tarja (তর্জা) is a form of folk poetry contest from bengal with a long tradition. historically it used to be performed in the village gathering around a chandimandap or altar for village god, mela and other social events, in streets, and marketplace religious festivals. the themes of the contest are usually taken from ramayana, mahabharata or puranas the poets sings his/her part in the form of doggerels and the other participant has to guess the meaning of it. during the rising bhadralok population of the bengal renaissance many of these clubs as well as jhumur clubs had been destroyed on the basis of its obscene content.