The first thing that I noticed was the
crowd. The market in Bungalee Tola neighbourhood of Varanasi teems with people every
morning but that day it was jam-packed. You had to turn and twist your
shoulders to squeeze your way through the mass of shoppers.
The closeness of the market to the Ganga
did not help. The shrunken river flowed languidly and no breeze rose from it. The
day was hot and humid. My shirt clung to my skin.
Greengrocers and fishmongers to attract buyers,
mostly Bengalis, were shouting with unprecedented fervour. The customers were
also equally spirited. They haggled noisily before buying anything.
The combination of heat, humidity, stench
of sweaty bodies and the noise was sickening and made my head reel. I wanted to
leave the place immediately to get some fresh air. It was then I noticed fans;
fans made of dried palm leaves. They were ubiquitous in the market.
The fishmonger had heaped them along
with his heaps of fish. The greengrocer had piled them beside the mounds of vegetables.
Even urchins, clutching a few fans were tugging the koortah sleeve or the sari
end of the shoppers, hoping to sell a fan and earn some money. They got only
scowls. The handle of the fan was sticking out from bulging nylon shopping bags
of those who had shopped and were returning home.
I was intrigued. I would often hang out
at Bungalee Tola but had never seen so many fans being bought or sold
frantically.
Was there going to be a major power cut
in Varanasi? But the papers had not said so. Moreover, nearly every home had a power
backup system.
I asked a vegetable seller about the fans.
‘Because today is Jamai Shashthi,’ he
replied.
‘Jamai Shashthi?’ I barked in utter
surprise.
Jamai means son-in-law and Shashthi
means sixth. Jamai Shashthi is a Bengali festival, celebrated in honour of the son-in-law.
The married man becomes a king for his in-laws on the day of the festival. He
visits the home of his in-laws on Jamai Shashthi to be fed with the most
delicious Bengali dishes and lavished with gifts.
The festival falls on the sixth day of
Jayesthha month of the Bengali calendar; hence the name Jamai Shashthi.
But then what’s the link between Jamai
Shashthi and fans? The vegetable seller was too busy and too brusque in his
reply and dissuaded from asking anything more.
I thought for some time and talked to
some Bengalis and some friends and came to a conclusion that seemed pretty
logical to me.
Jamai Shashthi has its origin in Bengal
in the eighteenth or nineteenth century. The Jayeshtha month coincides with
June when Bengal is hot and humid. The Jamai in those days must have trudged
long distances or travelled by bullock cart or sailed on boat to reach the
house of his in-laws. He would be bathed in his own sweat on reaching the home
of his in-law. Electricity was unheard of in the eighteenth or nineteenth
century. So the in-laws must have fanned the Jamai with a fan made of a palm
leaf to soothe him. Every home in Bengal even today has fans made of a palm
leaf. But to welcome the Jamai on Jamai Shashthi, people must have bought new fans.
Nowadays air-conditioners are quite
common. Today, the Jamai most probably must be visiting the air-conditioned
home of his in-laws in an air-conditioned car on the day Jamai Shashthi. Times
have changed but not the traditions.
A Bengali calendar or almanac
graphically depicts festivals. Jamai Shashthi is depicted with a man sitting
cross-legged on the floor, with a platter in front of him and a woman sitting
beside him with a fan.
Today is Jamai Shashthi.
