SSC
'Kalpataru Utsav', associated with Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, is celebrated every year on:
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Answer: Option C — 1 January
Detailed Solution
"Kalpataru Utsav" (also called Kalpataru Divas) is celebrated every year on 1 January by followers of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, especially at the Cossipore Udyanbati (garden house) in Kolkata and at centres of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission.
The story behind Kalpataru Utsav:
- On 1 January 1886, Sri Ramakrishna, who was suffering from throat cancer, was staying at the garden house at Cossipore, in north Calcutta.
- That afternoon, he came out into the garden, where a group of his lay devotees had gathered.
- He asked the dramatist Girish Chandra Ghosh, "What do you see in me that makes you say all these things?" Girish replied that he believed Ramakrishna was an incarnation of God.
- Ramakrishna then went into a spiritual state, blessed the devotees by touching them and said, "May you all be illumined" ("Tomader chaitanya houk").
- The devotees experienced spiritual awakening.
- One of his disciples, Ramachandra Dutta, called this event the "Kalpataru" day, comparing Ramakrishna to the "Kalpataru" (or "Kalpavriksha"), the wish-fulfilling divine tree of Hindu mythology.
- Ramakrishna died on 16 August 1886 at the Cossipore garden house.
About Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa (1836-1886):
- He was born as Gadadhar Chattopadhyay on 18 February 1836 in Kamarpukur, Hooghly district, West Bengal.
- He was a priest at the Kali temple at Dakshineswar, built by Rani Rashmoni.
- He practised different spiritual paths, including Hindu, Islamic and Christian, and taught that all religions lead to the same God ("Jato mat, tato path": "As many faiths, so many paths").
- His wife was Sarada Devi, known as the "Holy Mother".
- His teachings are recorded in "Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita" by Mahendranath Gupta ("M").
- His chief disciple, Swami Vivekananda, founded the Ramakrishna Mission on 1 May 1897.
Why not the other options?
- ✗12 January is the birthday of Swami Vivekananda (National Youth Day).
- ✗16 August is the date of Ramakrishna's death (1886).
- ✗4 July is the date of Swami Vivekananda's death (1902).
Quick tip
Remember: Kalpataru Utsav = 1 January (Ramakrishna blessed devotees at Cossipore garden house, 1886: "Be illumined"); Vivekananda's birthday (National Youth Day) = 12 January.
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Festivals & Fairs of India — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Festivals & Fairs of India, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers the religious, harvest, tribal and cultural festivals of India, the fairs (melas) held across the country, and the states, communities and seasons linked to them. It also includes festivals listed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage, such as Kumbh Mela and Durga Puja in Kolkata. Most questions ask which state celebrates a festival, which tribe it belongs to, or what event it marks. Harvest festivals are especially common: Pongal (Tamil Nadu), Onam (Kerala), Bihu (Assam), Lohri and Baisakhi (Punjab) and Nuakhai (Odisha). Fairs such as the Pushkar camel fair (Rajasthan) and the Sonepur cattle fair (Bihar) are also frequently tested. Revise festivals state by state. Practise the festivals and fairs questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.