A little bit of everything

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Durga Pujo 2013 (9th Oct to 14th Oct 2013)

The beautiful Maa Durga - Hiranandani Powai 2012

Yesterday was Bijoya Dashmi. Every year the Goddess Durga comes with her four children viz. Maa Lokhi, Maa Saraswati, Lord Ganesha and Lord Kartikeya; blesses us and returns back to her consort Shiva.

Being a Bengali, since childhood I with my family have been visiting various Durga Pujo pandals. We children eagerly awaited this festival. It is definitely the biggest festival for Bengalis. Not only children, but for grownups too, this was a time to get together, too catch up on life. At the pandals, the mummy’s and aunties discussed their newly bought or gifted sarees, they took pleasure in showing off the intricate designs on their jewelry. They discussed their children and laughed at the silliest jokes. It was a time to make merry and forget the hullabaloo of everyday life. The gents discussed politics most likely over a smoke, conveyed their displeasure over the poor arrangements of the pandal while they were dressed in the latest kurta panjabis. The young lot were dressed in their best attire and flirting accompanied by a search for a companion was always in the air. No matter how poor or how rich, people save money for this festival and buy a different dress for each day of the pujo with everyone asking the same question before the pujo, “Pujor bajaar hoyeche?” (Is your shopping for the pujo done?).

Earlier, my father says, there was only one Durga Pujo in the entire Thane, Mulund, Kalwa and nearby areas. Everyone would gather in that one pandal. Everyone knew each other and the pandal looked more like a happy family with all smiling faces. Friends not in touch anymore caught up with each other at this time of the year. Everything worth mentioning was discussed with each other. Standing in the long queue in the hot sun waiting for your turn to get the bhog khichdi Prasad didn’t feel tiring. The fight to catch a chair for you and your family or friends with the hot khichdi served in the plate of entwined dry Sal leaves was a challenge. With the sweat trickling down your face, you savored the Prasad while puffing air into the morsel in your hand to cool it. So many times I have seen it happening that a lady with a filled plate in her hands, passing by the huge static fans and the plate overturned on herself and the nearby seated people drawing their ire and a mouthful of unpleasant words. In the evenings, I remember there was this one balloon wallah uncle who used to stand there every single year with colorful balloons, masks, small toys, flutes etc. It didn't take much for us children to be happy. We made teams and played with the balloons or just ran around to our hearts content. Earlier, before pujo, your mamas and mamis, mashis and pishis, kakas and kakis used to gift clothes and children used to eagerly await them. Now that fun has suddenly disappeared. You go to a super mall and pick up 10 clothes for you and your family but don’t think about gifting anybody. It has suddenly started becoming too costly to gift your relatives as relationships have drifted apart and selfishness has seeped into our everyday mundane lives and the sense of belonging being lost.

Now, a lot has changed! Displeasure and fights within the committees and ego clashes have buried the erstwhile oneness and what has emerged now are numerous pujo pandals of smaller groups that have segregated from the original one. Some pandals are just 100 metres away from each other. Everyone wanted the mother to himself/herself. Today, in Thane itself there are around 8-9 Durga Pujo’s, 2 in Airoli, so on and so forth. This has resulted in the crowd getting distributed; some going to this pandal, some to another and people hardly bumping into each other like before. Families nowadays flock to the pandal which offers the best bhog. Today kids have the smartest smart phones and gadgets and the latest downloaded games and the parents love to complain about it eventually bragging about their kid’s smartness. Balloons and running around are down market. During the night of Maha Navami, earlier, we used to hire buses and entire families from the neighborhood used to roam the whole night visiting the various pandals from all over Mumbai, right from Vashi to Chembur to Dadar Shivaji Park to Andheri Lokhandwalla, to Kalol, Bandra, Khar, Juhu etc. Now everyone goes in their individual vehicles separately according to their convenience. Machines and money have brought the world closer only to drive them in different directions. The good part is that we get to see numerous differently and beautifully decorated pandals and more importantly numerous beautifully carved Durga idols and her sons and daughters. Most people take the entire week off from their offices for the Durga Pujo festival.

The Durga Pujo starts with Mahalaya, the day when Maa Durga is said to have descended to earth to destroy all evil. It marks the end of Pitri Paksha and the beginning of Devi Paksha with families getting up in the wee hours of dawn to listen to chants of the Goddess on radio. The next day of Mahalaya is Sashti when the idol is unveiled, then Maha Saptami, Maha Ashtami, Maha Nabami and finally Bijoya Dashmi (the win of good over evil). Every Durga idol has a picture of Lord Shiva behind her. A special mention is needed for the organizers of such a grand festival; right from the collections, to the pandal decorations, to getting the best idol makers, to the arrangement of all and sundry requirements for every single day of the pujo, to the bhog (Prasad) distribution. The devotees, I am sure don’t even have a hint of the things required for the pujo. Specialist poojaris are called from Kolkata. Every pandal has a different theme every year. If one is a replica of Belur Math in Kolkata, in some, the jewelry of the Goddess is made of shells, in others the decoration behind the Goddess is made up entirely of 'Shola' (an ingredient of Jute, I suppose). On each of the mornings during the Durga Pujo festival, the purohit (priest) chants mantras in praise for the Goddess which the devotees repeat with flowers in their folded hands, the process being called Pushpanjali. The flowers are returned back which are then offered to the Goddess. It ends in the purohit sprinkling ‘Shantir Jal’ over the devotees. Then a food offering is made to the Goddess and only when she has eaten is the bhog distribution done to the devotees. There are pandals where seventy to eighty thousand devotees have bhog in a single day! There are special poojas conducted on each day of the festival. Famous musicians, film stars and singers are roped in to perform in the evenings. Some evenings experience cultural dances on the stage; others have self-organized dramas and skits by the committee members. In fact, these programs are major crowd pullers and state the monetary status of the pujo committee; a thing to boast about! Then there is Sandhi Pujo performed at the confluence of Ashtami and Nabami where dhakis play their dhaks and dance effortlessly and dhuni dance is performed in front of the goddess. The Sandhi Pujo marks the exact time when Maa Durga as Mahishasur Mardini slays the demon. The actual killing of the evil demon is supposed to be remembered through a blood sacrifice but today sugarcane and a ‘chaal kumro’ (Ash Gourd) is symbolically sacrificed. It is mesmerizing to watch the dhuni dance where the person with fire embers in a clay pot dances in a trance in front of the Goddess. The Durga Pujo festival ends on Bijoya Dashmi when the Goddess and her cohort return back to their house. The idols are immersed in water among much pomp and splendor and tears and shouts of ‘Durga Maai ki Joy’ and ‘Asche bochor abaar hobe’ (the celebration will continue next year).

Before the idol is moved from the pandal for immersion, women dressed in ‘laal pair’ (red bordered) sarees apply shidoor (sindoor, vermilion) on the Goddess after doing a small arti with paan. They then feed sandesh to the Goddess, a process called ‘Mishti Mukh’ and offer water to her. After this is done, the women dressed in white and red apply shidoor on each other and on their shakhas (white bangles worn by Bengali women, a proof of their marriage). Then everyone hugs each other, what we call ‘kola kolli’ and wish each other ’Shubho Bijoya’, a celebration for the prevailing of goodness.

Oh, being a bong, how can I forget the thing Bengalis vie for the most during the festival! Mutton chops, chicken chops, mochar chop, vegetable cutlets, fish fries, mughlai parothas, egg rolls, kosha mangsho bhaat (thick gravied lamb preparation with rice), macher jhol (fish curry), luchi and aloor dum (puris with thick potato gravy in Bengali style) are on offer on the various food stalls outside the pandal. It’s time to hog on typical Bengali food! My non Bengali friends are amazed that we eat non vegetarian food at a Pujo festival but that’s how we are. There are also other stalls selling sarees from Kolkatta, various accessories etc. but the food stalls are what attracts the crowd.

It is said that depending on what Maa Durga arrives on to give darshan to her devotees, the year will be good or bad. If she comes from her husband’s home in a boat, she comes empty handed and takes away a lot which signifies calamity. She is also said to come on a horse and an elephant but am not aware of its significance. This year, they say she has come in a boat and left on a horse, so beware!!

It is funny that Bengalis celebrate the Durga Pujo held in October/November with much pomp than the actual Basanti Durgo Pujo that is traditionally celebrated in spring. The one that is celebrated in Autumn is called ‘Akaal Bodhon’ or the untimely awakening of the Goddess and is considered an inauspicious time according to Hindu mythology. It has a history behind it. It is said that when Lord Rama went to vanquish Ravana, a strong devotee of Lord Shiva because he had captured his wife; Lord Rama knew of the strength of Ravana and the many boons that he possessed. As he went out to battle against Ravana, Ravana started singing praises for Lord Rama. This made him a devotee of Lord Rama and hence could not be killed. The Gods and Goddesses were displeased by this and it was decided that Lord Saraswati would sit on the tongue of Ravana and make him say foul words about Lord Rama. When this happened, Lord Rama pierced Ravana into two halves but a boon from Lord Brahma revived him and he prayed to Maa Ambika who then joined him in his chariot. The Gods and Goddesses then approached Lord Vishnu who advised Lord Rama to pray to Goddess Durga to help him. Maa Durga, born from the fire of the three ultimate Gods viz. Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh and from the blood of all the Devas is considered the strongest and hence is also known as Goddess Shakti. He started calling out to the Goddess but the mother did not appear. Vibhishan then advised Lord Rama to offer 108 blue lotuses to the Goddess as an offering. Lord Rama sent Hanuman to get them but Hanuman managed to get only 107 blue lotuses. Lord Rama, to show his devotion, raised his bow and arrow to pluck one of his eyes to offer as the 108^th blue lotus because Lord Rama was described as born with lotus eyes. It is then that Maa Durga appeared (between Ashtami and Navami) and gave him the strength to defeat Ravana. The slaying of Ravana is described as Bijoya Dashmi.

Whatever the history or myth, I simply love to see the grand and beautiful Maa Durga, riding on a lion, slaying the demon Mahishasur, whom the Gods could not defeat. The eyes of the mother are the most beautiful and loving eyes I have ever seen. Her stance, her elegance, her curly pitch black hair, the beautiful sarees that she wears, the motherly expression on her face, her spear piercing the chest of the demon, the royal lion that she rides on with his ferocious teeth, her ten arms with different weaponry gifted by the various Devas all denote an unsurpassed, unyielding power that the great mother holds! I humbly bow down to you Mother.

Bolo Durga Mai ki Joy!!