Age-old Thakurgaon Bijaya Dashami Mela held

The decades-old Bijaya Dashami Mela was held yesterday at Riverview High School ground in Thakurgaon with much fanfare.

People from all caste and creed look up to this fair as it is not only a place where they can find stalls of traditional snacks, handicrafts or amusement rides, but also because it is where they can reunite with friends and acquaintances at least once a year.

For about past eighty years, without being arranged by any particular organiser, vendors have been gathering at the same place every year around noon, on the day the idol of Durga is immersed. Even after the Durga idols are immersed, the fair does not close until midnight. 

People from Thakurgaon, especially the ones that have moved out of the town for their profession, find the Bijaya Dashami Mela a perfect destination for some tasty treats, fun activities or catching up on long-time friends or neighbours. 

Like every year, a huge crowd of all ages including women and children thronged the fairground. Most children were seen enjoying Ferris wheels (nagordola) and other rides while many others were visiting stalls showcasing toys, balloons, pottery, hand-crafted items and food.

Government official Parimal Sarker, resides in Dhaka for work, brought along his family to his home in Collegepara of Thakurgaon town. While visiting the fair, he said, “This is an annual attraction for us. Here we can meet and exchange greetings with our childhood friends and dear ones.”

SM Ataur Rahman, principal of Puratan Thakurgaon Technical College, said, “I come here on this day every year with my family to see my friends and neighbours -- especially to see the ones whom we cannot visit usually as they live out of town for their work.”

A veteran lawyer, Advocate Balaram Guha Thakurta said he has been seeing the Bijaya Dashami Mela being held at the same place since he was a child.

The 86-year-old lawyer, practicing in Thakurgaon town, observed that with passing of each year, the fair is getting more vibrant and attractive with a larger number of people making it their favourite destination.  

While speaking with this correspondent, Shamim Ara Begum, the headteacher of Riverview High School, the site of the fair, said, “The daylong fair is an age-old tradition. We welcome traders, food vendors and game organisers on the school premises for the sake of a greater social affinity.”