Pous Mela: District Administration Seeks to Hold Fair Despite University's Objection

In order to determine whether the fair could be held this year, Birbhum district magistrate Bidhan Ray called a special meeting with the Santiniketan Trust and several Pous Mela stakeholders on Friday afternoon.

The Santiniketan Trust and Visva-Bharati had previously decided together that the fair would not be held this year due to a number of "challenges" that the central university had identified.

"To discuss how the fair will be organized, we have invited various stakeholders, including non-governmental organizations and municipalities, as well as the Santiniketan Trust, the organization that officially organizes Pous Mela. An essential component of Santiniketan's

culture, and the state government seeks to provide various forms of assistance to the

just," the district magistrate of Birbhum, Ray, remarked.

The Covid-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the fair in 2020, which had been founded in 1894 by Rabindranath Tagore's father, Maharshi Debendranath. Citing the pandemic once more, Visva-Bharati decided not to host the Mela in 2021. The previous administration chose not to participate in the fair last year, citing a lack of infrastructure as their reason.

According to a high-ranking official, the district administration is expected to request permission from Visva-Bharati via the Santiniketan Trust to use the Pous Mela ground, and the government will make every effort to arrange the event.

"Visva-Bharati will be shown to be against fairness if they refuse to allow the use of the land. After that, we'll plan the event on a different venue. Because the event affects the local economy, the state government is always in favor of holding it, according to a senior government official.

The government organized the event at Dakbungalow Ground in 2021 and 2022 with assistance from the Bolpur municipality, neighborhood merchants, and an NGO called Bangla Sanskriti Mancha. But because the venue was too small to accommodate an event the size of the traditional Pous Mela, it was only a small version of the fair.

According to a high-ranking Visva-Bharati official, the university would deliberate and make a decision only after receiving the proposal from the district administration.

Sanjoy Kumar Mallik, the acting vice-chancellor, did not respond to a text message inquiring as to whether the university would supply the venue. Nor did he answer calls.

Santiniketan Trust's honorary secretary, Anil Konar, confirmed he would be present at the meeting.

"Neither the state government nor the district magistrate have contacted me yet. Nevertheless, since Trust is always in charge of planning the Pous Mela, I will undoubtedly attend the meeting," Konar stated.

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