Video Input: Debodeep Deb
Charak Puja or the Bengali festival of penance, is popular in East India and the Bengali inhabited areas of Northeast India.
During this, groups of men and women spend a month fasting from sunrise to sunset and surviving only on fruit. On the day of the 'charak', people construct bamboo stages on top of poles, at a height ranging from three to five meters. The devotees step up onto the high bamboo stage, and with ropes attached to them, hurl themselves forward. Some devotees walk on burning on embers or sleep on bed of nails.
Devotees believe that by satisfying Lord Shiva, the festival will bring prosperity by eliminating the sorrow and sufferings of the previous year.
The organisers of the festival go from village to village to procure the necessary components like paddy, oil, sugar, salt, honey, and money for the rituals.
On the midnight of 'sankranti' or just a day before the Bengali new year, the worshippers gather to worship Shiva and Durga for success.
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