With Jhulan Yatra festival and Janmashtami ahead, Krishna devotees and Vashnavites celebrate the full moon day (purnima) in the Hindu month of Shravana with all fervour. The Jhulan Yatra is primarily dedicated to Lord Krishna and Radha, and it marks the swing festival, where swings are decorated with flowers and devotees push the idols of Radha and Krishna.

The popular Krishna literature Hari Bhakti Vilasa (performance of devotion to Hari or Krishna) mentions Jhulan Yatra as part of the various festivals dedicated to Krishna.

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The ISKCON temple in Mayapur too is celebrating Sri Radha Madhav Jhulan Yatra 2024 from 16-20 August.

As the world celebrated Ratha Yatra, last month, a professor of Bengali literature at St Paul’s cathedral Mission College in Kolkata, released four books, two of them written by him on Lord Jagannath.

Dr Sk Makbul Islam, also is in charge of the Sri Jagannath Research Centre at the college.

His two books, Jagat Mangal Jagannath Mangal and Sri Jagannath Nana Stane Anneshane covers two different aspects. The first one is a comparison of two mediaeval India epics, while the second one is a diary, chronicling the worshipping of Jagannath around the world and India, along with his notes.

Jagat Mangal Jagannath Mangal is a comparative study of two narratives from Mediaeval Period epics. Jagat Mangal was written by Gadadhar Das while Jagannath Mangal was written by Vishambhar Das.

“For Jagat Mangal (1642-43), the main source was Skanda Purana and Brahma Purana, which Jagannath Mangal (1750-1800) talks about Lord Jagannath and Lord Krishna. It has got its inspiration from Skanda Purana and Srimad Bhagavad. Both are important documents in Bengali literature but unfortunately, Jagannath literature is a highly neglected topic for research in literature. There has always been emphasis on Sufi, Krishna and Baul literature but little on Jagannath literature,” said the Bengali professor.

My work explores this less-explored aspect, showing the contribution of Bengal towards Jagannath consciousness. The role of Bengali literature and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has been enormous in spreading Jagannath consciousness. I am throwing light on this very aspect,” said the professor, who has been researching on Jagannath since 1992.

Dr Sk Makbul Islam’s other book Sri Jagannath Nana Stane Anneshane is like a diary. He said, “Wherever I go, any reference I get on Jagannath, I note it down. I have been to southeast Asian countries, apart from the Indian states, where they worship Jagannath. In Assam, they follow Shankari Vaishnavism and here in Bengal, we follow Sri Chaitanya order. In Odisha they follow Sri Panchasakha order and Utkaliya Vaishnava order,” said Dr Islam.

The other two books, which he also unveiled were edited by him, covering stories of Jagannath in Bengal, Odisha and Assam.

It definitely comes as a surprise to many when one finds a Muslim doing research on Jagannath. Did he ever face any difficulty in his work because of his religion? Pat comes the reply with a gentle smile, “Yes, people are surprised, but that is just the half-truth. They are eager to help me because of my multiple identities. They readily come forward to help as they say that I’m doing something, which they are supposed to do.”

Prof Islam says during the course of his research and wanderings, across the cities and small towns, he has experienced a very different India. “I have seen a very integrated India during my research, which also extends up to southeast Asia. My perception of India has been very inclusive, especially at a time when a lot of “other things” are happening in the country. I’m very fortunate in this respect,” said the author.

Broach the topic of polarisation to him and he agrees, the society is in a turmoil. “Not only in India, polarisation of the society is happening across the world, through some parameter or other. But there is a space, which is beyond polarisation, beyond conflict and I’m fortunate to be part of it, maybe because of the Lord. This makes me happy. Muslims from Bangladesh have helped me, Buddhists have helped me in Thailand, Christians in Nagaland and Mizoram,” said Prof Islam, who is currently working on Jagannath’s influence in southeast Asia.

My hometown is in Bagnan, Howrah, which is a homogeneous mix of Sufi, Muslim and Vaishnav community. I have grown up within the Vaishnav community and it is my upbringing, which has influenced my work, said the principal investigator of many UGC projects, who has studied the Gita, the Purana and the shastras.

The professor is happy to claim that in this world of trolls, he has garnered a lot of appreciation and positive comments from the people from his community on social media.