Gajan is a festival celebrated mostly in West Bengal. It is associated with deities such as Shiva, Neel and Dharmaraj
All photographs by Soumyajit DeyPeople paint their faces and dress up as different Hindu gods and goddesses to celebrate Neel Puja and Shiv Gajan at Murshidabad
Gajan spans around a week, starting in the last week of the month of Chaitra continuing till the end of the Bengali year
It ends with Charak Puja on the last day of Chaitra, the last month in the Bengali Hindu calendar. The next day is Poila Baishakh,the first day of Bengali New Year.
The festival is related to Tantric Buddhism. It is linked to the agricultural community, which prays to Lord Shiva for good harvest and rain
Gajan started as a celebration by the Buddhist community, which was known as the ‘Dharmer Gajan’ and later when it was adopted by the Hindu community, it became ‘Shib-er Gajan’
The people who follow the rituals of the Charak Gajan festival are mainly devotees of Lord Shiva and are respected in society
The word ‘gajan’ is derived from the word ‘garjan’ or the sound made by the sanyasis during the festival