Narada in his pensive mood – A portrait from their make-up room : The ‘Kalighat Sang’ of Kolkata on the day of Choitro Sankranti of Bengali calendar year 1423.
I couldn't miss their moods......
Kalighat ‘Sang’- my experience:
On the last day of Bengali month of Choitro (Choitro Sankranti) the followers of Lord Shiva set their age old procession from the Kali Temple. They make-up and mimic the different mythological characters related to Lord Shiva like- Parvati (his wife), and his sons, Kartika and Ganesha, and daughters Lakhsmi and Saraswati. People also make-up of other characters and saints, very famous in the history of Bengal. Since morning, with great enthusiasm, they start to dress-up and then start their procession through the major streets of south Kolkata on foot and sometimes in well decorated horse carriages. They are called ‘Sangs’.
Being a resident of south Kolkata, I had the opportunity this year to go to the make-up room in Kali temple premises and have some photographs, and also to see their processions. Here I would like to share a glimpse of my experiences. Hope you will like them and appreciate the colors and vibrations of Kolkata, the reason why its called the ‘City of Joy’.
Narada :
Narada is a Vedic sage, famous in Hindu traditions as a traveling musician and storyteller, who carries news and enlightening wisdom. He appears in a number of Hindu texts, notably the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, as well as in the mythologies of the Puranas.
Kalighat and Kali Temple:
Kalighat is a locality of south Kolkata, India. Being one of the oldest neighbourhoods in South Kolkata, Kalighat is also densely populated and vibrant—with a rich history of cultural intermingling with the various foreign incursions into the area over time. A famous temple, the Kalighat Kali Temple dedicated to the goddess Kali, is situated in Kalighat. It is believed by some scholars that the name Calcutta was derived from Kalighata. In the early days traders halted at Kalighat to pay patronage to the goddess. The temple was initially on the banks of Hooghly. The river over a period of time has moved away from the temple. The temple is now on the banks of a small canal called Adi Ganga, connecting to Hooghly.
Lord Shiva and Gajan:
Lord Shiva's temple is situated in the north-east to the sanctum sanctorum in the temple area. Gajan is a Hindu festival celebrated mostly in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is associated with such deities as Shiva. Gajan spans around a week, starting at the last week of the last Bengali month of Choitro, and continuing till the end of the bengali year. It ends with Charak Puja. Participants of this festival is known as Gajan Sannyasi or Bhokta. Persons of any gender can be a participant. The central theme of this festival is deriving satisfaction through pain, devotion and sacrifice.The word gajan is considered a combination of parts of two words - ga is from the word gram meaning village and jan is from the word janasadharan meaning folk. In this sense gajan is a village folk though it is also celebrated in the cities. Kolkata is no exception.
Narada in his pensive mood – A portrait from their make-up room : The ‘Kalighat Sang’ of Kolkata on the day of Choitro Sankranti of Bengali calendar year 1423.
I couldn't miss their moods......
Kalighat ‘Sang’- my experience:
On the last day of Bengali month of Choitro (Choitro Sankranti) the followers of Lord Shiva set their age old procession from the Kali Temple. They make-up and mimic the different mythological characters related to Lord Shiva like- Parvati (his wife), and his sons, Kartika and Ganesha, and daughters Lakhsmi and Saraswati. People also make-up of other characters and saints, very famous in the history of Bengal. Since morning, with great enthusiasm, they start to dress-up and then start their procession through the major streets of south Kolkata on foot and sometimes in well decorated horse carriages. They are called ‘Sangs’.
Being a resident of south Kolkata, I had the opportunity this year to go to the make-up room in Kali temple premises and have some photographs, and also to see their processions. Here I would like to share a glimpse of my experiences. Hope you will like them and appreciate the colors and vibrations of Kolkata, the reason why its called the ‘City of Joy’.
Narada :
Narada is a Vedic sage, famous in Hindu traditions as a traveling musician and storyteller, who carries news and enlightening wisdom. He appears in a number of Hindu texts, notably the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, as well as in the mythologies of the Puranas.
Kalighat and Kali Temple:
Kalighat is a locality of south Kolkata, India. Being one of the oldest neighbourhoods in South Kolkata, Kalighat is also densely populated and vibrant—with a rich history of cultural intermingling with the various foreign incursions into the area over time. A famous temple, the Kalighat Kali Temple dedicated to the goddess Kali, is situated in Kalighat. It is believed by some scholars that the name Calcutta was derived from Kalighata. In the early days traders halted at Kalighat to pay patronage to the goddess. The temple was initially on the banks of Hooghly. The river over a period of time has moved away from the temple. The temple is now on the banks of a small canal called Adi Ganga, connecting to Hooghly.
Lord Shiva and Gajan:
Lord Shiva's temple is situated in the north-east to the sanctum sanctorum in the temple area. Gajan is a Hindu festival celebrated mostly in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is associated with such deities as Shiva. Gajan spans around a week, starting at the last week of the last Bengali month of Choitro, and continuing till the end of the bengali year. It ends with Charak Puja. Participants of this festival is known as Gajan Sannyasi or Bhokta. Persons of any gender can be a participant. The central theme of this festival is deriving satisfaction through pain, devotion and sacrifice.The word gajan is considered a combination of parts of two words - ga is from the word gram meaning village and jan is from the word janasadharan meaning folk. In this sense gajan is a village folk though it is also celebrated in the cities. Kolkata is no exception.