Sonepur Mela: At the Festival of Beasts
A fine balance of faith, Sonepur: Mahout with his elephant. Photo: Siddharth Jain
Photo Essay: 13 years ago, Siddharth Jain visited the largest animal fair in the world in Sonepur (Bihar), discovering the contrast of mythology and trade, and life and death, under the auspicious full moon.
Like a number of small, sleepy towns in India, Sonepur comes alive for its annual festival. 30 kilometres north of Patna, Bihar, Sonepur mostly lies somnolent the rest of the year. But as pilgrims and animal traders begin to congregate in early November for the month-long Hariharnath Kshetra Mela—the annual cattle fair—this town at the confluence of the Ganga and Gandak becomes a true wonder to behold. Under the full moon of Kartik Purnima—one of the most auspicious days for Hinduism—a dip in the waters is believed to be of immense spiritual value. In recent years, however, it is the incredibly broad spectrum of domesticated animal life that receives most of the attention, regularly congregated at the 200-acre fair grounds.
The Sonepur mela is renowned for being the largest cattle festival in Asia, and probably the largest animal fair in the world. Indeed, the spectacle goes beyond the endless masses of bovines to include an astounding variety of domesticated fauna, all of which are up for sale: dogs and cats; camels, buffaloes, donkeys and ponies; monkeys and chimpanzees; poultry and fish of all kinds; sheep, rabbits and guinea pigs—even bears can be bought and sold here. Of course, such throngs are not without their human counterparts: a recent survey put the number of annual visitors to the Sonepur fair at more than 600,000.
The Sonepur mela is a fascinating study in contrasts. This is perhaps best illustrated by the bridge that links the festival grounds with the cremation grounds, a striking dualism that emphasises an age-old acceptance of death alongside life, sombreness alongside gaiety.
The mela is also the only place in India where large-scale trading of elephants takes place, with most purchases made by forest departments across India, for logging operations and other activities. So intrinsic is the elephant to the mela that the pachyderm has also long been the subject of an important legend associated with the fair, particularly with the nearby Hariharnath temple in Sonepur.
The so-called Gajendra Moksha legend centres on two characters, King Indradyumna and the Gandharva chief Huhu. Due to a curse that originated with the ancient sages Agastya and Dewala Muni, Indradyumna and Huhu were said to have been turned into an elephant and a crocodile, respectively. According to the legend, Indradyumna—now in the form of Gajendra the elephant-king—went down one day to the Gandak in present-day Sonepur to cool off. He was suddenly grabbed by a giant crocodile, Huhu. The two animals began to fight an epic battle, in which their respective herds took part. The fighting continued for years, until Gajendra began to weaken and prayed to Vishnu to save him. Vishnu heard the prayer, and chased off the crocodile and his horde with his chakra. But the touch of the chakra was said to have released Huhu from the curse, and likewise with Indradyumna. The god then took Indradyumna with him to Vaikuntha, his heavenly abode, and thus did the former elephant-king attain moksha.
A significant draw of the Sonepur fair is the merriment that accompanies the annual pilgrimage: local music shows, mountains of street food, joy rides, and row after row of handicraft stalls. Naturally, all of this takes place amidst a staggering commotion, with the Sonepur mela eventually churning into an exhilarating mix of emotion and action. Perhaps for this reason, coupled with the sheer numbers who show up, the centuries-old fair was an important meeting place for colonial-era independence fighters.
On top of everything else, the Sonepur mela is a fascinating study in contrasts. This is perhaps best illustrated by the bridge that links the festival grounds with the cremation grounds, a striking dualism that emphasises an age-old acceptance of death alongside life, sombreness alongside gaiety. The accompanying photos, taken in the midst of the fair of November 2007, attempt to capture some of this range of emotion and colour, the throngs of humanity and animals, of individuals and community coming together.
People crowd in front of the next train heading for Sonepur from New Delhi. Photo: Siddharth Jain
Pilgrims at the ghats of river Gandak during Sonepur Mela. Photo: Siddharth Jain
A worshipper is delighted at the ghats while taking a dip early morning. Photo: Siddharth Jain
Mela Ground and visitors, Sonepur. Photo: Siddharth Jain
Worshippers and Elephants at the ghats, Sonepur Mela. Photo: Siddharth Jain
Horse at the ghats of river Gandak, Sonepur Mela. Photo: Siddharth Jain
Horse and traders. People watch over the horse performing for them at Sonepur Mela. Photo: Siddharth Jain
Visitors enjoy the Ferris wheel and joyrides at the grounds of Sonepur Mela. Photo: Siddharth Jain
Two women listen to their horoscope at the festival. Photo: Siddharth Jain
Boys at the Sonepur Mela. Usually a festival such as this is one of biggest celebration of the year in the area. Photo: Siddharth Jain
People burn and attend to a funeral pyre on the opposite ghats to where the festival is taking place at River Gandak. Photo: Siddharth Jain
People walk towards a temple after a funeral procession on the ghats. Photo: Siddharth Jain
A holy man performs a ritual by the ghats opposite the festival at River Gandak. Photo: Siddharth Jain
Men drop a body in the Gandak, as a final ritual during the Hindu cremation on the other side of ghats - Sonepur. Photo: Siddharth Jain
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Siddharth Jain is a documentary photographer covering stories of human interest. Based in New Delhi, India, his work can be seen at www.siddharthjain.co.in. You can find him on Medium: @SiddharthJainIndia, Facebook: Dispatches by Siddharth and Instagram: @dispatches.by.siddharth.
