Cooch Behar, 27th November: The historic Madan Mohan Raas Utsav of Cooch Behar has commenced following the royal traditions. District Magistrate of Cooch Behar and Chairman of Debottar Trust Board, Arvind Kumar Mina inaugurated the festival by rotating the historic Raas Chakra in Madan Mohan temple at 8.50 pm on Sunday night.
According to reports, a special puja was held at the Madan Mohan temple prior to the inauguration. During this, the DM, following the royal tradition, fasted the whole day and sat in the special puja. Subsequently, after inaugurating the festival by rotating the Raas Chakra, the gate of Madan Mohan temple was opened for the general public. Significantly, the DM of Cooch Behar plays an important role in the Raas Utsav which was started by the Maharajas of Cooch Behar.
As soon as the gate was opened, a crowd of people gathered to rotate the Raas Chakra. Notably, lakhs of visitors witness the Raas festival of Cooch Behar which is over 200 years old. Apart from the Cooch Behar district, people from various places including Assam, Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh attend the Utsav. During the Raas Utsav, kirtan is held every day in the Madan Mohan Thakurbari.