Gajan (festival)
Introduction '''Gajan''' or '''Shiva gajon''' is a Hindu festival celebrated mostly in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is associated with such deities as Shiva, Neel and Dharmaraj. Gajan spans around a week, starting at the last week of Choitro continuing till the end of the Bengali year. It ends with Charak Puja on the last day of Chaitra, the last month in the Bengali Hindu calendar. The next day is Poila Baishakh,the first day of Bengali New Year. Participants of this festival is known as Sannyasi or Bhakta. Persons of any gender can be a participant. The complete history of the festival is not known. The central theme of this festival is deriving satisfaction through non-sexual pain, devotion and sacrifice.
Etymology The word ''gajan'' in Bengali comes from the word ''garjan'' or roar that sannyasis (hermits) emit during the festivities. Alternatively, the word ''gajan'' is considered a combination of parts of two words - ''ga'' is from the word ''gram'' meaning village and ''jan'' is from the word ''janasadharan'' meaning folk. In this sense gajan is a festival of village folk.
Significance In Shiva's gajan Shiva is married to Harakali on this day. The sannyasis form the ''barjatri'' (bridegroom's party). In Dharma's gajan Dharmathakur is married to Kamini-Kamakhya in Bankura Dist.or Mukti. The most recent studies on the gajan festival are: 1) Nicholas, R. ''Rites of Spring. Gājan in Village Bengal''. New Delhi: Chronicle Books, 2008; and 2) Ferrari, F.M. ''Guilty Males and Proud Females. Negotiating Genders in a Bengali Festival''. Calcutta and London: Seagull, 2010.
Fairs Charak festival in Kolkata in 1849Fairs are often associated with the celebration of gajan.
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