MOTHER’S HOMECOMING

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[6^th 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[8^th 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[9^th day] is usually a staid affair & one rushes to catch up on things missed.The 10^th 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!