“Aaj amader nera pora,

Kaal amader dol,

Purnima te chand utheche,

Bolo hori bol…”

When spring is in the air, the trees dancing to the tunes of celebration, the leaves showing their colors, and people are in the festive mood, “Halloween of West Bengal” marks its presence. But, to wipe out the evil, to wipe out the stereotypes, to wipe out the narrowness, to wipe out all misfortunes, and then came back the next day to pour our heart out and enjoy the festival of inclusiveness, the festival of colors. It is the occasion of ‘Nera Pora’!

This event takes place just before the day of Holi. People make effigies out of leaves, dry twigs, fallen branches of trees, and wastes, and then burn them.  The statue is a symbol of evil, burnt to eliminate it completely.  Meanwhile,  people gather around and dance to the rhythm of the above-mentioned quote. They are celebrating the wait for a new start, new dawn, a new way of life, where there is no evil to destroy or bring about miseries. It is sometimes called the festival of fire.

Even though the purpose behind such a name is not yet confirmed, the roots to it come from the ancient tradition of burning the bald guy, and all the dead, because by then, greeneries are all around and they are fresh, and the bald guy can no more destroy the harvest, the bald guy can no more harm the environment, or dry up the leaves. Because life has just begun to show its colors…