with twenty followers accepted the Brahmo creed from Ram Chandra Vidyabagish on 21 December 1843. This was the basis of Poush Utsav at Santiniketan A Brahma mandir was established at Santiniketan on 21 December 1891. A small fair was organised in 1894 in connection with the establishment anniversary of the Brahma mandir, in the ground opposite the mandir. What started as a small homely Poush Mela now attracts attention of not only the people of Birbhum district but tourists from all around. In earlier days the mela was held in the ground on the north side of Brahma mandir. On that day, a firework display was held in earlier days after evening prayers. As the mela increased in size, it was shifted to the field in Purbapalli.
Inauguration
Poush Utsav is inaugurated on 7 Poush. At dawn, Santiniketan wakes up to the soft music of shehnai. The first to enter the scenario is the Vaitalik group, who go round the ashrama singing songs. It is followed by a prayer-meeting at Chhatimtala. Then the entire congregation moves on to Uttarayan singing songs.
Other days
Poush Mela is characterized by the live performances of Bengali folk music, especially the baul music. It includes folk songs, dances and tribal sports. This fair offers a perfect insight of the true heritage of the state. The students of Santiniketan present their magnificent performance and make this festival more enjoyable and glamorous. Each day of this festival is filled with different activities. The last day of this fair is devoted to those who are related to Santiniketan.
The fair
Some 1,500 stalls take part in the fair. The number of tourists pouring in for the three-day fair is around 10,000. Government statistics put the daily inflow of tourists in to Santiniketan at around 3,500 per day; but during major festival such as Pous Utsav, Basanta Utsav, Rabindra Paksha, and Naba Barsha it goes up to an average 40,000 per day or more. Obviously, many of them do stay back in Santiniketan, which has 85 lodges with accommodation for 1,650. Beside of this, room on rent can be hired for some days. Local printed fabrics and handicrafts are available in the stalls erected during the fair. Besides materials of household interest, toys are also available here. Various food stalls are also found.
