Co-ordination across continents was
difficult with Mum being in the US visiting Dipon & Durga Puja being just 2
months away so leaving things to fate we set out to book tickets for
Calcutta.The days passed in anxious anticipation what with the US attacks so we
were literally counting the days till she arrived as scheduled.At about the
same time the Mother Goddess Durga was being welcomed into the homes &
hearts of Bengalis all around the world.The festival is probably the biggest,most
sustained & colourful of its kind anywhere & being held every year it
is the one occasion that Bengalis plan their whole year’s itinerary around.
Durga Puja is a community puja like Ganpati
festival in Mumbai.Preparations begin months in advance.In Calcutta the idols
are brought from the villages where craftsmen have been lovingly sculpting
& moulding the clay images.They are
then placed inside the Puja pandals which themselves are a big
attraction in the big Pujas.Pandals are erected in various shapes , sizes
colours & forms so much so that often they are difficult to distinguish
from real buildings.There are lighting shows & tableaux to depict some
current social or political issue.Local & distant artisans decorate the pandals with just about anything-stone chips
,cereals , glass bangles, paper ,cloth pieces,etc.This year’s star attraction
was a pandal made entirely out of clay pots of diiferent sizes-some had even
carvings made in them.People queued for nearly 3 miles to see this spectacle!
For Calcuttans life revolves around
going pandal-viewing,meeting near & dear ones &eating off the
roads from stalls selling various sweetmeats &”namkeen”.There’s virtually
no shopping at this time as people have already stocked new clothes , gifts
etc. before the Pujas begin & the
shops have made a killing with their grand sales.So they happily take a
sabbatical for the 10 days of Puja while people like us are left in the lurch
.Public services like banks are also shut for 4-5 days!Life is literally in
suspended animation & one does nothing but have all the fun to last the
year.For an outsider [& also for the less intense Bengali babus]all this
can be a little annoying and a close relative has called it the Durga circus!
In the suburbs & villages,things are
done on a smaller scale & in a much more sober way that really captures the
poignancy of the Puja.This is the time when Mother Durga returns to her own
parents’ home on her annual
visit,accompanied by her 4 children-Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kartikeya &
Ganesha.The first day ,or rather the day
of her arrival, is heralded by the chanting of ‘’Mahishasurmardini’’-the tale
of how the demons were vere vanquished by Durga when they wreaked havoc on
Earth.
On shashthi[6th day]the idol is
placed inside the pandal & the first formal puja is
performed.Expectedly,pandal- hopping also starts on this day.After 2 days i.e.
Ashtami[8th day]is the main & biggest day of the puja.After the
morning ceremony,one offers “Pushpanjali”[flowers]while chanting the holy
words.This is deeply moving & spiritually purifying.In the Pujas held at
the Ramkrishna Missions there is the custom of performing “Kumari Puja” in
which a very young girl[age 4 or 5]is dressed up in the appearance of the
Goddess & worshipped-this is to symbolize the purity of purpose & the
supreme strength of the deity.Another very interesting annual attraction is the
“Nabadurga”[9 Durgas] at Garia-here one can view the nine incarnations of the
“Asura”:how he changes his form successively from that of a man to a
buffalo,then a lion,next an elephant,etc and finally as he is emerging into a
man again,Durga kills him.
At
almost all the pandals,beautiful devotional
songs are sung throughout the day.Nowadays,due to changing tastes &
in order to attract larger crowds,Hindi & Bengali film songs are also
blared over loudspeakers which is indeed a real nuisance.At some places there
are even sports, painting
contests,musical chairs & various other events that a euphoric public
demands.Being a community affair,everyone-young & old-is actively involved
in the proceedings.Nabami[9th day] is usually a staid affair &
one rushes to catch up on things missed.The 10th day[Dashami]the
Goddess has to return to her heavenly abode & there is a palpable sadness in the air.By midday
the womenfolk bid goodbye to the favourite daughter who has been but a guest
for ten fun-filled days.They smear sindoor[vermillion powder]on the forehead of
the Goddess to wish her a long & happy life.Often the sorrow in the women’s
hearts is so deep that many break down & cry.Mum has been avoiding this
particular event for this reason.
Towards evening,preparations begin to send
off the Mother on her journey.In the olden days,when most of Bengal was full of
water-bodies,immersion was carried out into the nearest one.The villagers set
out in two boats side by side supporting the enormous idol transversely in
between.As they reached the deeper waters,the two boats would gently move apart
& lower the idol slowly into the depths-a rare & beautiful sight
nowadays.Modern immersion is a noisy event in which the idol is carried to the
waterfront in open trucks through the streets.The truck is filled with people
& musical instruments or worse still,hi-fi music systems which create such
a din that the whole spirit of the Puja is lost,not to speak of the impossible
traffic snarls.The Mother would surely await her return to Heaven-one is bound
to think!
It seems the people have not had their fill
of revelry,because only 5 days away Lakshmi Puja is performed.This is carried
out in everyone’s home.Materials for the Puja include exquisite foot-high
idols,rounded clay plaques with the image of the deity painted on it &
small boats fashioned out of the inner cylindrical layer of the banana
plant.Bhog[food for the gods]consists of various fruit,sweetmeats & the
mouth-watering “khichudi”[made with moong daal & fragrant rice].For variety
one also makes ‘loochies’[puris] out of white maida & an assortment of
“bhajas,labra,tarkari”etc.the description of which can be found in an authentic
Bengali cookbook or more likely in the repertory of a traditional
housewife.Around the “puja-sthal”a drawing is made with rice paste in the form
of flowers or other designs-this is called “alpona”.
Khichudi bhog is universally accepted as the main item in any
Bengali Puja & the meal
is ended with “chaatni,papor & mishti”-
in that order.In many places outside Calcutta,this typical menu is bypassed or
served in token quantities & is replaced by rice, daal,vegetables &
even nonvegetarian dishes.People shut their kitchens for 4-5 days at a
stretch[from Saptami to Dashami]&have their meals at the Puja-pandal!This
practice is probably prevalent outside Bengal because it gives the community an
occasion to get together & bond more closely.
Wait,our celebrations are not over yet-Kali
Puja[Diwali]follows after a fortnight on the new-moon night.Large idols of the
Goddess Kali[the destroyer of darkness & evil]are worshipped in the dead of
night along with the bursting of fire-crackers.Bhog is served in the early
morning hours.
This more or less ends the succession of
Pujas for the year[English calender].The next Puja is Saraswati Puja held in
the month of January to appease the goddess of learning & wisdom.This,like
Lakshmi Puja, is also done at home.A pure white clay idol of the deity is
brought home & after that it becomes the welcome duty of the youngsters of
the house to decorate the Puja-sthal with lovely orange & yellow marigold
flowers,which are abundant at this time of the year.Books& writing
materials & also musical instruments are placed in front of the Goddess so that she will bless the children
with proficiency in these disciplines.
We’re looking forward already to another
beautiful Puja season next year-hoping that we shall find more of our near
& dear ones at Calcutta to make the happiness complete!
