| Midnapore (also written as Medinipur and Midnapur) is a city in West Bengal, India. The city is the headquarters of, and gives its name to, the Paschim Medinipur district of the state of West Bengal. The town also gives its name to a subdivision of the district.
The town used to be belonging to the Midnapore District until the Partition of Midnapore. The undivided Midnapore district had been, at one time, the largest district in West Bengal and indeed, all of India.
It is situated on the banks of the Kangsabati River (variously known as Kasai and Cossye).
There are conflicting accounts of how the name Medinipur came to be. One account claims that Medinipur was named after a local deity "Medinimata" (literally "mother of the world", a Shakti incarnation). Another account claims that Midnapur was so named because in the heyday the number of mosques rivalled those in Medina.
Medinipur Classified
There are a number of festivals, many of religious import that are held in Midnapore each year. Urs of the venerated saint Hazrat Maulana Syed Shah Murshed Ali Al Qadri, son of Hazrat Syed Shah Mehr Ali Alquadri Al Baghdadi is a major occasion for Bengali Muslims of West Bengal and Bangladesh. This is held each year near the Jora masjid (twin mosques). Milad-un-Nabi is also celebrated with the bursting of fireworks. Many devout Muslims observe fasts during the month of Ramadan, which ends in celebration at Eid ul-Fitr. Eid ul-Adha locally known as Bakhri-Eid is also celebrated. During the Remembrance of Muharram, processions throng the streets enacting mock stick-fights in remembrance of Husayn ibn Ali.
In the Bengali month of Asharh, (roughly corresponding to mid-September), Rathayatra is celebrated as is the case in the rest of Bengal and Orissa. A fair is hosted near the local Jagannath temple. And during Christmas, a fair on the grounds of Nirmal Hriday Ashram is well participated. The church is opened to all on this occasion and people from all communities throng the prayer hall to take a glimpse of the beautiful murals narrating the life of Jesus. The resident students recreate the scene of Jesus' birth with clay models.
Apart from that, the regular Bengali festivals like Durga Puja, Saraswati Puja, and Kali Puja are well attended. In the last few years, local clubs and communities have competed with each other for designing the best Durga Puja murtis (idols), mandaps (interior of abode), and pandals (bamboo and cloth makeshift enclosures) with hundreds of thousands of rupees often being spent by each club
Vishwakarma Puja is remarkably popular in the town. Unlike in Kolkata, Vishwakarma Puja is not celebrated with flying kites. With respect to its tribal history, people in Midnapur fly Kites to celebrate "Baraam Puja", the day of a tribal god. This is on the last day of the bengali month of Poush, i.e. Poush Sankranti. Apart from kite-flying, a fair is also held on Poush Sankranti. It has a rural flavour and is characterized by the trading of handicraft and household goods. The items of trade include spades, knives and other iron tools, combs and other goods made of buffalo-horn, baskets (jhuri and dhama) and platters for husking (kula) made of bamboo and cane, etc. Bheema Puja is another Puja that is not widespread elsewhere.
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