Carnivalesque and the present time:
Early anthropologists like Max Gluckman
(1963), Edmund Leach (1961) and Peter Burke (1978) represent generation of
classical studies of festivals. Gluckman’s (1963) findings conceptualise role
argues role reversals where among African tribes are seen as represent
transcending transcendence over local taboos to protest against social order.
Leach (1961) documents upside down and chaotic world in festivals.Burke (1978)
using these anthropological findings formulate carnivalesque, theorising
carnival as institutionalised disorder with rituals of reversal. Lefebvre
(1991a,b) focuses on the rationalisation and commodification of life which is
associated to the demise of pre-modern carnivals and indigenous festivals.
Echoing Durkheim’s (1973) conception of mechanical solidarity Lefebvre argues
that festivals are examples of spontaneous, ecstatic and identity-producing
cultural practices, which is a feature of per-modern society. Lefebvre (2002)
sees impact of capitalism in transforming the pre-modern festivals to
spectacles and rise of new modes of consumption including culture,
entertainment, tourism and leisure.
The memories of a transformation of
carnivalesque
In our childhood it was the Kali Puja
or the worship of Goddess Kali that used to assume the carnivalesque nature – the
transformation of cityscape upside down. On that day it was virtually alright
to drink a lot and do some weird behaviour. Goddess Kali herself receives wine
(usually offered to her, a pint of Rum) and her followers usually have whatever
they like. The unusual queue at the wine shops a few days before reflected the
trend. However, those things have intensified and now cover almost every
festival of the state. Young generation is fond of going frenzy on every occasion
with hint of alcohol. Thereby, it is severely changing the concept of
carnivalasque through wine in the cityscape. Other features of the carnivalesque
might include the changing space allocation, spectacle building, changing
routine of the spectators, sudden rise of consumption and so on. In this
regards one might (quite justifiably) say Durgotsav is the biggest carnival of
the city and its surroundings. In this blog post I would rather say Durgotsav
and today’s Kalipuja too represents a balanced carnival of the ‘Bhadralok’ –
the gentlemen and the true upside-down effect lies in other apparently lesser
studied festivities.
The most
prominent among them is the spurring rise of Viswakarma Puja – the worship of
the Lord of Machines/engineers/factories. While West Bengal has observed steady
decline of industries the hotbeds for worship of Viswakarma click here: https://jpgmag.com/stories/20166,
there is a parallel rise of informal economy and consideration of such economies
as production oriented economies and hence the worship has assumed a different
form for last couple of decades. While I have seen large-scale celebration of
Viswakarma in different factories in Port city of Haldia for almost six years,
where the government offices remain closed for a couple of days, in Kolkata,
Viswakarma has assumed a different form of community based worship. The
communities are mostly informal sector workers involved in transport. Hence,
there is a celebration at every corner of the localities with a
rickshaw/electric ricksaw (popularly the TOTO)/Auto/Taxi/Bus stands. Sometimes
when there is a simultaneous presence of two or more categories of vehicles
there is an overlapping spatial allocation for two or more pujas.
In practice on
the night (even in day time as well) of Viswakarma Puja there is a bunch of people
dancing with these songs after having some alcohol. It continues. Everyone,
willing to go out for last minute shopping has to depend on their private cars and
of late Ola or Uber as there is near complete absence of public transports. You
will encounter fewer traffic polices too!
Discussions
Most prominent feature is the nature of
ambiance created by the use of music and related performance. Viswakarma Puja
represents one of such occasions when people from the bottom show that they don’t
want to be regulated and display their distinctive subculture subsets. For two
or three days they do not do what they otherwise do for earning their
livelihoods. They refuse to go on hire and most often do not even bring their
vehicle. While the sophisticated “Shyama Sangeet” has completely transformed
the nature of Kali Puja and use of traditional Bengali musics including Rabindrasangeet
has made Durgotsav a disciplined anarchy of Bengali “Bhadralok” possible –
Viswakarma Puja has become one of the true alternative spaces for
Carnivalesque. One can get updated about the subculture that exists parallel to
the middleclass value oriented Bengali self, just by having a close watch on
Viswakarma Puja. Viswakarma Puja blurs some of the essential boundaries of
Private/public, rural/urban, good/bad, day/night and many more.
This video of Viswakarma Celebration has been received in Whatsapp
References:
Burke, Peter.
(1978) Popular Culture in Early Modern
Europe, London, Maurice Temple Smith
Leach, Edmund. (1961). Pul Eliya, a village in Ceylond: A study of land tenure and kinship. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Leach, Edmund. (1961). Pul Eliya, a village in Ceylond: A study of land tenure and kinship. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Lefebvre, Henri. (1991a). The production of space, trans. D. Nicholson-Smith. Oxford: Basil
Blackwell.
Lefebvre, Henri. (1991b) Critique
of Everyday Life. Volume 1: Introduction. Translated by J Moore.
London: Verso
Gluckman, Max. (1963). Order and rebellion in tribal Africa.
London: Cohen & Wests.
