Culture
The bauls of Birbhum, their philosophy and their songs form a notable representation of the folk culture of the district. Birbhum has also been home to kabiyals, kirtaniyas and other folk culture groups.
The numerous fairs in Birbhum start with Poush Mela at Santiniketan and follows through the Bengali month of Poush till Makar Sankranti. Particularly lively is the fair at Jaydev Kenduli. Various festivities are organized across the seasons. People of Birbhum patronise folk entertainment programmes such as jatra, kavigan and alkap.
Many poets were born in this district, as for example, Chandidas (Rami). In addition to being a confluence of Vaishnava, Shakta and Saiva cultures, Birbhum villages also observe prehistoric customs like worship of gramdevta (gram means village and devta means deity) in many forms at different places.
Amongst the major attractions of Birbhum are Bakreshwar, Tarapith and Patharchapuri. Birbhum has many old temples, such as the ones at Jaydev Kenduli, Surul and Nanoor, with delicate decorative tiles made of terra cotta (burnt clay).
Read more about this topic: Birbhum District
Famous quotes containing the word culture:
“We belong to an age whose culture is in danger of perishing through the means to culture.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“I wish to speak a word for Nature, for absolute freedom and wildness, as contrasted with a freedom and culture merely civil,—to regard man as an inhabitant, or a part and parcel of Nature, rather than as a member of society. I wish to make an extreme statement, if so I may make an emphatic one, for there are enough champions of civilization: the minister and the school committee and every one of you will take care of that.”
—Henry David David (1817–1862)
“The fact remains that the human being in early childhood learns to consider one or the other aspect of bodily function as evil, shameful, or unsafe. There is not a culture which does not use a combination of these devils to develop, by way of counterpoint, its own style of faith, pride, certainty, and initiative.”
—Erik H. Erikson (1904–1994)