The traditional Kharchi puja , an interesting and unique amalgamation of animist rituals of the indigenous people with Hindu faith began at Choudda Devata Mandir at Khayerpur at the outskirt of Agartala with much fanfare and religious enthusiasm. Uniqueness of the puja is that it is fundamentally a religious festival of indigenous people of Tripura where Chantai or the priest belonging to the indigenous community with his colleagues perform the puja with tribal rituals and offerings but practically Kharchi Puja is one of the most important religious events of both Bengalis and tribals alike. The fourteen deities had their indigenous names as well as names derived from Hindu pantheon. Kharchi puja happens to be the biggest religious festival where both the Bengalis and tribals join and perform with equal fervour and faith.
Lakhs of devotees throng the temple located at Old Agartala, (Khayerpur ) during the seven days of the puja .
Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has greeted the people of Tripura on the occasion of Kharchi Puja—in a tweet “Greetings on the start of Kharchi Puja. May the blessings of Chaturdash Devata always remain upon us. May everyone be blessed with wonderful health, success and prosperity”- Janajati Welfare minister Rampada Jamatia formally inaugurated the week-long festival on Thursday. Chief Ministers usually inaugurate the festival but it seems that since Dr Manik Saha was engaged in the BJP Executive Committee meeting in Udaipur Jamatia inaugurated the festival. He had, however, offered puja and exchanged greetings with the chief priest- Chantai.
The Chief Minister also extended Kharchi Puja greetings to all and prayed for the well-being of everyone.
The festival around the Kharchi festival is jointly organized by the Information and Cultural Affairs department, Tripura Tourism Development Corporation where mela is also organized by the Kharchi Puja committee.
This year Kharchi puja took special attention this year because after two years of pandemic restrictions this time the event is being celebrated in in its past glory and glamour.
Minister for Fisheries Prem Kumar Reang also addressed the inaugural function. He said, Kharchi festival
is a blessing for everyone. Ratan Chakraborty, Speaker of Tripura Legislative Assembly and Chairman of Kharchi Festival and Mela Organizing Committee, said we were in a deep darkness over the past two years following the Covid pandemic.
“We have come out of the darkness at the cost of lives of lakhs of people. I pray to Chaturdash Devata so that the dark period doesn’t return again,” Chakraborty said.
District Magistrate, West Tripura- Debapriya Bardhan, Managing Director of TTDC Tarit Kanti Chakma,
SDM Jirania Jiban Krishna Acharjee and other dignitaries were present. After the inaugural programme,
the guests inspected the stalls opened in the Mela ground.
Massive security arrangements have also been made and special arrangements were taken to manage massive traffic inflow in the area.
