Crumbling historic buildings in the South and tall IT buildings eating the agricultural land in the North, may make it look like a City of Contradictions, but the City of Joy never fails to renew its joy by celebrating the victory of Maa Durga over Mahishasur.
Durga puja is the biggest festival of the year for Bengalis and if they make it come home for the festival they ensure a mini Bengal is re-created in their city of residence. Today idols made at Kumartuli get exported from Argentina to Australia, which shows their love for Maa Durga. But nevertheless, home is where love, affection and warmth flow unadulterated.
Preparing for homecoming of Maa Durga
Preparing for “pujo” as the locals call it, is like preparing for a wedding or a homecoming festival. So, are there wedding planners? I asked a friend how one would go about choosing the idols, pandal designs, dhakis and cooks. Would there be picture albums on idols to choose from and would they show pandal designs in 3d? Kumartuli, a place in northern Kolkata is where these idols are made. Minds and hands here visualize and work in a coordinated fashion unaided by any computers. Some even say the artisans observe fast while making the idols. So would you want to intern here this summer?
Shopping for idols is like shopping for clothes, people make multiple trips with the loved ones to decide on the one for the year. A library of idols is available to choose from and you can haggle to make the purchase more interesting. So what more can you ask for?
When it comes to dhakis (drums and cymbals), one goes to Kalighat to select them. The dhakis came from nearby villages and return back after the pujo. There is a usually a line-up of dhakis and selection is based on the sound and rhythm they create.
Bengali are connoisseurs of food and that makes them even more finicky when it comes to choosing the cooks. After rigorous screening tests the cooks are selected and they have a set menu to cook every night, which is offered to Mother Goddess and later distributed to public.
So, who gets the corner office?
They say milk and honey flows in heaven, but in Bengal during puja it is fervor, felicity and devotion that flows in streets. The pandals that mushroom in streets corners comes in various shape, sizes, designs and material (eco friendly, recyclable, scraps). And healthy competition between the neighborhoods gets them to work harder and showcase more creative ideas and artistic designs. And it is Durga and her family (Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesh and Kartik) who get the corner office and all the attention.
My friend says it is the inherent slow lifestyle of Bengalis that adds to their creativity and perfection. So what the world calls lazy is just time to perfection and creativity. Irrespective of the concept, designs, material used for the pandal and size of the Thakurs, it is their love for Mother Goddess that brings people back to their roots, out of their homes and get them to hop pandals as friends and families and relive their childhood memories while enjoying the bhog.
Blessing and blessing!
Shops are closed, and streets bear a deserted look during the day but by sundown the scene changes dramatically. Every inch on the street is punctuated with decorative lights and not headlights. Streets are brimming with people and traffic though slow is regulated, and not neurotic. The family decked up in new clothes and and jewellery is out on the streets merrily hopping pandals to receive Maa Durga’s blessings, enjoying the bhog and carry home memories.
It started with Home pujas that eventually turned into Community pujas today. Home pujas referred to as “Paribaric pujas” were put together by the rich zamindars in those days and is still alive in some parts of the city. Today the community pujas in each locality are popular and are often funded by corporate. And corporates who sponsor the pandals have their marketing kiosk near the pandals with an idea to take home contacts and business which adds to the commercialism hounded world. But nevertheless, there is no dearth of food, love and affection in the Land of Mother Goddess.
The day after Navami!
On Sapthami (spelt as Soptami), day 7 mother goddess gets her weapons and without any Bofors kind of scandal. On day 8, ashtami (oshtomi) she kills Mahishasur, the demon and her homecoming is celebrated with joy on day 9, Navami (Nabomi). And after nine days of bonding with friends and family over prayers and food, the Mukherjees’, Chatterjees’ and Banerjees’ have little energy left!
A farewell can be teary, but it is made colorful and fun filled by the women folks applying sindoor on each other forehead and cheeks! As Goddess gets to ready to leave for her abode the women folk in the neighborhood gather for the “Sindoor Khela” ritual to give Maa Durga a fitting farewell. Having your guest filled to the lips and giving her a fitting send off by applying sindoor on her forehead makes the farewell warm, loving, light and friendly. Truly, nobody can beat the Bengali hospitality and farewell.
The spiritual Mardigras ends!
It is not just the locals who go to Babu Ghat to take the ferry service to Howrah and other places, but Maa Durga also prefers the same route to travel back her abode. Though lorries arrive by mid morning at pandals on the farewell day, the visarjan usually starts at around sunset. Lorries from various pandals parade the Thakurs around the city and gravitate towards the ghat while the locals sing and dance to dhakis tunes all the way to the ghat. The atmosphere feels like a spiritual Mardigras.
The idols are brought down the steps of Babu Ghat to the tunes of the beating dhakis and blowing conches. After a few rituals (rotating the statue thrice, etc.) the male members in the family get down the river along with the idols while the women stay on the shore and shed a few tears of love before Maa Durga vanishes into the Ganges.
Will be back soon!
The adults and kids know Maa Durga will be back soon and the next year celebrations will be better, bigger and brighter with friends, family and travelers like me adding to the zing. And even Maa Durga knows she is going to be back soon. I boarded the flight with a heavy baggage of memories and the only thought that kept my eyes from turning cloudy was “one doesn’t need an invite to come home and visit your mother”. So are you making your travel plans for next year Durga Puja?
Here are the pictures from the trip: http://picasaweb.google.com/108289564546757100555/KolDurgaPuja2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCOuApLbKiPGzqwE
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