Visva Bharati calls off Poush Mela

Visva Bharati University after rounds of meetings and discussions has taken a decision of not organizing the Poush Mela which takes place in Shantiniketan and is an annual festival celebrated on the seventh day of ‘Poush’ in December anymore. The fair lasts from three to seven days and people visit it to indulge in live performances of Bengali folk music, like Baul songs, Kirtan and Kabigan among others. The final decision was taken recently in a meeting held by vice-chancellor Bidyut Chakrabarty. The University stated that they lacked adequate infrastructure to host this fair and also because it does not always conform to the green tribunal rules and regulations. The poush mela was basically organized every year since 1894 by the Santiniketan Trust, which was founded by Rabindranath Tagore’s father, Maharshi Debendranath in 1888 and this trust was given the responsibility of hosting this fair every year. But later since 1951, the mela was organized by Visva Bharati after it became a central university. The university in a press release said, “It is not possible for the university to organize the Pous Mela conforming to the standards of the green tribunal and other institutions. An educational institution like Visva-Bharati does not have adequate infrastructure to hold such a fair. We are helpless and we express regret over the decision”. Anirban Sircar, the Public Relations (PR) officer of the university said, “We will not organize the fair anymore. If anyone is willing to organize it, they are welcome to do it. We will provide the ground”. Anil Konar, the Honorary Secretary of the Santiniketan Trust said, “We have no infrastructure to organize such a huge fair without Visva-Bharati’s assistance. It will only be possible for the trust to organize the fair if some NGO steps in”.