Introduction: A village fair is a large gathering of men, women and children on a particular occasion.
It is a hilarious annual meeting place of the village people. It is like a mirror that reflects the emblem of rural life. It brings a chance in the monotonous life of the villagers. People of all ages specially the children eagerly wait for this happy occasion.
Place and Occasion: A village fair is usually held once or twice a year either on the first or the last day of Bengali year.It is also held on the occasion of some religious or national festival. It is generally held in the central part of the village or on the bank of a river or in front of a Temple or a Dargah or under the spreading big banyan tree. Things are bought and sold: A village fair is an exhibition of the village products. The people of different professions in the village such as a patterns, carpenters, blacksmiths, weavers etc.
bring their own hand made articles for sell and display.There is a great assemblage of fancy goods such as toys, whistles, combs, hair pins, cheap ornaments, cosmetics, looking glasses, earthen wares, balloons etc. in the fair. Different kinds of household goods and decorated and painted articles of bamboo, wood and cane are also brought for sale.
Various kinds of sweet meats and seasonal fruits are also available here. Everybody buys things after his own choice. Attractions: A village fair is a place of joy and pleasure for the villagers.As such some special and attractive arrangements are made in the fair to attract and amuse the visitors. Circus, Magic show, Jatra and Jarigan are the chief attractions of them in the fair.
Merry-go-rounds, puppet shows, mock fights, the lotteries etc. are some other special attractions of the fair. Demerits: The village fair has some drawbacks too. As it lacks in arrangements for proper sanitation, it sometimes leads to the outbreak of epidemics.
The gambling parties in the village fair tell upon the morality of the village people, besides subjecting them to economic loss.Moreover, undesirable people and criminals visit the fair and commit various kinds of mischief. Conclusion: Rural people are deprived of different kinds of amenities of life enjoyed by the urban people. So, a village fair appears before the villagers with all opportunities for joys and pleasures.
It gives them much relief to their toilsome life. On the whole the village fair has not outlived their utility even now. It is a part or our cultural life.
