Place: Vishnupur, District Bankura, west Bengal
Time: December
Significance: Received the status of a National Fair
Held every year between 27 and 31 December near the Madanmohana Temple, Vishnupur (Bishnupur), the Festival celebrates the rich heritage of this temple town famous for its beautiful terracota temples and elegant silk sarees. Bishnupur, once the capital of the Malla Kings, is renowned for its crafts and is located about 100 kilometres northwest of Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal.
The festival is immensely popular, characterised by exhibition and sale of local handicrafts and performance of the rich musical tradition that Vishnupur boasts of. Thousands of people come to this fair to buy various objects of handicrafts and rural artisanry from different parts of West Bengal.
There are various stalls of art works and trinkets including sea-shell works, terracotta works and cloths, sweets etc. The whole process of making silk is depicted including the mulberry in pots with the silkworms eating away the leaves. A variety of cultural programmes are also held during this period. Vishnupur is also famous for its own school or Gharana of classical music