Visva Bharati University to organise Basant Bandana on Mar 3, Outsiders not allowed

The central university used to organise 'Basant Utsav' (spring festival) on the day of Holi but the practice was stopped in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic. A chaotic situation was witnessed as thousands of people had descended to Santiniketan during the event in 2019.

Visva-Bharati University has announced that it will organise 'Basant Bandana' (worship of spring) on March 3, four days ahead of Holi. The Vice-Chancellor Bidyut Chakraborty said that outsiders won't be allowed to participate in it to avoid any chaotic situation.

The central university used to organise 'Basant Utsav' (spring festival) on the day of Holi but the practice was stopped in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic. A chaotic situation was witnessed as thousands of people descended to Santiniketan during the event in 2019.

"Processions will be taken out during 'Basant Bandana' and participants will celebrate the event by applying 'abir' or 'gulaal' on each other," he said.

"We have been forced to suspend Basant Utsav which has been increasingly becoming chaotic over the years. It was high time we put a lid on such 'tandav' (rampage)," the VC said.

He claimed 'Basant Bandana' was in vogue since the time of Rabindranath Tagore, who founded the university, but it had degenerated over the years. Poush Mela, another crowd-puller event organised on the university campus, was also suspended. It was last held in 2019.

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