The acting vice-chancellor of Visva-Bharati, Sanjoy Kumar Mallik, has within two days of assuming office initiated the process of organising the annual Pous Mela, which had not been held for three consecutive years during the tenure of his predecessor Bidyut Chakrabarty.

The possibility of the resumption of the fair — one of the biggest events in the varsity town — not only brought relief to local artisans, hoteliers and traders but elicited loud cheers from the residents of Bolpur and Santiniketan to whom it's an event as big as the Durga Puja.

"The VC spoke with the Karmi Parishad (the outfit that helps organise Visva-Bharati events) on Saturday regarding the Pous Mela. A formal meeting will be called soon to discuss the issues relating to organising the event," said Mahua Banerjee, the university's officiating public relations officer.

The fair, started by Rabindranath Tagore’s father Maharshi Debendranath in 1894, was stopped in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2021, Visva-Bharati did not organise the Mela, again citing the pandemic.

That the varsity authorities were not interested in the fair became clear last year when Chakrabarty passed a resolution in Visva-Bharati’s executive council and court — ignoring opposition from a section of the campus community — that the university would not associate itself with the annual fair. An order from the National Green Tribunal and a purported lack of the infrastructure to hold such a large fair were cited as the reasons behind the decision.

Traditionally, the Pous Mela is a three-day affair, beginning from December 22 or 23 (7th Pous in the Bengali calendar). Over the years, the duration of the fair had got extended — albeit unofficially — to around two weeks. In 2018, after a slew of NGT orders, the authorities decided to wrap it up within six days from then onwards.

A source said Mallik, the acting VC, told Visva-Bharati officials that he wanted to resume the Pous Mela this year as it was part of Santiniketan’s culture. As an alumnus of the varsity, he felt it was his responsibility to resume all the cultural events that had been stopped in the past few years, the source quoted Mallik as saying.

Although the Pous Mela began as a rural fair, its scale and scope expanded over the years, attracting lakhs of people from across the country and abroad who came to witness Bengal’s rural life and folk culture.

The fair’s importance grew over the years as the huge turnouts began creating positive spin-offs for the local economy, offering a platform to local artisans to sell their products.

Although there have been no official studies on the economic impact of the fair, a state government official said the six-day event had generated revenues of around Rs 100 crore in 2019.

Local businessmen said the fair had always had a positive impact on the local economy as it created short-term employment opportunities for the youth and ensured brisk business for the hospitality sector.

“The volume of the transactions during the fair could be even higher... but the most important thing is that the event has always benefited people from various walks of life,” said Tapos Mallick, owner of Panchaban Art Resort and a businessman.

There are around 400 hotels and resorts in Santiniketan apart from homestays. Traditionally, the bookings for the Pous Mela started soon after the Durga Puja, with most of the accommodations fully booked within a week.

Once the varsity announces the resumption of the Mela this year, the bookings will start, the manager of a prominent hotel in Santiniketan said.

“It is Bidyut Chakrabarty who intentionally stopped the fair to make the people of Santiniketan, especially the poor artisans, suffer,” said Aminul Huda, secretary of the Kaviguru Hastashilpa Unnayan Samity, an outfit of artisans in Santiniketan.

“We are happy that the acting VC is trying to revive the Pous Mela this time. There will be full cooperation from our side.”

Chakrabarty was also accused of stopping another big festival of Santiniketan, the Basanta Utsav (festival of colours), started by Rabindranath Tagore himself.

There are around 3,000 local artisans in Santiniketan who make Dokra and Kantha Stitch artefacts, leather bags, and showpieces made of bamboo, cane and other materials.

“The fair will bring happiness to them and the local people.... We are eagerly awaiting the resumption of the fair,” Huda said.