Jamshedpur, Jan. 15: Tusu festivity has gripped the city as the tribal populace in and around Jamshedpur celebrated the harvest festival with traditional fanfare and gaiety. Various social and cultural organizations organized Tusu Mahotsav at places like Domuhani, Sonari (the meeting point of Subarnarekha and Kharkai) and Itagarh.
The Jharkhand Sanskritik Kala Kendra, a socio-cultural organization, hosted the Tusu fair at the Domuhani in Sonari. Politicians and social workers danced to the tunes of tribal instruments celebrating and enjoying the festive flavor of the Tusu festival at the Domuhani in Sonari.
The Tusu Mela at Domuhani in Sonari where two rivers Kharkai and Subernarekha meet is one of the biggest and most popular Tusu fairs in the city.
Hundreds of people, especially tribals, assembled there to take part in the annual celebrations. Various tribal groups would carry the idol of Goddess Tusu for immersion. The mela (fair) at Sonari, one of the oldest in the city, draws the maximum crowd. It is famous for organizing traditional events with festivities.
“Melas are a traditional part of Tusu. It is organized with an aim to bring the traditional tribal culture and tribal artisans to the limelight. We also organized a number of contests during the mela,” said Dikuram Manjhi, president, organizing committee, Tusu Mela Samiti, Itagarh.
“Tusu Parab in Bengal does not involve any kind of musical apparatus as such and is enriched by vocal variations only. Having a rich and religious significance, and Tusu Parab acts as a medium of devotional expression of the girls,” he added.
Makar Sankranti depicts the auspicious harvest season of the rural Bengal. The girls of every peasant family participate in Tusu Parab with the hope that the Goddess will shower holy bless on her.
Anand Mahato said, ‘melas’ are a traditional part of Tusu organized with a view to bring the traditional tribal culture and tribal artisans to the limelight.
On this auspicious eve various tribal groups carries the idol of Goddess Tusu for immersion. The outlook of the festival attracts lot of people and dozen-odd giant Tusu idols-towering choudals-an elongated structure like a temple with figures of tribal deities on it, line up for immersion.
The festival is basically celebrated as a harvest carnival, with traditional fanfare, he said.