Joydev Mela

West Bengal, the hot seat of Bengali culture is noted for its age-old history and traditional culture. The people are warm and friendly and love to celebrate life through fairs and festivals. Among the various fairs, Joydev Mela is a traditional cultural festival that is celebrated with religious fervor.

It is said that the twelve months of the Bengali calendar are teeming with thirteen festivals. The enthusiastic and exuberant Bengalis just need a reason to celebrate every little occasion. Joydev Mela is hosted every year in the fair grounds at Burdwan’s Kenduli.

A tiny, picturesque hamlet located on the outskirts of Kolkata, not too far away from Tagore’s haunt, the legendary Shantiniketan gets all decked up in festive spirit as winter approaches. The fair is hosted in early January to pay a tribute to the genius of the Bhakti cult poet Jaydev. The fair is alive with folk traditions and religious zeal as tourists and pilgrims from all corners of the country flock to the fair’s premises.

Joydev Mela offers an excellent opportunity to be at one with the bucolic suburbs of ancient India. The three daylong festivities are grandly celebrated with baul minstrels singing the spiritual folk tunes until the wee hours of the morning. City slickers find their much-needed break from the humdrum of urban life and hangout in the fair grounds until very late. The pilgrims, devotees and the Vaishava saints seek this opportunity to offer their prayers and obtain the lord’s generous benediction.

Jaydev Mela provides an insight into the folk culture and tradition of rural West Bengal.