Kurigram Representative:
The king of the Surya dynasty used to bathe in the river Ganges on Dasarat Dashami and return home innocent after performing puja.
In imitation of this, the Hindus returned home in the year 1250 to worship the Ganges, the river of the Ganges, in the river Dharla.
In addition to the bathing ceremony, the ceremony ends here with Gita recitation, Bhagavata discussion, fasting and distribution of the latest prasad. Little boys and girls make friends or sign on this day. This friend or signing process is so much fun to watch. The priest completes the process of selecting a friend or signature by exchanging the betel leaf and full fruit and reciting mantras by immersing both of them in water. Apart from these, huge fairs are held here on Dashmi. The fair grounds are crowded with the arrival of people of all religions.
This fair has been held on the banks of river Dharla in Dhaniram village of Fulbari upazila of Kurigram for almost one and half hundred years. Like Chilmari, Langalband, Nunkhawa Mela, many visitors also come to the fair on the banks of Adharla river in Baravita.
In addition to bathing ceremonies at the fair, there are puppet dances, merry-go-rounds, circuses, magic shows and other arrangements. In the huge fair all the things for housework are available.
All kinds of tools including da, boti, kathari. Fly, gain, plow, yoke, jhapi, dali, kula, doolie, broom, hand fan, cheap agricultural utensils and various utensils made of pottery, various fruits of monsoon, big fish, including dried fish All kinds of goods are available at the fair.
In particular, there are huge stores selling a variety of sweets and jellies. Vendors sell lots of jilapi at the one-day fair. This is how the fair has been held since its inception. Pallab Chakraborty, a priest of various official pujas of the fair, said that after bathing here on Dashmi, the devotees are freed from sins. Shri Kant Roy, who came to take a bath, said that it feels good to be free from sins by taking a bath. One and a half hundred years ago, the late Sarat Chandra Roy donated one acre of land in the name of Mela. In the beginning pujas and fairs were held on barren lands.
At present, fairs are held at new places every year due to the frequent breakdowns and frequent changes of course. Veer Muktijoddha Yogendra Nath Roy, president of the bathing and worship committee of Baravita Purvadhaniram Dussehra Mela, said that at present the fair has lost its splendor due to various reasons. With the construction of a bridge over the Nilkamal River and the renovation of the road, the returnees could easily go to the bathing ceremony and to the main land of the fair.
Hindus have sought the government’s attention so that this historic fair does not become extinct.