|
West Bengal
Durga Puja
Durga Puja
The most important and the most popular of all
Bengali festivals is the Durgapuja. It is celebrated throughout the
state, but with great grandeur in Kolkata. There are some ancestral
houses in Kolkata where Durgapuja is being observed over decades and
even over centuries.
Durga puja is celebrated in the autumn months of
September/October. According to the Hindu solar calendar, it falls on the first
nine days of the month of Ashvin. It is the time of the year
when the weather is at its moderate best giving the air a festive touch. Images of the ten-armed goddess are
worshipped in ancient houses and at pandals, erected specially for
the Puja. After the four-day ceremony, the images are immersed in
the river.
A festival of colour, pujas, a
variety of foods to stir up the senses and of course the ubiquitous
decorations, Dussehra (tenth day) is an important festival of Hindus. The
entire country celebrates it with great zeal, though the pattern may differ
a little from state to state.
The day celebrates the
magnificence and omnipotence of Goddess Durga The legends say that the mighty
demon Mahishasur, vanquished the gods and their king, Indra, who
subsequently fled, leaving behind their kingdoms. They then approached the
Holy Trinity, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, who decided to destroy the atrocious
demon and prayed to the divine mother Durga to do the needful. Equipped with
lethal weapons riding a ferocious lion the Goddess in all her awesome
majesty, destroyed the evil Mahishasur easily.
West Bengal celebrates Dussehra
as Durga Puja craftsmen make beautiful idols of Goddess Durga which are
welcomed in the houses, as a daughter who has come to
visit her parents' home. The Goddess is ' Shakti ' the cosmic energy which
animates all beings. The idols of the Goddess are worshipped for nine days
and on the ninth day, the idols are immersed in rivers or ponds. The
procession accompanying the immersion include drummers and conch blowers.
The message of Durga Puja is to
burn the evil within ourselves and follow the path of virtue and goodness.
It reminds people to keep in mind the instance of Ravana, who was a great
scholar and ardent devote of Lord Shiva, but despite all his might and
majesty he was destroyed due to his gross misuse of power.
The
festival that follows is Deepavali, the festival of lights,. The
worship of goddess Kali is marked by display of fireworks and
crackers.
Top
|
