The word Nabanna means new food. Nabanna Utsav is a festival organized on the occasion of the first cooking of rice prepared from new Aman paddy. This festival is usually held after the ripening of Aman paddy in the month of Agrahayan (late fall). Following this, the traditional rural fair has been taking place at Padmapukur Government Primary and High School ground in Patitla, Naogaon district for more than one hundred years. This fair is held on 16th November every year.
Due to Covid-19, the last two years of the fair did not go well, but this time, the fair was quite nice. Around this fair of Nabanna, 10 to 12 surrounding villages have become the face of a different kind of festival among the rural people. Traditional homemade cakes, cooked rice pudding from fresh paddy is cooked in houses of farmers. Besides, the farmers have to make some preparations before the new paddy gets stored in the farmer's house. They buy rice husks, sieves, baskets etc. For this, Nabanna fair is organized.
In every house of the village, Pilau (Pulao), Patisapta, dudhkusli, kanmuchari, Pakoyan Pitha, Ras Pitha and many other homemade cakes are made during Nabanna. On the occasion of this one-day fair, shopkeepers from different areas came to the shop the previous day to sell sweets, bamboo, cane, earthenware pots, dolls, wooden furniture, cosmetics, toys, flutes, balloons, swirls, iron pans, knives, Paper flowers are used to decorate various food stalls with various delicacies.
Nitai Kumar Pal, a shopkeeper, said that he has been selling earthenware at this Padmapukur Nabanna fair for over 50 years. In the beginning, his grandfather used to sell pottery at this fair. Then his father Amulya Charan Pal then he is selling these. Surla Pahan, who came to the fair to sell items made by bamboo, said that they have a hard time all year round. At this time of the year, they sell a variety of items made by bamboo. At the fair, they sell bamboo-made Kula, lids, Jhal Dala, Khaichala, Chalun, fish-keeping Khalais and various other utensils made from bamboo. On one side of the fair goes ‘Bou Mela’ which is simply wife fair in Bengali tounge. Crowds flock to the women's fair, especially at women's cosmetics shops.
Manoj Kumar, president of the fair committee, said the fair has been held since the British era.
They organize this fair mainly on the occasion of Nabanna festival. However, on this day, people of Hindu community arrange Kali Puja in the region on the occasion of Sankranti.
