A Fishy tale of Devotion : Krishnapur's Vaishnavite Fish 'Mela'

Along river Saraswati, close to the once great port of Satgaon, stands the unimposing village of Keshtopur (Krishnapur). One of the 7 seven settlements that comprised Saptagram/Satgaon, this quaint village sees thousands of visitors on the first day of the month of Magh, to see the Uttarayan mela, which has gained a unique reputation for being a fair that boasts and sells an exceptional variety of fish, often of immense dimensions. But what is even more fascinating is its centuries-old Gaudiya Vaishnavite origin, surrounding Raghunath Das Goswami, one of the six Goswamis of Vrindavan. This comes as a surprise to most, considering the sampradaya is popularly associated with vegetarianism.

River Saraswati's current state near Keshtopur

According to local historian Sudhir Kumar Mitra, the story begins with the Majumdars, an old Hindu landholding family in the region. The scion of the family, Raghunath, was heavily influenced by the waves of Gaudiya Vaishnavism being propagated across Bengal. Instead of taking charge of the household, he kept aiming to escape it, immersed in ecstatic devotion. Finally seeking discipleship from Nityananda, he travelled to meet Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in Puri, and after the latter’s death, settled in Vrindavan.

Raghunath Goswami Sripaat, Keshtopur 

As popular legends go, Raghunath Das Goswami was initially refused initiation by Nityananda for being a young teenager. To commemorate his return home, the family threw a feast for the villagers, who decided to put the greatness of this man to test. They requested the impossible: raw mangoes and ilish (hilsa fish) in the middle of winter. To their surprise, the villagers found both near his house.

It is believed that this fair has been an annual affair ever since, now 519 years old. In this day and age of intolerance to various local traditions and customs that don’t fit into the narrow narratives of the majoritarian ‘Hindutva,’ this fair stands as an example of how vegetarianism and religiosity weren’t always complementary.On one hand, devotees gather in the adjacent Radhakrishna temple and Raghunath Das Goswami's sripaat for darshan and to hear kirtan performances, while fish dealers across the region gather behind it, with their handsome exhibits of fresh fish, which locals customarily buy and cook.

The mela is also a reminder that such gatherings aren’t always about faith. For centuries, festivities have been opportunities for merriment, consumption and unrestrained inebriation. This occasion isn’t an exception either. What has also remained constant throughout is fish- the centre of cuisines in a riverine civilization, and often a make-do ‘chakhna’ for drinks.