Everyone cries at ‘Kannakatir Mela’

For five hours yesterday, a no mans' land in Lalmonirhat was transformed into a witness of bittersweet, short-lived reunions.

The spot, at border pillar-925 besides Maldah river under Gorol union of Kaliganj upazila, was thronged by thousands of people from Bangladesh and India as the border was kept open for five hours from 12:00pm to 5:00pm, marking the Ganga Puja at India's Ververi area.

What made yesterday's occasion even more special was that this was the first time the border fair, locally known as "Kannakatir Mela" (a festival of tears), took place after two years of suspension due to the pandemic.

Locals told The Daily Star the fair has been taking place since the Pakistan period. Bangladeshis and Indians who were separated come together on this day to meet their loved ones from across the border.

It is held on the bank of Maldah, right besides barbed-wire fences, during the Bengali month of Chaitra every year. It is said that everyone cries during the fair, which is why it came to be known as Kannakatir Mela.

Bangladeshi Protap Chandra Roy (75), of Lalmonirhat's Aditmari upazila, came with his son Bishnu Chandra Roy (48) to meet his daughter Narayani Rani (45), who is  an Indian citizen. As soon as they met, Protap broke down in tears. "My health is getting worse by the day. I may not be here for too long. There's no way I would miss out on the fair this year. I'm meeting my daughter after four years," Protap said.

Nayerhat village's Ratan Chandra Roy (65) told The Daily Star that he came to the border to meet his younger brother Suresh Chandra Roy (60), who lives in India.

Gorol UP chairperson Nurul Amin said several thousand Bangladeshis from Lalmonirhat and adjoining districts come to the border fair every time it takes place.