The most prominent feature of Durga Puja celebration is
the gorgeous Pandal or Durga dalan in which the worship is conducted. Durga Puja is meant for public worship, in
which a large number of people participate. Its rituals and paraphernalia are
quite expensive. Formerly only kings and
aristocratic families could afford to celebrate such public worship. But in modern times Durga Puja is done
through organized community effort.
People of a locality or street form a celebration committee, take
collections and put up the imposing pandal. Sadly that too
is affected by Covid 19 pandemic. This
is the time when Kolkata turns totally different – a bakth State. A visit to Kalighat Temple is a must !
a photo taken during an earlier visit to Calcutta nearer famous
Kali Temple
not during Durga Puja but during normal days !
Autumn (Sharat) is
regarded as one of the best seasons in India.
The sun is on his southward journey and, as his blazing rays begin to
slant, the subcontinent feels freedom from the oppressive heat of summer
months. The monsoon has infused new life
into trees, shrubs, creepers, herbs, grass, moss and lichen; and Gaia, the
Earth Goddess, shows herself off in her richly embroidered green apparel of
lush vegetation everywhere. In the villages there is a look of plentitude
and peace. The granaries are aplenty
with freshly garnered grain, the fields offer large open spaces with cattle
grazing here and there, and along the borders of fields one can see rows of white
and light pink kashphool(flowers of a kind of tall grass) tassels waving
triumphantly in the breeze. Overhead,
the sky is deep blue with an occasional white cloud sailing across lazily to an
unknown destination. A kind of mystic
silence pervades the air, broken only by the laughter of children playing here
and there. It
is as if Nature has prepared herself for the advent of the Divine Mother. Indeed, which other season can be a better
one to welcome the Divine Mother than autumn? And Durga Puja is about the
advent of the Divine Mother.
Worship of the Divine
Mother is one of the oldest forms of worship known to humanity. In prehistoric times, God was worshipped as
the Divine Mother all over the world.
Though evidences exist of the
Mother Worship in different
places in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia; in our Maha Barath, Mother worship is beyond the framework of a
cult and became a full-fledged living religion supported by an advanced
theology, scriptures, rites, customs and festivals which are followed by
millions of people even in modern times.
And in Bengal, worship of God as Mother
attained the highest form of a cultural refinement and ritual sophistication,
and became the dominant faith and practice of the people.
The nine days from the
first day after the new moon (known as Mahalaya) in the Indian month of Ashwin
to the 9th day constitute the festival of Navaratri which is observed all over
India. During this period, the Divine
Mother is worshipped in some form or other.
The majority of Hindus who cannot conduct such worship at home visit
Mother's temple in their locality after taking bath and putting on new
clothes. The tenth day is known as
Dassera. The
most striking aspect of Durga Puja is the image of the Divine Mother as
Mahishasura-mardini. Here the Divine
Mother is seen as having ten arms, each wielding a weapon. Once the image is consecrated, and the Deity
is invoked in it, it undergoes a transfiguration. It is no longer a clay image but the living
Goddess, radiating power, knowledge, love and joy, the benign Mother of the
Universe who has come to bless Her children and to assure them of Her love,
help and protection.
Though the primary goddess
revered during Durga puja is Durga, the celebrations also include other deities
of Hinduism including Goddess Lakshmi Devi; Saraswathi Devi, Ganesha. The
festival is preceded by Mahalaya, which is believed to mark the start of
Durga's journey to her natal home. Primary celebrations begin on the sixth day
(Shasthi), on which the goddess is welcomed with rituals. The festival ends on
the tenth day (Vijaya dashami), when devotees embark on a procession carrying
the worshipped clay sculpture-idols to a river, or other water body, and
immerse them, symbolic of her return to the divine cosmos and her marital home
with Shiva in Kailash. Over the years,
Durga puja has become an inseparable part of Indian culture with innumerable
people celebrating this festival in their own unique way while pertaining to
tradition.
Year 2020
has dawned differently and is yet to sync with the other normal years. The Durga
Puja celebrations are muted yet .. ..
The Government of
Jharkhand issued guidelines to be followed for the observance of Durga Puja and
Dussehra in the view of Covid-19. According to guidelines, at any given point
of time, there shall not be more than seven persons including organizers,
priests and support staff present in any Durga Puja Pandal/Mandap. Issuing guidelines, the state government said
that Durga Puja will be permitted this year only at homes, temples and small
pandals without public participation.
Reports suggest that Durga
Puja will be a restrained and staggered affair in West Bengal this year. In an
attempt to curb the Covid-19 spread during Durga Puja, the West Bengal
government has banned cultural programmes at puja pandals and has urged the
organisers to stagger the festivities over additional days so that people can
participate while maintaining social distancing.
Here is a look at West
Bengal govt guidelines for Durga Puja 2020:
Spacious
open pandals: The state government has directed all organisers to ensure that
puja pandals are spacious and are open from all sides, with separate entry and
exit points for visitors.
Masks and
hand santisers: The organisers will have to ensure that all visitors wear masks
at all times and use hand santisers before entering the puja pandal. The
organisers will have to distribute masks and santisers in the close vicinity of
the pandal for people who might have come to puja without one.
Decongested
rituals: Puja organisers have been asked to stagger rituals so that people can
attend in smaller groups. The priests will use microphone while reciting
prayers to ensure people can hear them while maintaing social distancing.
Visitors have also been encouraged to bring their offerings like flowers from
home to avoid crowds at stalls near pandals.
No cultural
programme: The government has banned cultural programmes inside or near the
puja pandals.
No carnival:
The state government has cancelled the state carnival this year and has banned
any fair or carnival near the pandals.
Spacing out
festivities over larger number of days: The government has suggested that puja
organisers can plan to space out festivities over a larger of number of days to
ensure that all rituals can be carried out with small crowds. Puja committees
should make necessary advance planning that facilitates visit Puja pandals from
Tritia itself, the state government guidelines said.
Low-key
award judging: The government guidelines advocate for virtual judging of
pandals. But if there has to be a physical visit by the judges then the number
will have to be limited. Maximum two cars of the judging party can visit the
pandal at a time.
Emphasis one
electronic and social media: The state government, in its guidelines for Durga
Puja 2020, has asked the organisers to use electronic and social media as far
as possible to reach out to devotees, curbing the need for them to visit
pandals.
Low-key
inaugurations and immersions: The government has asked participants to keep
inauguration a minimalist affair with no pomp and grandeur. For immersion, the
organisers will have to follow pre-allotted ghat timings. The Durga idols will
have to be taken directly to the ghat without any stopovers.
Online
permission: The state government has directed concerned departments to make
permission -obtaining procedures online.
To
facilitate puja in a Covid restricted environment, the Mamta Banerjee
government has offered a slew of benefits for the puja committees. Lest you forget 2021 is going to be an election year in West Bengal
and .. ..
West Bengal Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee has announced multiple benefits including waivers for puja
organising committees ahead of Durga Puja as the coronavirus pandemic continues
to dampen the festive mood in the state. From giving free fire brigade services
to granting permissions to puja organisers for next few years, Mamata Banerjee
has announced several benefits for the puja committees ahead of assembly
elections next year. She has also announced massive waivers on the electricity
and municipal taxes. Mamata Banerjee
said, "I can do 3 things on my part. I can understand your situation.
Getting sponsorships might be tough this year. This is a bad situation. The
puja committees are in great trouble. Fire brigade would be free, corporation
or panchayat would not be taking any taxes.” “CESC would be 50 per cent free,
even West Bengal Electricity supply corporation would be 50 per cent free. The
places that haven’t been getting permission for 10 years now to hold puja but
are suited, I will ask the police to permit them. I know the puja committees
are facing a lot of problems. We provide basic help to you every year. But
since this year the problems are deeper, Rs 50,000 would be paid to all the
puja committees from the state government,” Banerjee added.
Mamata also announced that civil workers will get three
lakh pension after retirement and added that around 81,000 hawkers in the city
will be given Rs 2,000. “The hawkers are
very poor. We have got a list of 81,000 hawkers. (During) During puja we have
decided to pay the families of those hawkers with Rs 2,000 each so that their
children can buy new clothes for the puja."
Lashing out
against Mamata, BJP’s Bengal in-charge Kailash Vijayvargiya tweeted: “Mamta
government took special care of madrasas and clerics for 9 years! But, in the
tenth year, she started remembering Mother Durga and the priest (Brahmin)! It
is also true that people remember god at the end!”
Jai Kali, Jai Durga Mata ~ Happy Durga Puja Celebrations
2.10.2020.
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