Festivities/Durga Puja/Tradition
DebiPokkho — The Descend
Is the auspicious time
या देवी सर्वभूतेषु शक्ति-रूपेण संस्थिता।
नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः॥
— Sanskrit
O Goddess! Established as a symbol of power,
We bow to you every time
— English
Folklore:
The night crochet a dawn with utmost care, for she knows this is no ordinary.
Before the sun readies to take centre stage with sparkling stars in astonishment, one woman of the soil begins her journey.
Tucked in her arms her children Laxmi (God of wealth), Saraswati (God of knowledge and music), Ganesha ( God of auspicious beginnings) and Kartik (God of war) she begins her descend from the Himalayas (Mt. Kailash, abode to Lord Shiva, her husband).
Parvati, another name of goddess Durga comes home.
Mythology:
Ancient Hindu scripture suggests Goddess Durga was created to annihilate a demon Mahisasura, by Brahma (God of Creation), Vishnu (God of Maintenance), and Shiva ( God of Destruction), when the latter made it difficult for the Gods to live in peace, following a boon of immortality.
Thus the Gods conspired to create Durga as woman power, who could cut through the boon and kill the demon.
In Epic Ramayana, Lord Ram is said to worship Durga, before he went to fight demon Ravana, to save his wife Sita from the clutches of the former. It is suggested that the Ram-Ravana war lasted for ten days, when on the tenth day Ravana was defeated and Sita was rescued.
Thus debipokkho is day zero, when both sides get ready to begin the epic war ending on dussehra the tenth day.
The reason why Durga is prayed with all fanfare the day she starts her journey from the Himalayas has traditionally come to be known as Mahalaya for Bengalis, for an entirely different reason, elaborated later.
The wisdom of ancient sages where they created a woman as symbol of power to demolish a demon to be worshipped by all including men, cannot be overlooked here.
The Tradition of Mahalaya:
I heard stories from my mother and grandmother how on this day they would get up before sunrise, go outside and check the shiuli (night flowering jasmine) plant to see if it had flowered.
And every time the tree bed will be carpeted with a thick layer of flowers it signalled the arrival of puja.
Being an urbanite I hardly had the opportunity to experience this tradition, but remember how in school, before the sun rise we would be coaxed in our ribs to wake up as the whole of the city will tune in to a timeless voice reciting Durga Strotra (hymns f Durga) from the radio sharp at 4 am.
That day, the radio became the clock.
The voice belonged to Birendra Krishna Bhadra, instrumental in conceptualising and presenting Durga Durgotinashini,( Durga the annihilator of all misery) come to be known as Mahalaya, an 1& 1/2 hours recitation of hymns of Durga from the ancient scriptures, with colossal Pankaj Mullick, a direct disciple of Rabindranath Tagore, for music arrangement.
Every year till the duo was alive, the programme was aired live from AIR (All India Radio) and till date holds the record of the longest running programme in the history of Indian Radio.
Legend has it, Bhadra would fast from the day before, the last day of ‘Pitru Paksh’( a phase where Hindus offer prayers to their ancestors, ending in debipokkho) get up before sunrise take his bath and arrive at Akashbani Bhavan (building housing AIR) dot on time to begin his rendition.
Don’t be in the impression that I was/am highly religious and understand what these sanskrit shlokas mean to a T.
Little us, cuddled to wake, half dozing inside our dohar would wake up to a deep, powerful, earnest voice in prayer of the spirit, like cold water splashed on your face on a wintery day.
Such is the power of that one hour that every Bengali anywhere in the world, will find time to tune in at 4 am on this day, if not to listen but to go down a severe nostalgia trip that still brings goosebumps to many, though this programme is uploaded on You Tube and can be viewed any convinient time.
For Bengalis , debipokkho, the first day of Durga’s descend, which was yesterday has thus become synonymous with Mahalaya, rendition of Durga Strotra, a baritone voice thats spreads across the sky in prayer of the powerful, a plate full of shiuli that smell of pujo— the official announcement that its time for joy!
Here’s wishing happy festivities to those who celebrate and those who don’t with notes from a poet:
The sound of conch shell fills the air
The sticks beat the drums and see
Sunlight alights in your city and
Touches your window panes
Open your doors, let the
fragrance of festivity fill your
room,
Happy faces, familiar smiles
No time to get lost, for
She is coming…..
Note: I wanted to share the paintings as they are one of the last I did sitting in my old space. I carry the table with me no doubt, but the walls remain, with stories of so many beginnings wrapped in its brick’s vision.
