<i>Hundreds join Gur Pukur Mela</i>
Hindu devotees worship goddess Manasha at Manasha tala on the bank of 'Gur Pukur' in Satkhira town where a fair began on Friday.Photo: STAR
The traditional Gur Pukur Mela (fair) began in Satkhira town on Friday through worshipping Devi Manasha (goddess of snakes) by Hindu devotees. Traders from different parts of the country have set up stalls around the pond at Manasha tala in Palashpool area of the town. Hundreds of people visit the fair everyday and buy goods of their choice. Saplings of fruit bearing and medicinal plants are also brought to the mela. The mela is being arranged around the pond at Palashpool on the basis of a heresy that a king of the Gaud dynasty took rest here while returning from the Sundarbans. When the king was asleep, goddess Manasha asked him to dig a pond. He dug a pond that was filled with sweet water. The king worshipped goddess Manasha and then the pond was named as Gur Pukur. Some people say ancestors of the Gaud Brahmin Community dug the pond and arranged puja on its bank 300 years ago. Others say the scion of Gaud dynasty dug the pond and worshipped goddess Manasha. But the mela has lost its significant number of visitors following bomb blasts at Roxy cinema and at a circus in the town in 2002. At least three people were killed and 100 others injured in the blasts.
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