Once upon a time there lived a demon (Asura) named Mahisha. He found great happiness in hurting people. Once, he decided to pray to lord Brahma, who he thought would give him a boon, which would make him invincible. Mahisha performed severe penances praying and fasting for months as he stood on one foot. The three worlds trembled under the strength of his penances and a pleased lord Brahma came to give him a boon. Mahisha asked for immortality, which the lord said he could not have as every creature that was born had to die. Mahisha decided that he would ask for a boon that would make him as good as immortal. He asked that no man should be able to kill and, if he had to die it should be only at the hands of only a woman. He was sure that no woman could ever fight against him however strong she may be.
Now that Mahisha was invincible, he and the other asuras went about hurting and killing everyone on earth and then went on to the heavens to fight the Gods. Even Indra's thunderbolt could not withstand the asura attack. Mahisha drove out the Gods and took over Indra's throne. Mahishasura started harassing all pious people who continued praying to Vishnu or Shiva. The Gods and people were depressed and decided to ask lord Shiva for help. Lord Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma concentrated hard and used their radiant energies, which were joined by the energies from Indra, and the other Gods. This godly energy took the form of a divine lady with thousand arms. In each arm she carried a weapon belonging to all Gods. This was Durga Devi.
She mounted a fiery lion and roared. It was a roar that shook mountains and created huge waves in the seas. Even Mahisha was worried for a second, but his vanity took over when he saw that the terrible form was that of a woman. Durga created a large army from her breath to fight Mahisha's army and then fought with Mahisha who came in the form of a Buffalo. As he struggled to set himself from the Buffalo form she killed him with her sword delivering the earth and heavens of the Burden called Mahishasura.
When the scents of shiuli fill the air and kaash sway with mirth, its time to celebrate Durga Puja. Pujor Gandho can be felt in Durga Puja when sky is blue in color and happiness fills the heart of devotees of Ma. New clothes, decors, pujobarshiki and pujor gaan adds to the fun of the festival.
For Bengalis, Durga Puja is the biggest and the most important festival of all. In fact Bengalis become a cheerful lot with the onset of Sharat, a month in the Bengali calendar in which Durga Puja is celebrated. This is the month Ashwin according to Hindu calendar.
Dhaak beats and so does our hearts. Younger ones of the family are exalted and why shouldn't they be? They get days off from school to celebrate the Puja and then even the elders do not pester them to study at home. Sisters, kakimas, boudi didis all get busy selecting saris and jewellery for the festive occasion. Even the dadas, kakas and mamas aren't far behind when it comes to dressing up for the grand Puja festival. For, Durga Puja is the time to look good and feel great.
People wait for Durga Puja to gorge a variety of traditional delicacies. Hop into pandals and receive the glance of the pujo sundaris of para pandals. Its also the time to stretch adda sessions way beyond midnight and wake up late with the sounds of dhaak.
So what are you waiting for this year? If you are desperately missing the fun of Pujo in your para or city or in good old Kol all you need to do is to immerse yourself in the spirit of Durga Pujo - the festival of happiness, togetherness and a lot lot more.
Debipokher agomoney Maa er abhirbhav mrinmoyi rupey.
Meaning: With the beginning of Debipokhkho Maa Durga appears on the earth in Her earthly form!
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