Magh masher bagher shinni

My Ma never visited Ramnagar before her marriage. She had an idea that Ramnagar is not a very pleasant locality as there are frequent dacoit attacks and all, besides ongoing regular thefts . So she came to our house with such an idea after marriage.
In those days Thakurma used to go to meet her friends, kuttir ma (dida), Joyer ma (dida) and few more every evening. Dadubhai was still there and he used to sit in his chair in the varanda with a hooka and sometime he used to be inside the room only in the late evenings. Ma used keep everything ready for dinner like chop vegetables and all.
One day evening, it was load shedding ( no power for a long time) and Ma was just on her way from kitchen towards the main room, when a group of people came inside the house stamping big sticks on the ground and screaminmg "magh mashe bagher shinni magere!!". Ma thought surely these are dacoits and she screamed loudly and went inside her room. Suhe was almost in the verge of scrying. Then tutu dadu ( kanu, sonama's uncle who used to stay in our adjacent house and ma, baba calls him mejhda) came to our house hearing ma scream. Those people were still there and creamimg loudly stamping there sticks. Tutudau could presume something and ask ma not to get scared and come out. So trusting his words she came out. Tutu dadu then asked ma to give them some money and grains and that they will go away. Some of them was also holding fire in there hand.
After they left Tutudadu told ma not to get scared of them. As these are poor people who collects moneylike this in magh mash(feb-march) and then they do feast with that end of the month. That they called as bagher shinni. They will colllect all the monet, and keep them gathering infront of the picture of a tiger. Later thakurma told me, the reason behind that was perhaps, due to cold, to take warmth, tiger used to come out of Jungle. So to protect the villagers from tiger attackes theyused to collect money and keep a gaurd on village throughout winter nights. So the whole village used to contribute for that.
Even when I was small I saw them coming quite a few time during winters but gradually all those stopped and they are just in my memories. I can very well relate those with the woolen red and blach check shawl that ma used to wear during winters, the warmth of hurrican or kupi, bagher shinni, the sound of the mosquito during power offs, the warmth of the quilt and e.t.c everything together. Some sweet yet memories which used to thrill me during those time.