Cooch Behar: Altaf Mian is fasting and at the end of the day, he is having vegetarian food.

The artisan follows the regimen as he is busy making the "raashchakra," a giant prayer wheel that would be placed on the premises of Madanmohan temple here and would be rotated by thousands of devotees during the fortnight-long Raash Utsav that will commence on November 3.

The festival is celebrated in different parts of Bengal to mark the love and union of Radha and Krishna.

When Cooch Behar was being ruled by royals, they used to inaugurate the festival by rotating the raashchakra. But these days, it is the district magistrate who does the task after a puja is performed at the temple.

Altaf's family has been making the prayer wheel, considered as an integral part of the festival, since the days of the royals.

"I have been doing this work for several years now and learnt the art from my father. Altogether, our family has been making the raashchaktra for the past 150 years," said the 53-year-old artisan.

At his home on the banks of the Torsha river, Altaf is working throughout day, making intricate designs with papers, which would adorn the wheel. The 34ft wheel which is an octagonal structure is made of bamboo and wood.

Altaf said he had been teaching his son Aminur and daughter Ayesha as to how to make the prayer wheel.

"I want my family to carry on with the tradition," said Altaf, who is a contractual guard under the Debottar Trust Board that is the custodian of the Madanmohan temple.

Raash Utsav is being celebrated in Cooch Behar for over 200 years. It had started in 1812 during the reign of King Harendranarayan. The royal family had built the Madanmohan temple in 1889 and since then, the festival is celebrated every year.

"The festival and the involvement of people like Altaf Mian is a glaring example of communal harmony. We have been enjoying the festival since childhood and even today, it gives a great feeling to rotate the raashchakra," said north Bengal development minister Rabindranath Ghosh and local MLA.

On November 3, Koushik Saha, the district magistrate of Cooch Behar, will attend a puja at the temple and then rotate the prayer wheel to mark the opening of the festival.

"Since the first day, thousands of people stand in queues outside the temple and wait for their turn to rotate the raashchakra. People of all age groups enthusiastically rotate the wheel," said a senior priest of the temple.

While the festival continues at the temple, a huge fair is held at Rashmela Ground of the town. People from different parts of the state and even the Northeast and the neighbouring countries visit Cooch Behar during the festival.