Basanta Utsab Meets Election Fever, From Posters to Politics
Basanta Utsab Turns Political: The Spring Drama in Howrah Court
Onย 25 February, whenย Howrahย still smelled faintly of winterโs last sigh, the Howrah Court muhalla rose like a theatrical stage awaiting its annual comic opera: Basanta Utsab 2026. A strange electricity spread through the corridorsโpart spring, part politics, and part inexplicable perfume from the ladiesโ chambers, where charm had gathered in clusters under the leadership of a lady more charming than the rest. She had told me on the 23rd February evening about theย syllabusย of Basanta Utsabโyes, syllabus, as if the festival were an exam and she the examiner. I forgot her name, but I remember the sparkle in her spectacles as clearly as I remember the tremor they sent through my wallet.
She arrived with Pueโdear Pue, whom I can recall through many court seasons as an essential ingredient in every picnic sponsored by the Criminal Bar. But the focal point was the unknown lady (very unknown to me) who practises in the Consumer Court; she introduced herself with a mix of authority and mystery, then immediately began lamenting the tragedy of their newly installed 4×3 Basanta Utsab poster losing its dignity under the sprawling shadow of Mihir Banerjeeโs election banner. Pinned at heroic height, it advertised his potential candidacy for the upcoming West Bengal Bar Council electionโpromising everything to newcomers except perhaps arranging a seat in the Vande Bharat Express free of cost.
Nearby loomed the folded-hand request from Santana Bag, humbly demanding first preference in the same election. And in quieter corners of the campus, Samir Babu, president of the Criminal Bar, was campaigning slowly but steadily, like a man tightening shoelaces before running a political marathon. He would receive a good slice of the purely criminal-practising vote bank, people whispered, as if distributing slices of fruitcake.
Basanta in Howrah is always a louder harvest than the English spring. Here, people donโt merely feel springโthey inhale it, exhale it, and occasionally choke on it in a storm of flower powder. Bengali culture trains its people with seasonal rehearsals: first Durga Puja, then Kali Puja, then Saraswati Puja, then community lunches in Criminal Bar, and then one glides seamlessly into the Basanta seasonโsnugly after Shivaratri and confidently before Holi. Basanta Utsab is not an event; it is a warm-up before a louder warm-up.
Yesterday, on the 24th, the security guards warned advocates to park their bikes outside the campus on 25th February. In Howrah Court logic, practising advocates are sacrificial goats for any festivalโfirst to lose parking rights, first to lose patience, and last to receive appreciation.
Oh! I missed the lady with the spectacles, mid-thirties perhaps, though time seemed to avoid estimating her. I told her I was willing to donate chanda, the desi word for neighbourhood taxation masquerading as charity. But I added a condition: they must allow me to sing. My own rustic, uncultured, jungle-bred, untrained, non-vegetarian style of singing. She didnโt seem entirely confident, but still encouraged the monetary part of the proposal enthusiastically.
Inside, I longed to watch how far she could stretch the psychology of persuasionโhow much guilt she could cultivate before the wallet cracked open. After 25 years of advocacy, moulding facts like clay and bending arguments like bamboo, I still had not mastered the delicate art of donation extraction. So I postponed it to 24th February 2026. One must learn from an artisan before surrendering.
Yesterday, 24th February, in the parking lot, she met me againโby coincidence or by divine planningโand casually inquired whether I had paid. I gently asked if payment was mandatory. She blinked strategically. Even if I chose not to donate, she insisted I must participate. Such democracy. Behind her, hanging the poster of Mihir Banerjee promising a โน10,000/- stipend to newcomers if elected. A generous challenge to CM Mamata Banerjee, whose political rhythm Mihir Babu seemed to admire or contest.
I must admit, Mihir Da`s presence is unavoidable. He appears in every court programme like a permanent guest at a wedding who knows which relative controls the ice cream counter. His communist intellectual background fuels his mannerisms, and his headquartersโDulal Babuโs legendary boothโserves as the parliament of Howrah Court politics. Dulal Da himself is the conjunction linking Civil Bar and Criminal Bar, the โandโ without which neither sideโs sentence is grammatical.
Last yearโs Basanta Utsab was energised by the women advocates of Howrah Court. Kajal Adak, I must not count her age, but she is simply ancient, presiding like a magnet drawing disciples. Her status as spiritual guide was so firm that even Criminal Bar advocates hesitated to breathe too loudly in her presence. There was a spectacular quarrel in Bar Association Room No. 2 in the year 2025 February, and Mihir Babu played mediator, attempting to bless both factions without damaging his vote count. His strategy was pure political yoga: say yes to the yes-people, say no to the no-people, and offer each side a moral discount coupon.
Some politicians, excluded from the drama, wandered like monsoon-stricken tomcats not allowed indoors.
This year, beyond Basanta Utsab, there will be a separate Mahila Divas celebrationโan event so exclusive that even the rumours and gossip look silky, and squeezed between these programmes, the Howrah Bar Association will host its annual Cultural Programme at Sarat Sadan. Secretary Noor, despite fasting for Roja, mustered the courage to collect chanda. I paid โน500 for myself and my juniors. They intend to perform a drama which I presume will begin hilariously, wander into confusion, and end in melancholyโthe traditional curve of all Howrah Bar dramas.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission has summoned judges for vote administration due to the non-cooperation of the state government. The Supreme Court of India has intervened. Yet in all this festive frenzy, one species remains neglectedโthe litigants. In West Bengal, where judicial competence occasionally behaves like a solar eclipse, litigants are routinely abandoned.
But Basanta Utsab will wash away the agony. Advocates will sing, women will shine in riotous colours, judges will momentarily seem competent by sheer contrast, and beneath all the politics, Howrah Court will lookโif only for a dayโwonderfully alive.
Tanmoy Bhattacharyya
25th February 2026
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