Durga Pujo

Durga Pujo is another name of sheer fanaticism among Bengali people across the globe. It is homecoming for every Bengali daughter and son, no matter wherever they are settled. It is an apt coincidence of the fact that Goddess Gauri with a nickname Uma, coming back to her house where Giri is waiting to receive her. Gauri, on the other hand, is this extremely powerful lady who kills the evil Mahishasur and saves the entire pool of Gods from Mahishasur's regime. Gauri rides lions and she is capable of overcoming every hurdle that she faces while all the other Gods stand behind and see how the fight ends. No, in case you have mistaken this is as a portrayal of a Flight Club kind of a movie, then I have given you a wrong idea. Durga Pujo is marked as the demolition of the bad imperial reign of Mahishashur and the beginning of all that is good and nice. But after all this when the fight ends and the dust settles, Gauri feels homesick like every single daughter and wants to get back to her parents.

The story line as you have read above is maddening and so is the maddening fanaticism of Bengalis about Durga Pujo. A city like Kolkata, where everything comes to a standstill not for a day but for four to five days while people come together to celebrate the festival. Every single Bengali from all the corners of the country returns to their nests. It is the warmth of being with the family, adda with the friends, the lights on the pandals, the waiting in the huge long queue for hours to see the architectural beauty of it -- that attracts every ‘kochi, kacha, buro buri’. Perhaps these are a few sheer fanatics that define Bengalis.  

Durga Pujo marks the beginning of Autumn, where skies are clear blue with thin white clouds cluttered around, and the walls on the buildings are clad with golden rays of the Sun. On the country side the fields are filled with Kashful where even today many a times ‘Apu and Durga’ run around to watch the thin black smokes coming from a train engine and vanishing into the air. Perhaps this is what defines Durga Pujo in every Bengali’s mind. It is sweet but at the same time somewhat amusing that everything that we relate to being a Bengali, finally culminates to these ever green unforgettable incidents centered on Durga Pujo portrayed by some of the best authors.

Mahalya marks the beginning of Durga Pujo. On this day, perhaps every single Bengali listens to ‘Mahishsurmardini’ on the radio which starts at 4 AM in the morning. As a kid, I remember my parents setting an alarm and switching on the radio at 4 AM and we will all listen to the coverage half awake. This ritual or sometimes I call it 'the routine for once a year' never changed. The same script that was once broadcasted 85 years ago is repeated again every year. But it is not about only listening to the broadcast, it is about the sheer happiness that brings to every Bengali’s mind in the anticipation of visiting home soon. 

Last year, after almost six years, I went to Kolkata during Durga Pujo. As a kid, I used to spend the entire Pujo with my parents either in my Dadu’s place or Thamma’s place and most of the time both. Things have changed now, but what remained a constant is the sheer happiness of being around the city of joy and visiting the same pandals that we used to visit when we were kids. 

The crazy Bengalis still go out late at night, clad in new dresses and roam from pandals to pandals and after a fulfilling outing with families or with friends or with someone whom they like so much, they come back with a touch of smile on their faces but with a sad feeling that the festival will be over soon.  

To the Bengalis, Durga Pujo is bigger than a festival. It is a necessity in a Bengali’s life. Durga Pujo is perhaps the onyl single event that touches every Bengali's life and make them crave for it once more as they shout out ‘aschhe bochhor abar hobe’.