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 6th day. Even though Mahalaya starts on Day 1 of Navratri, it
is only on the 6th 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 play, holding up a trishul and twirling in circles round my nemesis. That
was not to be, and now I hope that someday my daughter plays Ma Durga in a
stage play.
That’s the beauty of Durga Puja, It is timeless. Ask any
generation of Bengali, and you would here lines like “We got new clothes for Pujo”
“We ate bhog every day for lunch at the pandal” “We never missed the Maha
Ashtami Anjali” “We got 10 rupees spending money to buy balloons and wooden
swords” .
My parents would say that they heard the sonorous voice of
birendra krishna bhadra on the radio on mahalaya day, while we totally missed
out on the radio version, and our kids might watch a 3 D movie version in years
to come. Also the spending money has changed over the years, and what we spent
it on. As kids, I remember we used to buy a packet of the sugar cigarettes,
white cylinders with red tips. If my kids were to buy toffee cigarettes, I
would be mortified that they would grow up to be chain smokers. But back then
we had packets upon packets of sugary ‘cigarettes’ and never once thought of
them as ‘gateway drugs’. In fact we used to swallow the whole stick in one go,
crunching away at the sugar binge. These days we still get ‘spending money’
from our parents. They know we earn our own living and can afford to buy sugar
lollies, but it is still a fun and everlasting tradition. I save up all my
spending money and buy a pair of earrings from the shopping stalls at the
pandals. Over the years I have collected an envious collection of ‘pujo
earrings , and I very much look forward to buying my pair this year too.
Another tradition which has seen a metamorphosis is the bhog.
Maha Bhog, is served at lunch on Saptami, Ashthami and Navami. As kids we used
to sit in rows and eat from dried leaf plates. the Bhog serving committee would
then serve us a pinch of salt, pickle, khichuri(khichdi), laebda(vegetable
sabji), papad, paesh (kheer),tomato chutney. First, the bhog is served to the
Goddess Durga, and at that time the Idols are shielded from public viewing. I
always wondered at the significance of it.
After the Gods have partaken of their meal, then the bhog is
served to the people. It used to be a matter of pride to be serving bhog. I
remember, one year they let me serve papad and beguni (brinjal fritters) the
guy who handed it to me said that the prettiest girls were asked to serve papad
. That was like my coming of age moment! I blushed and beamed as I served papad,
as if I had been made home coming queen. It is true pretty girls used to serve
the papad but now I think it’s because the plate of papad was light and easy to
carry. These days the dry leaf plates are gone and in its place are disposable
plates and the bhog is no more a sit down affair with batches of people eating
together, it is a buffet style serving , It is easy administration, but part of
the charm of eating together is gone. The Bhog nevertheless is still as tasty
as ever. I still cannot fathom how they cook tones of Khichuri and it tastes
yummy, and the same thing tried at home in the kitchen cooker just doesn’t have
that “pujo taste”.
Another cherished
memory is the shouting of ‘BOLO BOLO DURGA MAI KI … JAI!’ while eating bhog.
People would all be eating quietly, savouring the brilliance of boiled spicy
dal and rice along with the vegetables, when all of a sudden someone would
shout out “bolo bolo Durga Mai ki “ and then the whole place resonates with
every ones shouts of a unified “JAI!”
Most Indian festivals are celebrated in individual families
and amongst close relatives, but in Durga Puja, it is a Sarvajanik Pujo. Where
people from societies get together and everyone is invited. It is a special
feeling being able to be part of a large collection of happy people celebrating
together. Unknown uncles will ask if I have eaten Bhog, aunties will tell me my
sari looks nice, someone will ask to pass the flower basket “fuler jhudi’
during Anjali.
This sense of togetherness is most keenly felt during the Dhunuchi naach. Clay pots filled with
smoking coconut coirs are held in the hands and people sway to the beats of the
drummers. The rhythmic thrum of the drums , the smoke filled atmosphere, and a
dozen people dancing in circles, the atmosphere is almost surreal and trance
like. It’s also the moment I most look forward to, where I get a chance to take
of my sandles, hold my sari pleates up with one hand, hold the dhunuchi on the
other hand, smile at all the revelers around me and give myself up to the beat
of the drums. Movies have tried to recreate that moment in Devdas, and
parineeta, but these are moments to be felt and cannot be captured on celluloid.
The visarjan day, on Vijaya Dashami used to be an extremely
sad day, because we had to go to school from next day. After 4 days of
revellery, all we wanted was the festivities to never end, but all good things
generally do. So we bid adieau to Ma Durga with the chants “asche bochhor aabar
hobe” meaning we shall meet again!
It’s true, most Bengalis, start planning their holiday
leaves, their important works depending on the timing of that years Pujo. “I have to go to US for meeting but I want to return before pujo’, or ’ I have
to plan a trip with friends but only after Pujo’.
Pujo is about coming home, being around loved ones, and
about togetherness, to cherish things which never go out of fashion-
relationships. It is true that the way we celebrate has changed over the years
but the essence remains the same. In most Pujas there is only one God or
Goddess that we pray to, but here Ma Durga along with Ma saraswati, Ma Lakshmi,
Ganesha and Kartika are worshipped together.
I think that is because even though Ma Durga is a symbol of
power and Shakti, but above all she is a symbol of a mother who always puts her
children first and holds family close to her.
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