Ya devi sarva bhuteshu shakti rupe nu samasthita. Namastasai namastasai namastasai namo namaha Now imagine these lines repeated again and again in a sonorous voice, gaining in momentum and intensity, until you can feel it to the tip of your toes to the top of your head. These lines along with the story of how Ma Durga defeated Mahisasura, herald the beginning of Durga Puja on Mahalaya day. On the day of Mahalaya, they used to be a DD channel depiction of the epic war between the good and the evil. I remember Hema Malini as Ma Durga, with long flowing hair and big eyes, twirling and twirling around the Asura in her red sari and the Trishul in her hands. Later as we were in school, there used to be a mandatory stage play based on Mahalaya on ‘shashti’ or the 6 th day. Even though Mahalaya starts on Day 1 of Navratri, it is only on the 6 th day that the idols of Ma Durga and her kids are installed in the pandals. As A child I often dreamt of playing Ma Durga in the stage pl...