Every year Dol Yatra or Holi Festival is celebrated in Manipuri style at Anu Mahaprabhu temple in Nabadwip. In March 2017, 532nd Birthday of Shri Gouranga Mahaprabhu was celebrated here for 7 days along with Holi Festival. Nabadwip is a city in Nadia district in West Bengal (India), on the western bank of the Bhagirathi river.
The great Vaishnava saint, social reformer and an important figure of the Bhakti movement, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu or Gouranga Mahaprabhu (1486–1533) was born here, making this place an important pilgrimage center in West Bengal. Many devotees from worldwide who adhere to Gaudiya Vaishnavism come to Nabadwip for pilgrimage on the auspicious occasion of the Birthday celebration of Shri Mahaprabhu on the Phalguni Purnima or Dol Purnima (i.e. on the Full moon day of the March every year), and celebrate ‘Dol Yatra’ or ‘Holi’ Festival.
Sri Sri Anu Mahaprabhu (Name of Gouranga Mahaprabhu in Manipuri style) was installed in the year 1798 at Nabadwip, West Bengal by Manipur king Rajarshi Bhagya Chandra Singh. Rajarshi Bhagya Chandra possessed a very deep religious faith for the Gaudiya Vaishnavism and Hinduism as inculcated in the Purana (Hindu religious texts that are part of the Vedas). He introduced the Manipuri Rasa lila or Rasa dance in 1779 where his daughter acted the part of Radha in Rasa dance. From his time the Vaishnava atmosphere has prevailed in Manipuri style at Nabadwip.
The Rasa lila (also known as Raas Leela) is part of the traditional story of Lord Krishna described in Hindu scriptures such as the Bhagavata Purana and literature such as the Gita Govinda, where He dances with Radha and her friends. The rasa lila takes place one night when the Gopis (cowherd girls) of Vrindavana, upon hearing the sound of Krishna’s flute, sneak away from their households and families to dance with Krishna.
Rasa lila has been a popular theme in Kathak, Bharatanatyam, Odissi, and Kuchipudi dance forms in India. Rasa Lila is a popular form of folk theatre in northern and eastern India, especially during the festivals of Lord Krishna like Holi, and amongst various followers of Gaudiya Vaishnavism in the region.
In the tradition of Gaudiya Vaishnavism of Manipur, Rasa Lila is depicted within Manipuri classical Indian dance, and revolves around the same story of the love between Krishna and the cowherd girls and tells the divine love story of Krishna and Radha, his divine beloved. This form of dance is often accompanied with folk songs and devotional music.
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