Eclecticism vis-à-vis Secularism in Bratakatha of Bengal

Hindu lives are filled with „baromase taro parbon‟ (thirteen festivals in twelve months). But within these rituals, it can be discerned that women‟s wish/desires remain highly unfulfilled within their „private space‟. Among the rituals of festivity that are circular throughout the year, women perform different Brata. However, the age and ancestry of Brathakatha is highly contested among critics. Brata is not something which has one particular cause as its origin. Rather it is a continuous process of evolution and amalgamation of different religious sects and theories. It is pertinent to understand the amalgamation of the eclectic overlapping of three religions namely, Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam. And it is not limited only to Hindu women in general and Hinduism in particular. Economic, political, social, historical, environmental changes and religious theories are probable causes behind this. Bratakatha not only brings in social and economic changes, but it also foregrounds the artistic skills of women in public. And these feminine skills explain how traditional Hinduism has been taken a homegrown form quite beautifully and wittily. In order to find the answers to the age and origin of Brathakatha we need to focus on these issues. The present paper tries to highlight this juncture and analyse the eclecticism vis-à-vis secularism in Brathakatha of Bengal.