In my youth the worship of Ram was not so popular in Bengal. It was the Biharis who worshipped Ram in Ram Navami near my ancestral home in Taltala in a place called Janbazar.
Taltala had a huge populace of Bihari khalasis and lascars who lived in the vicinity of Rani Rashmoni’s home at Janbazar. In 1758, one year after their decisive win in Battle of Plassey, the British East India Company commenced construction of the new Fort William in the center of the village Gobindapur. The inhabitants of the village were compensated and provided with land in several places in Calcutta and the the Bihari labourers were resettled in Janbazar.
It is here that I have seen the worship of Ram with fervor on Rama Navami , a spring Hindu festival that celebrates the birthday of god Rama. He is particularly important to the Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism, as the seventh avatar of Vishnu. The festival is a part of the spring Navratri, and falls on the ninth day of the bright half (Shukla Paksha) in the Hindu calendar month of Chaitra. This typically occurs in the Gregorian months of March or April every year.
The day is marked by Rama Katha recitals, or reading of Rama stories. I remember the Chanting of the name of Ram : Ramachandra ki; Ramachandra ki ; Ramachandraki ….Jai … amidst the clashing of symbol in rows. Not the Bengali ‘khorotol’ but the Bihari version mounted in a row on twin boards.
There was also the worship of a large Bow and Arrow made of bamboo decorated with marigold flowers, a miniature version used to be sold on the streets but forbidden by my mother for fear of piercing the eye.
Lord Rama appeared in Bengal’s religious scene with the advent of Bhakti movement in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, mainly under the leadership of Mahaprabhu Chaitanya who worshipped Krishna and Rama as the supreme manifestations of god’s human avatar. Over the next five centuries, however, Chaitanya himself became far more popular among Bengali Hindus than Rama, while Krishna continues to be one of the most popular deities in the state.
The iconic ‘Hare Krishna’ chant Chaintya coined also includes ‘Hare Ram’. However, while festivals related to Radha and Krishna transcended all sects among Bengali Hindus, and the state has innumerable temples dedicated to Radha-Krishna, temples dedicated to Rama are, indeed, difficult to find. Rama, as deity, has not been part of Bengal’s socio-religious culture.
It is interesting to note that Chaitanya worshipped both Rama and Krishna. His influence played a key role in the spread of Lord Krishna’s popularity across the state and among all sects of Bengali Hindus. Vaishnavite literature centering on the love between Radha and Krishna became very popular and are still considered important part of Bengali literature. The worship of Rama, however, never gained popularity. Chaitanya himself is far more accepted as a human avatar of the god than Rama.
Michael Madhusudan Dutta’s modern epic Meghnad Badh kabya (1861) that hailed Ravana as a hero and looked down upon Rama went on to become one of the most iconic literary creations of the Bengal Renaissance period.
While Durga puja is the state’s biggest annual festival, and her daughters Laxmi and Saraswati are among the most popular household deities, temples dedicated to Radha-Krishna, Shiva and Kali dot West Bengal’s towns and villages. Among other deities popular in the state are goddesses Annapoorna, Jagaddhatri, Manasa, Sitala and Santoshi, while the popular Hindu festivals include Dol Jatra, Rath Jatra, Kali puja, Shivaratri, Saraswati Puja, Laxmi puja, Jagaddhatri puja and Jhulan.
Ram Charith Katha have been popular in Bengali literature, especially the Bengali Ramayana by Krittibas Ojha, as well as various folk art forms, but Rama as a deity never gained popularity. Apart from the Bengali Ramayana written in the medieval era, tales from the epic were popular themes in Bengali folk theatres (jatra pala) and plays during the 18th and the 19th centuries. Worshipping Rama, however, had never been popular in Bengal. Beside literature and architecture, stories from Ramayana have been popular in Bengal’s folk art forms as well, from the chhou dance of Purulia to the work of the scroll painter-singers of Midnapore and Burdwan.
However, Chintaharan Chakraborty’s authoritative book on the religious festivals and rituals of Bengali Hindus clearly shows Ram Navami as a minor religious programme. It is mostly observed as a vrata among a marginal section. Devotees maintain fast during the day but no idol is worshipped.Some Vaishnava Hindus visit a temple, others pray within their home, and some participate in a bhajan or kirtan with music as a part of puja and aarti.
Ram Navami has been celebrated traditionally at Ayodhya and Sita Samahit Sthal (Uttar Pradesh), Sitamarhi (Bihar, Janakpurdham (Nepal), Bhadrachalam (Telangana), Kodandarama Temple, Vontimitta (Andhra Pradesh) and Rameswaram (Tamil Nadu). Rathayatras, the chariot processions, also known as Shobha yatras of Rama, Sita, his brother Lakshmana and Hanuman, are taken out at several places. In Ayodhya, many take a dip in the sacred river Sarayu and then visit the Rama temple.
The mega celebration of Ram Navami last Wednesday, on 28th.March 2018 in all districts of West Bengal with participants carrying swords, tridents and falchions in processions organized by BJP was planned to increase Rama’s religious appeal in Bengal. A large number of the participants in these processions were people hailing from north and western part of the country who have settled in West Bengal.
Not to be lost in vote bank politics it was followed in many parts of Bengal by the TMC followers. Bengal was never in love with Ram. Bengali literature has showered more sympathy on Sita than praises on Rama. Meghnad Badh demeaned Ram, while eulogising Ravana and Indrajit. But it became very popular and attained iconic status. On the other hand, Bibhishana, who betrayed Ravana and sided to Rama, is a hated character in Bengal and considered a traitor. The most popular reference to him is ‘ghorer shotru Bibhishan’ which roughly means the enemy at home.
Thus Ram who has always been shown in poor light in Bengal becomes an asset creation by both the BJP and TMC.