagant celebration in honour of their family deity RadhaRaman and the trend soon picked up and became popular with other noble families of the region .

Procession of deities , houses lit using Belgian glass chandeliers , Raai raja , Howdahs , Thakurdalans , Padavali kirtan --- Shantipur during raasyatra gives u a feel of bengal now lost in pages of history . It is almost like going back in time machine and connecting to your roots and culture . Discovering a new lost world , securely tucked away in the hustle bustle of modern 21st century cosmopolitan life . It overwhelms to awaken the poet in you .... making u want to go back year after year for more !