Month-long horse fair begins in Joypurhat

Centuries old Horse Fair began here a week ago to amuse the people and trading of horses.

Month-long 516-year-old traditional horse fair begins after the Dol (Holly) Festival at Gopinathpur village of Akkelpur upazila of the district.

The fair attracts visitors of different ages for its unique blend of horse trading, cultural activities, and entertainment including puppet shows, games, circus rides and musical performances by local artistes.

Organizers said horse fair is taken place only at Gopinathpur of Joypurhat district in the northern region where buyers and sellers come from far flung areas of the country.

Apart from horses, buffaloes, cows, sheep and goats are also traded at this fair, they said, adding that although the fair lasts for a month but cattle fair is held only for first 10 days.

They said horse traders from different districts of the country including Dinajpur, Chapainawabganj, Bogura, Gaibandha, Rajshahi, Jamalpur, Sirajganj have gathered in the fair from the day of Dol Purnima. The fair is now vibrant with the presence of buyers, sellers and fairgoers, they added.

The horses are taken to a nearby playground for racing once the price of the horse is fixed between buyer and seller at the fair venue, organizers said.

This year, the price of an Indian Tazi horse, likely refers to the Kathiawari horse, has skyrocketed to Taka 2.5 lakh, they said.

Bijli, Kiranmala, Rani, Sweety, Bhartiya Taji and many other exotic names are given to the horses which are being showcased in the fair.

Visiting the fair, our district correspondent saw that the higher price of the horse depends on attractiveness, speed and energy of the horses. Names of the horses are also given matching with their performance.

People enjoyed seeing the performance of the 'Dulki horse' that moves with lightning speed. Due to its various qualities, it can cover miles in the blink of an eye.

The organizers said since independence, advanced breeds from Nepal, Bhutan, India, Pakistan and other Middle Eastern countries used to come in this fair. Some foreign horse riders also joined the fair this year.

Abul Bepari, a resident from Mather Para village in Gaibandha district has come to buy horse at the fair and offered Taka 2.35 lakh for a horse.

Rafiqul Islam of Jamalpur has been coming to this fair for 45 years. This time he has brought 47 horses, including small and big ones.

Yunus Ali, of Sonaimukhi village in Shibganj upazila of Chapainawabganj district, offered the highest price of Taka 2.50 lakh for selling his horse. The five-year-old Bhutia Horse is from Bhutan which can run fast.

The organizers said they are facing some problems in lack of large racing space. They laid importance for a large ground at the fair venue to arrange horse races to make the fair more attractive.

Fair committee president and Gopinathpur Union Parishad (UP) chairman Habibur Rahman said that although it is a horse fair, but it has all the arrangements of a rural fair.

Noting that it is a big fair in North Bengal, he said due to the month of Ramadan, all kinds of entertainment such as circus and Jatrapala remained suspended this time.

Adequate number of Ansar members has been deployed along with police to maintain law and order, said Akkelpur thana OC Masud Rana.