Sharadiya Durga Puja: The journey

The mythology behind Ma Durga In mythical times, the demon Mahishasura earned the favour of Lord Shiva after meditating for a long time. Pleased with the demon’s devotion, Shiva blessed him with a boon that made him invincible, whereupon Mahishasura started wreaking havoc over heaven and earth. Not only did the demon kill people mercilessly but he also chased the gods out of heaven. When the homeless gods told Shiva about the demon and his wrongdoings, Shiva, the god of all gods, was angered. Shiva’s divine wrath emerged from his third eye as blazing beams of light which converged to form a woman. All the gods also contributed their share of energy to this goddess and Durga, the eternal mother, was born. Riding a lion, she attacked Mahishasura and beheaded him after a fierce battle. The Bengali belief Uma, the daughter of Daksha, the king of the Himalayas and the plains, started worshipping Shiva as her future husband. Pleased with Uma’s worship, Shiva came to marry her. But Daksha was not impressed with the groom who was clad in tiger skin and had ash and dirt all over his body. Nevertheless, Uma married Shiva but was prevented by her father from moving to Shiva’s abode in Kailash. Later, Daksha arranged for a yagna – a holy fire – where everyone except Shiva was invited. Ashamed by her father’s behaviour and insulted by the attitude meted out to her husband, Uma went on a fast and finally died. When Shiva came to know, he went to Daksha’s house, lifted Uma’s body on his shoulders and began dancing in a frenzied manner. With the supreme power dancing like this, the world was on the verge of destruction. At this point, Narayana played the role of the saviour, using his chakra to cut Uma’s body into several pieces. These pieces began falling off from Shiva’s shoulder onto different parts of the world. Shiva was finally pacified when the last piece fell off. Narayana then revived Uma to a new life. Now extremely sorry for his misdeeds, Daksha prayed for mercy and was forgiven. The places where the pieces of Uma’s body fell came to be known as shakti piths – shakti meaning ‘power’ and pith meaning ‘location’. Kalighat in Kolkata and Kamakshya near Guwahati are among these shakti piths. Ever since peace was restored, Uma, accompanied by her four children – Ganesh, Kartick, Saraswati and Laxmi – and two sakhis – Jaya and Bijaya – comes to visit her parent’s home each year during the season of Sharat or autumn when Durga Puja is celebrated. What the epics say: Akal Bodhan In the Ramayana, Rama went to Lanka to rescue his wife, Sita, from Ravana, the king of the demons. Before starting for battle with Ravana, Rama sought the blessings of Devi Durga. He learnt that the goddess would be pleased only if she was worshipped with one hundred neel kamal or blue lotuses. So Rama set out to explore the whole world till he found the hundred lotuses. But he could gather only ninety nine of them. Finally, he decided to offer one of his eyes, as it resembled a blue lotus. Pleased with Rama’s devotion, Durga appeared before him and blessed him. The battle started on Saptami (the seventh day) and Ravana was killed on the sandhikshan, that is, the crossover period between Ashtami (the eighth day) and Navami (the ninth day). Ravana was cremated on Dashami (the tenth day). Since the period of worship was different from the conventional period (during spring - Basanta), this puja is also known as Akal Bodhan or worship (Bodhan) during an unconventional time (A-Kaal). The Sharadiya Durga Puja evolves According to the Hindu scriptures, the goddess Durga is worshipped in the month of Chaitra – March-April. But this ceremony is not observed by many. Most people celebrate the Sharadiya (autumnal) Durga Puja instead. This takes place during September or October. The first Sharadiya puja took place in Kolkata’s Shobhabazar Rajbari and was organised by Raja Nabakrishna Deb. This happened right after Lord Clive’s victory in the Battle of Plassey. Clive wanted to give thanks to God in a church, but could not because Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah had destroyed the only church in Kolkata at the time. The Raja organised this puja so that Clive could offer prayers to God. Soon after, other wealthy Bengalis began inviting British officers of the East India Company as guests of honour during the pujas. These were organised as gala affairs with much feasting and entertainment for the benefit of the British guests. These became a regular feature especially since the British were controlling a large part of India following the battles of Plassey and Buxar. Many of these old pujas exist even today. But whereas, the earliest autumnal celebrations of the goddess Durga took place in the homes of noblemen, zamindars, and wealthy merchants, the festivities soon moved to the sarbajanin realm. ‘Sarbajanin’ literally means ‘involving all’ and refers to community pujas. The first sarbajanin puja took place at Guptipara. Today, most neighbourhoods across the city have their own sarbajanin puja. Such pujas are organised by a local committee representing the people of a neighbourhood. Funds or chandaa are mostly collected by going door-to-door, though some committees organise concerts and lotteries to raise money. After the expenses for pandal construction, idol, ceremonies and other sundries have been met, the amount remaining is usually donated to a charitable organisation. The funding model, however, has been changing over the last few years. Durga Puja being the melting pot of numerous people from all cross sections, has been attracting corporate sponsors for some time now. In 2008, this trend has taken an expected turn. One puja in South Kolkata is going the pure event management way: a Mumbai-based company is funding the puja after purchasing the necessary rights from the puja committee, and will have the whole revenue pie that the event generates from sponsorships and otherwise. The city wears a festive look as elaborate pandals come up and Kolkatans don brand new clothes for the festive season. A pandal is typically a temporary structure of bamboo and cloth which houses the goddess Durga during the puja days. The increasing commercialisation of Durga Puja has ensured that many organising committees go out of their way to build a pandal that will be an attention-grabber. Thus, themes of history and current affairs abound. Within the pandals, Durga and her companions stand on a platform awaiting worship and admiration from visitors. From the sixth to the ninth days of the puja, devotees gather to offer pushpanjali or flower worship in the mornings. Dhakis, traditional ritual drummers, provide the rhythm and perform while the puja ceremony is in progress. On the tenth day, Dashami, Durga returns to her husband Shiva in the Himalayas. On this day, she is symbolically immersed in the river – a ritual called Bisarjan or Bhaashan. Durga Puja also involves the victory of Ma Durga over the demon Mahishasura, of good over evil. And after the immersion of the goddess, it is time for families to get together and celebrate Bijoya Dashami – Bijoy meaning ‘victory’.