The Trinamul Congress has decided to replicate Ananda Mela — a fair that Rabindranath Tagore had started during his times in Santiniketan on the occasion of Mahalaya — on Wednesday to keep alive a tradition associated with Visva-Bharati and register its protest against vice-chancellor Bidyut Chakrabarty’s alleged attitude of doing away with events started by the varsity founder.
“The present vice-chancellor is intentionally doing away with traditional Visva-Bharati events like Ananda Mela and Pous Mela. Since his arrival on the campus, long held traditions of Tagore are being neglected. We will be organising the festival in Bolpur to pay homage to Tagore and his tradition,” said Anubrata Mondal, the Birbhum district chief of Trinamul.
Mondal, along with minister Chandranath Sinha and other senior party leaders, will be present at the inaugural ceremony of the event in ward 6 of Bolpur on Wednesday.
Tagore had started Ananda Mela, which many say was also known as Ananda Bazar, for students to sell their produce, including food and crafts, among teachers and employees of Santiniketan.
The earnings from the fair used to be deposited in the account of Visva-Bharati’s social service wing Seba Sakha to help poor people during Bengal’s biggest festival, Durga Puja.
Although the exact year when Tagore started the tradition is not known, old-timers associated with the varsity said it had always been held on the occasion of Mahalaya, the day when believers in the Hindu faith pay obeisance to their departed ancestors.
Unlike the varsity event where the show was run by students, the Trinamul event will have students, local artisans and women self-help groups selling their produce.
“Our main goal is to keep Tagore’s tradition alive. His idea was to collect funds and help the poor. We also follow that tradition and deposit the earnings in the chief minister’s relief fund to help flood-affected people,” said Tapas Mondal, fair organiser and municipal coordinator of Bolpur’s ward 6.
Asked about Trinamul’s move, newly appointed officiating public relations officer of Visva-Bharati Atig Ghosh said: “I have nothing to comment. As for us, we are not holding Ananda Mela because of Covid restrictions put in place by both state and central governments.”
Trinamul leaders, however, are not willing to buy the varsity’s argument.
“Covid is nothing but an alibi only. If they had any respect for Tagore’s legacy, they could have organised it by adhering to Covid protocol like us,” said Mondal.