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Tusu Parab: a month of songs and a dawn farewell at the river
A month of songs for an imagined girl, and a dawn farewell at the river
Tusu Parab is a winter harvest festival of the Chhota Nagpur plateau, kept above all in the Bundu, Tamar and Raidih area of Jharkhand and in Purulia and Bankura in West Bengal. Through the month of Poush girls sing to Tusu, imagined as a young girl, and on Makar Sankranti, the last day of Poush, they carry her on bright paper-covered frames to a river or pond at dawn. Dates: 13–15 January 2027, with the river farewell on 14 January 2027.
Village committees fix the immersion day by the local almanac; the Jharkhand and West Bengal holiday lists (Makar Sankranti) confirm it in December of the previous year.
The legend
Tusu is a folk goddess imagined as a young girl. Her month-long harvest festival runs from the end of Agrahayan to Poush Sankranti, or Makar.
Girls set up a pot of rice husk, new paddy, durva grass and flowers, and this is Tusu. One theory derives her name from tush, husk.
Every evening of the month girls sing to Tusu about their lives. The songs are new each year: love, quarrels, dowry, literacy, politics.
Customs
Farewell at dawn
On Makar morning girls carry Tusu, singing, on bamboo chaudals decked in coloured paper to a river or pond and bid her farewell there.
Song duels
At the water the groups trade teasing songs about each other's Tusu; then the girls bathe and put on new clothes.
Night vigil
On Bauri night the room is dressed with flowers and lights, and girls, wives and older women sing until morning.
What people eat
Gargarya pitha
Crescent-shaped rice cakes filled with sesame, coconut or sweets.
Words of the festival
চৌডল
chaudal
A bamboo or wooden litter in coloured paper on which Tusu is carried to the water.
What Tusu Parab is
The Government of Jharkhand describes Tusu, also called Makar, as a harvest festival held in winter on the last day of the month of Poush, and as a festival of unmarried girls, seen mostly between Bundu, Tamar and Raidih. Wikipedia places it in south-western West Bengal, south-eastern Jharkhand, north-eastern Odisha and among the tea communities of Assam, where the state holiday list pairs it with Magh Bihu as Tusu Puja.
The festival runs through Poush, the Bengali month that overlaps December and January, and belongs to the agricultural communities of the plateau: Sahapedia names the Kurmi, Kudumi, Santhal, Munda and Oraon among them. Thanks are offered to the new harvest rather than to an idol. The name is most likely from tush, the husk of the rice grain.
What makes Tusu unusual is the songs. The state's own description notes that the festival has no documented history but a huge collection of songs. The songs are composed anew each season, about love, quarrels, dowry, literacy and politics. Choudal-making contests with cash prizes are now held at some fairs.
The morning at the river
The main day is Makar Sankranti. At dawn girls carry Tusu, singing, on chaudals (choudals): bamboo or wooden frames covered in coloured paper. There is no idol: Tusu is enshrined in the chaudal itself. Sahapedia describes the chaudal as the vehicle of the girl's journey to her husband's home. At the river or pond the groups exchange teasing songs about each other's Tusu, the chaudals are given to the water, and the girls bathe, pray to the sun and put on new clothes.
Fairs spring up on the riverbanks for a day or two, with traders selling local goods, and chaudals are sold at the weekly haats before the festival. At home families make sweets and pitha, rice cakes such as the crescent-shaped gargarya pitha with sesame or coconut.
If you want to see it
Tusu is a village festival, not a staged event, and there is no visitor programme.
- Where — The Bundu–Tamar–Raidih belt of Jharkhand, and Purulia and Bankura in West Bengal.
- When exactly — Village committees fix the immersion day by the local almanac, and the Jharkhand and West Bengal holiday lists confirm Makar Sankranti in December of the year before.
- Be at the water early — The procession to the water starts at dawn on Makar Sankranti.
- Ask before photographing — The songs belong to the girls and women who sing them; ask before photographing the singers.
The same day elsewhere in India
Tusu falls on Makar Sankranti, which India marks under many names, and in Assam the state holiday list pairs it with Magh Bihu. See Makar Sankranti.
FAQ
When is Tusu Parab?
On Makar (Poush) Sankranti, the last day of Poush: 13–15 January 2027. The songs run for the month before it.
In which states is Tusu celebrated?
Mainly Jharkhand and West Bengal (Purulia, Bankura), and also north-eastern Odisha and the tea communities of Assam.
What is Tusu?
A folk goddess imagined as a young girl, honoured with songs through Poush and carried to the river on Makar Sankranti. Her name is thought to come from tush, rice husk.
Which communities celebrate Tusu Parab?
The agricultural communities of the Chhota Nagpur plateau, among them the Kurmi, Kudumi, Santhal, Munda and Oraon.
What food is made for Tusu Parab?
Sweets and pitha, rice cakes such as gargarya pitha, crescent-shaped and filled with sesame, coconut or sweets.
Sources (4)
Facts checked: 21 October 2026. Prices and hours are approximate; check locally.