Durga Pujo

Durga Pujo, or Worship of the Divine Mother, is the single largest festival for the people of Bengal. In most parts of India, it is actually celebrated over 9 nights, with the first 3 nights devoted to the Goddess Durga (representing courage and valour), the following 3 nights to the Goddess Lakshmi (representing wealth and prosperity) and the final 3 nights to the Goddess Saraswati (representing knowledge, wisdom and creativity). The 9 nights are also said to be representative of the 9 months a child stays in the womb of the mother, and hence it is also the blossoming of consciousness to its fullest.

In Bengal, during this time, only the Goddess Durga is worshipped with fervor. The goddesses Laksmi and Saraswati are worshipped on other days of the year. The story goes that once a demon, through the pratice of various penances and austerities, attained a boon from the Gods that he could be killed by no man. The demon, was half man and half bull, hence called Mahisasura (In sanskrit, Mahisa=bull, Asura=demon). He became indestructible and terrorized the three worlds with his atrocities. No one, it seems, not even the Gods could stop him. (Stories of this sort are quite common in Indian mythology, where Gods become so impressed with penances that they grant any boon even to the demons! But, there is usually a loop-hole in these granting of boons, as we shall see in the story of this demon.)

The Gods held an emergency meeting, there was an urgent need to come up with a strategy that could put an end to Mahisasura. However care needed to be taken that the boon was not compromised in any way. They were Gods, after all! So they decided to send a Goddess (the boon had stopped Mahisasura from being killed by any man), and empower her with all their energies. Thus was born Durga, the ten armed Goddess, a weapon from each of the Gods in her ten arms. Mother Durga rode on a lion, and slayed the demon. Thus came the end of Mahisasura. Durga Pujo, therefore, is the celebration of victory of good over evil.

During the five days of the Durga Pujo, clay idols of the Mother Durga and her four children (adorned with silk garment and jewellery) are housed in huge bamboo structures called pandals. The pandals, some of which are as gigantic as innovative in design, form a large part of the attraction of the festivals. My earliest memories of Durga Pujo in Calcutta, was of waking up to the sounds of dhaak, a huge drum, slung across the shoulders. The days start early with prayers and chanting, usually accompanied by a lot of loud noise, produced by dhaak, conch shells and bells, among other such instruments. The evenings are usually reserved for cultural programs and pandal-hopping. It is an amazingly magical time, and writing about it after so many years fills me with nostalgia.

A pandal in Calcutta

This was Urvi's first real Durga Pujo and she was filled with wonder and amazement! On Saptami, we went to the Bengali Association Pujo. Urvi ran into some of her friends and also her favourite teacher, Suchandra Mam.

In her new 'Indian robe'

With Suchandra Mam

On Astami, Urvi and I went to the Ram Krishna Mission pujo. This was a very satvic experience, with traditional aarti and devotional songs of the Divine Mother, followed by yummy bhog. When we recounted this to Kanchan, emphasizing on the food part, he decided to join us for Nabami. You can lure him with good food anywhere.

I had something special planned for Nabami. This year, Nabami co-incided with the 56th birthday of Amma (one of the greatest spiritual saints of India), and her organisation decided to celebrate it together with Saraswati Homam at the Sri Sivan temple. Saraswati, being the Goddess of knowledge and creativity, is worshipped especially by children, who place books at her alter and pray for her blessings. Armed with maths, english and violin books, Urvi and I made it to the temple just in time for the homam.

The Saraswati homam

All homams constitute of a large fire, into which several things are thrown while chanting hymns. It tends to be hot and stuffy, but the organisers had come up with an ingenious plan. All present were being seated in a large airy hall fitted with a large-screen TV. The actual homam was taking place in another part of the temple, but being shown live on TV. A perfect mix of technology and tradition! Though after a few minutes of watching the TV, Urvi got restless and wanted to see 'the real thing'. So we went outside to where the homam was taking place. Urvi had numerous questions, some of which I could answer satisfactorily, but most of which I couldn't. Hindu religious customs can be quite complicated, with everything having numerous significances. Will need to brush up before the next festival...

The homam was preceeded and followed by the most delicious South Indian food I have had since our arrival in Singapore. One word needs to be said about Amma's volunteers. I was completely amazed at their level of dedication and attentiveness to the needs of those present. When I recounted the many instances of this to Kanchan, he remarked that even corporates do not function so effectively. Just goes to show that intrinsic motivation is what drives one to excel even in the simplest of jobs. In the evening we went to RK Mission again, accompanied this time, by Kanchan.

Yesterday was Dashami, the last day of the Durga Pujo. In Bengal, the clay idols are immersed in water, to signify 'dissolving back to earth', and sweets are distributed among friends and relatives.

Wishing everyone a peaceful, joyous and prosperous year ahead! Subho Bijoya to all!