"Capturing the Essence: Exploring the Traditions and Beauty of Durga Pujo"

With Bengal's 𝘉𝘢𝘳𝘰 𝘔𝘢𝘢𝘴𝘩e 𝘛𝘢𝘦𝘳𝘰 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘣𝘰𝘯, and Durga Poojo being the most important one, here's a quick sneak peak into the ten day long grandeur.

Although our Poojo starts from 𝘔𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘢, which marks 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘪/Devi 𝘗𝘢𝘬𝘴𝘩𝘢 (an auspicious event for bengalis), welcoming it by religiously listening to Birendra Krishna Bhadra's 𝘔𝘢𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘢 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘪 in the early hours of the day, even before sunrise, the festive moods sets in Soshti onwards.

(Another Fact- On the day of 𝘔𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘢, the sculptors give their final touch to Durga's murtis by performing the 𝘊𝘩𝘰𝘬𝘬𝘩𝘶 𝘋𝘢𝘢𝘯, i.e. painting the beautiful eyes of the goddess)

𝘚𝘰𝘴𝘩𝘵𝘪 is the day when it is believed that the Durga Protimas (idols), which are patiently and beautifully made in Kumortuli right from the beginning of the year, brought to life by the priests.

𝘚𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘪- The seventh day of the festival, for which we wait yearlong.

The day begins by offering 𝘗𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘫𝘢𝘭𝘪, i.e. wearing new clothes and offering flowers with devotion to the goddess; and evening is marked by 𝘚𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘩𝘺𝘢 𝘈𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪.

Well now over the years the definition of Pujo has changed. Durga Pujo is no longer limited to the religious ritualistic boundaries. For many Pujo means beyond idol worship. It is a get together, gathering, meeting of friends, family who no longer lives in the same city. It is a reunion. And honestly that is what we look forward to.

𝘈𝘴𝘩𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘪- The eighth day

Celebrations are at peak. The day starts by offering 𝘗𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘫𝘢𝘭𝘪 in an empty stomach. 𝘗𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘫𝘢𝘭𝘪 on this day is considered to be the most auspicious one. However the highlight of the day is 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘩𝘪 𝘗𝘶𝘫𝘰. 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘩𝘪 𝘗𝘶𝘫𝘰 is performed at the cusp of 𝘈𝘴𝘩𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘪 and 𝘕𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘮𝘪 . Mythologically it is believed that it was at this hour that the goddess defeated the 𝘔𝘢𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘢 thus signifying- victory of good over evil. The Pujo involves an elaborate aarti, and an arrangement of 108 lotuses and lighting of 108 lamps by the ladies.

𝘕𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘮𝘪- The Ninth Day

Festive mood and air surrounds the whole city. People go around pandals, feast around but, the main doing of the day is 𝘑𝘰𝘨 𝘗𝘶𝘫𝘰 (𝘏𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘯) followed by the infamous 𝘋𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘪 𝘕𝘢𝘢𝘤h, to light up the evening.

Durga Pujo goes incomplete without wearing new clothes, hogging on food, having adda with family and friends, and of course without hopping around pandals.

Pandal hopping which is a must for all Bengalis, which we do day long or even night long, and by doing so we witness the sheer brilliance and creativity that resides in each corner of the city.

Well throwing a bit of light on the history- there are 2 kinds of Pujo- 𝘉𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥𝘪 𝘉𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘳 𝘗𝘶𝘫𝘰 i.e. the pujo organised by the hereditary aristocrats of the city (once landed zamindars) and the 𝘚𝘢𝘳𝘣𝘰𝘫𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘯 𝘗𝘶𝘫𝘰 i.e. pujos 'for the people' (originally started by the working class for people who irrespective of their social backgrounds can join)

Further there are 2 categories- Traditional Pujo and Themed Pujo.

Traditional Pujo which sticks to the conventional image of the goddess. While on the other hand we have themed pujo, usually done by 𝘚𝘢𝘳𝘣𝘰𝘫𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘯 𝘗𝘶𝘫𝘰 committees, that draws huge crowds to witness the artistic finesse of the idol and the pandals.

Basically the themed pujo is a reimagination or reinterpretation of Durga say as a migrant worker or as a sex worker or so on.... because as we say Durga resides in each and every women. At the same time also indicating that how Durga Pujo is not limited to the spheres of religion.

The pandals showcases the highest level of imagination- pandals made from musical instruments, themes of women empowerment, recreation of Van Gogh's Starry Nights,  Vatican city, to the recreation of the socio- politico scenario of 1946 Calcutta torn apart by riot.

By walking around the city, visiting different pandals we realize and appreciate how creativity gets blended with faith.

𝘋𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘪- The last day

The day marks the 'Darpan Visarjan', where a small mirror is placed on the feet of the goddess where the devotees look and seek blessing.

This is followed by the Devi Boron (Traditionally it means prepping the goddess for her return back to Kailash, as it is believed that Durga was in her parents home);Married women perform aarti, offer sweets and paan (betel leaves) and smear the goddess with sindoor as they bid a tearful goodbye to Durga. The women folk then engage in the joyful Sindoor Khela. Traditionally the married women participated in this, however with changing times, now even unmarried women and girls participate with full zest.  Next is when the idol is taken for Visarjan (immersion).

A strange grim surrounds the city. Sadness lurks in corner and quite naturally so as we bengalis put our heart and soul into this festival right from when the year begins. Durga pujo, for most of us living outside our home, more than a religious festival it's about homecoming. The few days where we don't worry about our work or study, full heartedly enjoy and socialize with our friends and family. So with the end of the puja we also return to our humdrum lives.

But Visarjan not necessarily denotes parting. In an alternate way, visarjan points towards continuity. Visarjan, where the idol is immersed in water; water which is a symbol of an unending. Just like the way the goddess goes in a journey of eternity, so does our spirit. The spirit that never goes low. The spirit with which we start planning for the next year. And as we return to our mundane life, with full enthusiasm say out loud 'aasche bochor aabar hobe' with a hope to have double the fun and celebration in the coming year.

Thereby Visarjan stands as an acronym for "bishesh bhabe arjan", literally translated into- obtaining/acquiring in a special way. Whereby we move ahead in lives with new hopes, optimism and positivity.

With the immersion of the idols we greet each other 'Shubho Bijoya'. We call or even visit our relatives, seek blessings from elders, convey good wishes to our loved ones and exchange sweets. And on this note we end our pujo and start countdown for next year.

Written and Photography- Hridi