Charak Puja

Charak Puja or Pachamara Mela (also known as Chadak, Nil Puja or Hajrha Puja) is part of the Hindu folk festival of Gajan, held in honor of the deity Shiva or Dharmathakur. The Gajan festival includes numerous forms of austerities like walking on hot coals or piercing the body with metal rods; Charak refers to the practice of hook-swinging which generally is the last penance performed during the festival.

Gajan and Charak Puja is primarily practiced in the Indian state of West Bengal and in Bangladesh, but hook-swinging is traditionally practiced in other parts of India as well like kavadi in Tamil nadu.

The preparation usually starts a month in advance. The people responsible for the arrangement of the festival go from village to village to procure the necessary components like paddy, oil, sugar, salt, honey, money and other items needed for the ritual. At midnight of Songkranti, the worshippers gather to worship Shiva and Ma Durga for success. Afterwards a puja, the prasad (Items blessed by the deity) are distributed.