Saving The Legacy Of Rajbanshi Community’s Rajdhari Palagan From Being Lost In History

The people of ancient Rajbanshi community live in different parts of North Bengal. They express their story and traditions through dance, songs and folklore. Their customs revolve around many rivers in North Bengal. Rajdhari Pala, a festival will be held in Mahish Mari area of North Bengal’s Darjeeling district. The event will be organized by West Bengal State Academy of Dance, Drama, Music and Visual Arts.

Chowrangi Thakur Rajdhari started this tradition of singing in Warish Jot Basti of Kharibari in 1925. His rendition of the “pala” song was very popular among the royals of Matigara, Siliguri, Bihar’s Thakurganj and Nepal. The royals of Kharibari Warish Jot Basti in the Terai region of North Bengal still sing this 100-year-old “pala”. One of the major attractions of this period is ‘Rajadhari Mask Dance’ or ‘Lanka Song’. In olden times, Lanka song used to be sung throughout the night for seven consecutive days. Over the years, it has been reduced to four days.

Today, due to lack of proper training and funding, this ancient dance is disappearing. In this context, to revive the culture of this ancient dynastic people, the West Bengal State Academy of Dance, Drama, Music and Visual Arts organizes a 10-day training camp at Mahishmari in Darjeeling district in collaboration with the Purbanchal Sanskar Kendra, Ministry of Culture, Government of India. Training will be provided to create various characters associated with this. Rajdhari mask dance will have performers don character masks of Ravaan, Mahiraban, Bhibishan, Surpanakha, Trishula, Rakshasi, Bali, Sugriva, Angat, Hanuman, Goral Kali, Bagh, Dhaikuji, Buri, Beka Sepai, Barian Dhir and Jamuban.

Dr Haimanti Chatterjee, Secretary, West Bengal State Academy of Dance, Drama, Music and Visual Arts says, “The State Academy has been doing these things since 1955. There are various cultural materials of different people scattered across West Bengal. They are being revived and brought together and documented through print and digital media for the new generation. State Academy is doing this conservation work for future generations. We hope that this cultural revival work and preservation will give future generations the opportunity to discover the many unknown cultural treasures of West Bengal and future generations will be interested in researching and exploring these invaluable cultural treasures.”

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