Village fair is one of the traditional festivals of the community of Bangladesh. It is a large gathering of men, women and children of the village. It is an annual meeting place of villagers. The day is a gala day for them.
Generally, a village fair is held in an open place or under a big tree or on the bank of a river. In most cases, a village fair is held to celebrate the Bangla new year. It may be arranged for religious or other occasions also. Such a fair lasts one, two or three days.
The fair place remains extremely crowded with all aged people. In fact, it is not only a gathering place of people but also an exhibition of village products. It is a market of hand made crafts. Traders from far and near come here to sell their goods. Different categories of shops sit in different rows. Various types of fancy goods are sold here. People are seen buying things according to their taste and choice. Many kinds of earthen wares, toys, flute, baloons, imitation ornaments, cosmetics, looking glasses are found in the fair. To speak in short, all sorts of necessary commodities are sold here. The seasonal fruits are also available in some temporary shops. But most crowd is seen in the shops of sweet and the showy shops of betel-leaf. The bargaining between the shopkeepers and customers is deafening to us. The most attractive place of a village fair is ‘Nagordola. Most children and young rush to this place. The puppet show and circus party are also enjoyable things to them. Jatragan is the special attraction for the adults. Though now-a-days it has been almost extinct from our tradition, still it is seen in some parts of our country. Sometimes the village people perform here and some times the actors and actresses are hired from the nearby city. Jarigan, Kabigan and other cultural programmes are also arranged on the occasion of a fair.
All the aspects of a village fair are not pleasant. Often general people of the village are exploited by the outsider gambling parties. These cause economic loss to the simple villagers. From these, the innocent boys get the first training to go astray. Its ultimate result is fatal for the society. Besides, it has no proper sanitation.
Nevertheless, a village fair is the chief entertainment of village people. It acts like a market for cottage industries and encourages the artisans, craftsmen, porters, weavers and cultivators. It breaks the monotony and boredom of the villager-s toilsome life. It is a much awaited festival for the villagers. It broadens their thinking and inspires them. It also gives enjoyment to the simple villagers. It is a part and parcel of our enriched rural culture.
