A little glimpse of life behind the main roads of Kolkata. This is playing out on a quiet little street in Jadavpur.This drummer is playing on a traditional drum called a 'dhaak'. Hence, he is a 'dhaaki'.
He is accompanying a man, dressed in a red robe, who is collecting money to go on a pilgrimage to a shrine at Tarakeshwar. At Tarakeshwar is held a famous sacred festival called the Charak Puja, in honor of Shiva. Pilgrims often travel the entire distance to the shrine on foot, carrying vessels of holy water strung on a thin bamboo pole carried on the shoulder.
And so on to the Charak Puja with Dohar Bangla Band singing the common man's prayer and tribute in a traditional arrangement. The introduction- does it sound familiar? It is the score from Satyajit Ray's movie classic Charulata. You could easily imagine coming ashore from a country boat and going to a little Shiva temple somewhere under a big banyan tree.
Sometimes, there will be mela ( a fair) like the Charak Puja, drawing in devotees, priests, performers, musicians and yes pickpockets and conmen too.
There will likely be a few amongst the crowd who are high on bhang and charas, hallucinogenic cannabis products.
Shiva does not care. He is blissful in all circumstances. Anandam keval Anandam.
|
The photograph is reproduced here with the kind permission of my friend Sankalan Datta
No comments:
Post a Comment