DOLYATRA -- Death of a tradition 

Dol-Durgotsav – this conjoined word is often used in Bengali language to denote big extravagant festivals . But things have changed so much in the last hundred years , that it's hardly discernible today , that Dol , the spring festival of colours was as big an event in Bengal as Durgotsav of modern times !

Bengal have been the homeland of tantra since the Buddhist Pala empire . So no wonder the annual festival of Durga is a big event . But after the advent of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu , there came a surge of vaishnavism in Bengal . Dol yatra , the swing and colour festival of Radha and Krishna kicks off from this point in history . Old texts narrate how the 'earth went red with blood from sacrifice during Durga puja and colours during Dol' . Tales resound of how the Dalhousie square tank used to turn red with colours , to be used for playing holi at the Savarna Roy Chowdhury’s family festival , giving the waterbody its name – Laal Dighee .

Shyam Raay of Shantipur during Dolyatra

It was the tradition of Bengali households to begin the day by taking a bath and offering colours at the feet of family gods and then to the elders . Only then one can go out and play colours with friends . Water base colours and sprinkler brass pichhkaaris were reserved for the morning and dry aabir powders were played out once again in the evening . Month before Dol arrived , local youngsters used to collect dry coconut leaves , fallen tree branches and similar stuff and horde them for burning the night before . “Aaj aamaader nyaaraa poraa , kaal aamaader dol . Purnimaa-te chaand utheche , bawlow horibol” --- shouts of jubilation went up and filled the skies .
Numerous temples dedicated to Radha Krishna used to mount their deities on swings . This used to be followed by lavish feasts and play of colours . The colonial zamindars wanted to recreate a slice of Vrindavan in the soil of Bengal . Siddhi was customary on the day of Holi , and so was sugar candies called ‘mutt’ and ‘phutkoraai’ . Dol yatra was also an occasion for the riche to indulge in courtesan dances , nautches , kobi-gaan , yatra theatre and similar entertainments . Festivities often went on for a week . 

'Mutt' candy

Then with the rise of Brahmo movement under the aegis of Tagore family , a more sophisticated ‘vasantosav’ was cloned out of the mother dolyatra . It is possible that the unrestrained madness of traditional Holi was not in sync with the European influenced western sensibilities of Tagore family . Brahmo samaj’s vasantotsav found a colourful expression in the festival of Shantiniketan .  It was quick to catch the imagination of modern Bengalis and soon more and more people flocked to this new reformed way of celebrating dol . It was aesthetic , non coercive , organised , orderly and intellectually satisfying . But where did the sheer life force of Dol disappear ?!

 

Vasantotsav at Jorasaanko Tagore house

Vasantotsav at Jorasaanko Tagore house

But barely a century or so back ,  dolyatra was as great a festival as durgotsava ! The old centers of Dolyatra still stand , the Radha Krishna deities are still mounted on swing , placed on their dilapidated and neglected dol-manchas and given their special worship . But the fanfare and colours just seemed to have vanished . Tales of pools of colours , sandalwood mixed aabir, rose water and brass pichkaaris are now fairtytale stories . Week long festivities , kirtan gaan , aabir khela in evenings are extinct . ‘Nera pora’ is dying with each passing year . ‘Mutt’ sugar candies are hated for their ‘too much’ sweetness .

Yes , we do play colours even now , but can this festival be called Dolyatra ? Dola means swing and dolyatra means the festival of swinging . Its the day when the deities were swung gently in welcome of spring . The 'Radha gobindo's , 'Shyamraai's and 'Nandadulal's  of yesteryears , once so lovingly installed by our forefathers , now lay forgotten neglected in their aging temple .  No swings are mounted , no songs are sung .The last strains of sweet kirtan songs have long dissipated in the abyss called time . Where did the grand old carnival of spring disappear ?!!

dolmancha of Gopinath , Dasghara Hooghly