Durga Puja — Mixture of Tradition & Emotion
Fragnance of shiuli, heart beating to the rythm of dhak, twinkling streets, tireless nights, delicious foods
Durgotsav is a Hindu festival, honoring the victory of Goddess Durga over the demon ‘Mahishasura’. The celebration symbolizes the triumph of good over evil and wickedness. Over the years ‘Durgotsav’ remains the richest, grand and glamorous festival celebrated throughout the India in the month of September or October. It is a multi-day celebration stretching from 6 to 10 days in various places of India. In most of northern India it is known as ‘Navaratri’ — a collaboration of 9 meaningful days depicting the facts and stories of the divine battle fought by Goddess Durga to save the world from destruction.
Mythological History behind Durgotsav:
As per mythology, Mahishasura, the son of King Ramba, after being blessed by Brahma that ‘He cannot be killed by any man, god or animal’, he went on to rule the three worlds with his mischief and wickedness. At such a difficult time, Goddess Durga appeared to suppress the demon equipped with 10 divine weapons received as aids and blessings from different Gods. Lord Shiva gave her his Trishul, Lord Varuna gave his Conch, Lord Vishnu his Chakra, Lord Brahma his Lotus, Lord Yama his Sword/Kharga, Lord Vayu and Surya gave her Bow & Arrow, Lord Kubera his Mace, Lord Indra his Thunderbolt, Lord Vishwakarma his Axe and Lord Himalaya gave her his Lion .
It was said that Goddess Durga fought for 10 long days and finally slayed Mahishasura and established victory of light over darkness.
The luminous wide blue yonder, the fragrance of ‘Shiuli’ and the beauty of kansful in the month of Autumn give us a ‘Pujo-Pujo’ vibe and we are all set for a grand celebration full of fun, food, prayer and merriment. Durgotsav is not only a pious festival, but also a jubilation of Spirit.
“Durga Puja is not only a festival, it’s an emotion!!”
Durga Puja is considered to be a highly auspicious and socio-cultural event celebrated not only in the eastern states (West Bengal, Assam, Odisha) but also in other parts of the country (Maharashtra, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Tripura, etc.) with great devotion and dedication. But nothing can be compared to the ‘Durga Puja celebration in Kolkata’. It is a ‘Carnivals for the Bengalis’ all over India.
Outside India also, ‘Durgotsav’ is celebrated with immense reverence following the rituals and practices. Idols are shipped from India to different countries like United States of America, Nepal, London, etc. to be worshipped over the years and overall to sustain the essence of Indian culture in the lives and memories of ‘Probashi Bengalis’.
Diversity in practices / worship:
Durgostav is a social as well as domestic festival that takes place in variety of ways like:
- Theme based pandals
- Domestic Puja (named as Bonedi Puja)
- Sarvajanin Puja (Barwari Puja of neighbourhood or communities)
It’s been seen so far that the concept of ‘Durga Puja’ have become more flexible, broad and creative now-a-days. Ranging from simplified domestic Puja to abroad-based community celebrations, Durgotsav continues to light up its glory worldwide.
Puja for ‘All’:
It is a festival of joy which surpasses all the barriers, merging the communities, whether rich or poor to cherish the royalty and togetherness of this festival in one way or the other. Though the definition of ‘Durgtsov’ and the way to celebrate it varies among people, yet all celebrate the grand festival as per their flexibility, choice, needs and affordability. From household to complexes, from slums to higher society, everyone is ready to welcome Maa Durga in their own way.
A time for refreshment, merriment and enjoyment:
Durgotsav is all about merriment, social gathering, shopping traditional clothes, gifts, ornaments, distributing sweets and spreading love as well as best wishes among all. It is a time for family members to get united to relish the grand beauty of this festival, cultural functions, drama, dance, lighting, fair, theme based pandal decorations, late night gossips, hangout with friends.
Twinkling streets during the festival:
Streets are adorned with colourful lights and beautiful decorations with variety of street stalls set up to serve delicious foods. Streets are packed with thousands of people coming from different corners to witness the beauty of pandals, worship the idol, eat and enjoy.
Pandal Hopping:
Pandals are the temporary structure made up with colourful clothes, bamboo, canvas and other art works to idolize Goddess Durga and her children Saraswati, Ganesh, Kartick and Laxmi for this period of celebration.
It is said that around 50,000 pandals are structured in the streets of Kolkata and all are commendable with their imaginary or real implementation of themes. Colourful lights and glittering streets turns the city into a fairy town. Large number of people come out to visit different pandals with unique theme and unusual decoration. This custom is called Pandal Hopping. Though the entire process seems to be strenuous due to huge que, gathering and traffic, ‘Pandal Hopping’ is a must and foremost tradition of Durga Puja celebration.
Food:
Besides twinkling streets and elaborate decoration of pandals, another reason why ‘Durga Puja’ is famous is its mouth-watering foods. From Pujor ‘Bhog’ to variety of sweets, from roll, chowmein, momo, puchka to Deep Fried ‘luchis’, from lip-smacking fries, Pizza to pudding — There is an abundance of veg and non-veg platters.
During this grand festival, the delicacy and diversity of street foods becomes visible in all its glory making the festival a paradise for the food lovers, as George Bernard Shaw has said:
“There is no love sincere than the love of food”.
Significance of all festive days:
Mahalaya marks the beginning of ‘Devi Paksha’. It is the day when Goddess Durga descends on Earth. Bengali household start the day with Virendra Krishna Bhadra’s immortal voice reciting the hymns of ‘Mahishasura Mardini’. On the occasion of Mahalaya(usually a week before Puja starts) the eyes of Maa Durga are drawn on the statues and this holy custom is called ‘Chokkhu Daan’. On this auspicious day, people performed ‘Tarpan’ a ritual to pay homage to their ancestors.
The rituals of Durga Puja last for 10 days and the last five days are the amalgamation of immense spirituality and endless merriment all together. These ‘Five Festive Days’ Are:
Maha Shasthi : On this day, Maa Durga’s face is disclosed following some rituals such as Amontron, Bodhon and Adhibash.
Maha Saptami: On this day the Puja begins and a ritual called ‘Pran Prastisthan’ takes place in which a banana tree, immersed into holy water, dressed in a sari, is used to invoke the presence of the Goddess.
Maha Asthami: On Maha Ashtami, Goddess Durga is worshipped in a form a little girl whose age is 9 years or less. This ritual is called ‘Kumari Puja’. On this day people offer prayers through ‘Anjali’, (Hymns and Mantra in Sanskrit language). In the evening ‘Sandhi Puja’ is performed which is the “sandhikhan” of Maha Ashtami and Maha Nabami. After the Sandhya Arati, traditional Dhunuchi Dance is performed with the rhythmic beating of ‘Dhak’.
Maha Nabami: Maha Nabami marks the ending of Durga Puja performing ‘Maha Arati’ . Many fun-based competitions, games and activities are arranged by the Puja Committees and ‘bhog’ is served to all.
Bijaya Dashami: On the last day, the ritual called ‘Devi Baran’ takes place where married women bid farewell to the Goddess by smearing ‘Sindur’ on Goddess’s forehead. ‘Sindur khela’ symbolizes the power of womanhood in protecting the loved ones from all evil.
After the holy ritual of Devi Baran, a grand procession filled with rustic rhythm of Dhak, Smoke of Dhunas, Dance, lighting and music takes place and with teary eyes, devotees bid adieu to the divine mother by submerging her idol into sacred water. This custom is known as ‘Bisarjan’ which takes place. Hundreds of devotees join hands saying “asche bachor abar hobe” depicting the return of Maa Durga after one long year to fill up the lives with happiness, prosperity and festivity.
After ‘Bisarjan’, “Subha Bijoya” hugs and greetings are exchanged by distributing sweets and snacks among the loved ones.
Durgotsav, as a whole, is a festival of positivity, cheerfulness and togetherness which allows people from different caste and creed to come closer to pay their reverence in one way or other making it a ‘Gala Event’ celebrated all over India.
